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How To Travel Internationally With A Drone? Updated for 2017
This article has been entirely updated to reflect current regulations as of March 2017.
Traveling with a drone even in the US isn’t always easy. While there is no particular law about crossing state lines with a drones, airports are often touchy about things they don’t fully understand… things like LiPO batteries, and drones that fit into the overhead bin. Anytime you are carrying a piece of valuable equipment, whether for your job or your vacation, extra care is required – check out this article on How to Travel With Your Drone for some basic rules to follow.
When you are traveling internationally, some extra care may be required. Keep heart – many international flyers are traveling all over without a problem and meeting other members of the drone community while doing it! However, doing some research up front and remembering these simple points may make your travel experience go more smoothly.
#1. Your Part 107 license isn’t automatically legal in other countries. Got your Part 107 here in the states? If you are planning on flying commercially, you should know that your license is only good in the US. While there are international training standard for manned aircraft pilots, and reciprocal agreements with member countries, those agreements do not cover unmanned aircraft. You’ll have to check with your client or the country you’re working in to make sure that you are flying legally; the FAA has no authority in other countries.
#2. Some countries require that drones be declared. You’ll need to do your research before traveling – hit the government websites, and do a search on drone regulations. Despite increased commercial use of drones in India, for example, the government modified its customs baggage claim regulations last spring to require that drones be specifically declared. (Regulations prohibit most recreational use there anyway, so if you are going on vacation you might want to leave it at home.) In the Bahamas – which would seem to be a prime place for gorgeous drone shots – you have to register your drone with the government before you travel in order to get it through customs.
#3. You’ll have to figure out the local laws. While it is always a good idea to stick to the basic safety regulations outlined here by the FAA, you’ll need to make sure you know what the local laws are. Not all of the apps you usually use to keep you out of trouble during flight are available in every country, so you’ll want to check this before you fly also. This can be especially important when traveling in urban areas – in Japan, for example, recreational drone use is very carefully regulated (and mostly prohibited) in populated areas including almost every city in the country.
#4. …And learn the local monuments. Many countries have regulations similar to those here in the US which prohibit drones around monuments or critical infrastructure. Since you may not always recognize the importance of a site in a foreign country, a little research – or simply asking permission from the authorities – could save major trouble later. For example, a group of international students were jailed in India last year after flying a drone over a religious temple. And in France, a French national was arrested for flying a drone in Paris.
#5. Be sure of your information, and provide documentation. The vast majority of the problems that drone operators traveling internationally encounter happen at the airport. Drone use isn’t common enough yet to ensure that security officers, flight personnel, and customs officials will be familiar with the laws in their own country. Since you may find yourself in the situation of explaining why your drone should be allowed, make sure you know where the regulations are to be found in case you need to refer to them.
Need more information? The drone community is there to help. Seek advice from other travelers or locals by getting in touch with local flight organizations or information groups, such as the Drone Users Group (DUG), local AMA chapters, or one of the many Facebook groups for drone operators, such as the UAV Legal News and Discussion group.
And don’t forget to share your experience – and your pictures – when you get back.
The Hoversurf is straight out of star-wars!
We have heard the word “hover” a lot lately—mostly referring to the popular “hoverboards” that don’t actually hover, but rather roll.
Technology that can really make us fly is on its way, however. This company that originally started as a crowdfunding project is creating human-carrying drone bikes that look like something straight out of Star Wars.
What Is Hoversurf?
Hoversurf is a Russian-American aero-design company that has patented the first drone bike.
They have designed a human carrying drone that is unique from other drones so far because it can be controlled by its rider.
They are hoping to have their technology available for extreme sports enthusiasts in the near future, with pre-order already available, but can also see it becoming a form of mainstream transportation longer term.
Hoversurf have also been working on developing a few other futuristic projects.
Their flying drone taxi and a heavy weight capacity drone are forming the basis of the transportation and logistics of tomorrow.
The Hoversurf SCORPION-3 Platform
The bike uses a SCORPION-3 (S-3) platform. This platform consists of 4 propellers in a quadcopter formation, with 2 at each end.
Designed similarly to a motocross bike, it has a motorcycle seat, and the drone is powered by electricity.
The SCORPION is made to be able to operate in even the most extreme environments. It can be controlled either manually by the rider, or automatically from a grounded base.
With 4 open blades and no real seat-belt, the SCORPION technology sounds like it could be a little dangerous.
The flying bike has safety precautions in place, however. The safety system of the flying bike is powered by advanced flight controllers and special computer programming that limit how high and fast the bike can go.
Until now, riders have worn a lot of protective equipment to protect them from the propellers, or from falls.
Taxis and Heavy Lift Drones
Hoversurf might be receiving most of its attention from the media for its hover bike, but its flying taxi and heavy lift unmanned drones are also making strides and becoming closer to becoming a reality.
The taxi-drone uses a MARK-S drone platform and will be controlled by two systems—one that will direct the flight of the vehicle, and another that will manage booking and operation.
The heavy lifting drones will be able to carry between 90 to 2,500 kg:
The design operates similarly to the bike, but is operated remotely and able to carry more weight because it has no passengers.
Transportation of the Future, Someday
When you browse around the hoversurf.com website, you might think that you are watching a sci-fi movie.
Although it looks like something you could only find in a fantasy world, these inventions are well on their way toward becoming a reality.
The hoverbike already can fly up to 10 meters (close to 3 stories!) in the sky, at 50 kilometers per hour.
The taxis, which are still just a prototype, are planned to be able to operate without any extra infrastructure being built, and with the capability to refill at regular gas stations and fit in standard-sized parking spaces.
Heavy lifting drones can be used potentially to deliver emergency supplies or equipment to hard to reach places, like natural disaster sites. It, like the other products being developed, can change the way we move and solve transportation problems in the future.
These Star Wars-like devices still have some challenges to overcome before they become part of the everyday cityscape, however, and replace today’s hoverboards.
Even though it may be a while until our future looks like these videos, now we know this technology is at least possible, and well on its way to becoming a reality.
People may be riding around on drone bikes sooner than we think!
To be continued …
DJI vs FAA? I know who I’m betting on
Six Ways sUAS/UAV Will Shape Your Future
http://droneblog.com/2017/03/01/six-ways-drones-will-shape-your-future/
Drones have the ability to reach places humans cannot access easily. Flying at low heights enables them to get sharp and high-quality images, allowing them to collect a lot of high-quality data compared to the helicopters. As such, drones are now being used to capture breathtaking photos, perform aerial inspection services, and do many other complex tasks with ease. However, this is far from their real potential.
The applications for commercial drones are numerous. They are likely to find many more applications in the building inspection, construction industry, oil and gas refinery inspection, agriculture surveillance and mapping, rescue operations, aerial photography, thermal imaging and more.
Manufacturers, designers, innovators and other technology professionals are continually adding advanced features and functionalities, hence equipping the drones with amazing possibilities. To get a picture of what they can do, here are some of the top ways drones will shape your future.
1. Delivering Packages
One of the biggest applications of UAV is their uses in delivery and it is likely to become a reality in a few years to come. Already, there are several companies who are testing the effectiveness in the delivery of products. Online stores, such as Amazon and Walmart as well as other companies such as Google, have been trying out drone deliveries for a period of time.
There are so many potential benefits of using the drones for delivery, including but not limited to reducing the number of delivery vehicles and costs, faster delivery, lower pollution and more. This means that you are going to have a more efficient deliveries, better quality air, and more time to carry out other activities.
2. Drones in Industrial Inspections
Construction companies, insurance, building engineers and architects, are already doing building envelope inspection using drones. This allows them to collect a variety of data, including photos of the structure, identifying defects such as corrosions, heat leakage, and more at a much faster rate.
The drones also allow the industries in the Oil & Gas sector to perform drone inspection and collect many required information quickly and at reduced costs while greatly reducing risks associated with rope access, swing stages and scaffoldings. This is essential for the employees in the company since workers in the Oil & Gas industries are three times more likely to get involved in an accident compare to employees in other sectors.
This means that you will get the project done faster, safer and at a lower costs compare to traditional methods.
3. Drones in Agriculture
In precision agriculture, drones with appropriate sensors will be able to detect infested crops, patches or groups of insects on crops in a field. The same UAV, if equipped with the right equipment, will be able to spray the affected crops. If not, it will send the information, the location and type of bugs to another drone equipped with the right spray, or even send the information to a central control room for action.
Already, there are Japanese scientists who are testing the effectiveness of the Agri Drone which uses a pesticide canon equipped with an infrared camera to detect the insects. The drone has a mechanism at the bottom, known as a bug zapper, which enables the drone to manually destroy the bug, hence eliminating the use of pesticides.
The drones will also monitor the health of the crops and identify areas that require water, fertilizer as well as the pesticides. Concentrating on areas that require attention will reduce costs, crop failure, and hence overall production expenses while improving productivity and safety. This means you will probably pay less for healthier food, which will have very little if any, traces of pesticides.
4. UAVs in Filming
Drones are great marketing tools that can help a business create unique captivating content and video campaigns. The drones have the advantage of capturing a high-quality image or video, within a very short time, at the fraction of the cost of a conventional method. In addition, it can take photos from any angle and from all directions.
Real estate firms, tourist resorts, schools motion picture, photography, and many other industries will use drones to show potential clients about the structures and facilities, the neighborhood, etc.
5. Transporting Supplies for Humanitarian Work
In future, drones will transport supplies to the remote or inaccessible areas. They will deliver medical supplies and vaccines to remote locations, dangerous places, inaccessible places as well as places affected by war or contagious diseases.
Other application will include rescue missions, disaster management, healthcare and more.
This will increase safety of the rescue workers while delivering humanitarian supplies in good time to assist people in need.
6. Expand Internet Access
Solar powered drones will have the ability to expand internet access to remote areas. A network of drones with internet links will beam the internet connectivity to users in remote areas.
Conclusion
The drones applications in industrial inspection, package delivery, agriculture and others are evolving at an enormous rate and expected to get better in future. The hardware, as well as software, is expected to improve and provide a wide range of capabilities. Additionally, new technologies are likely to see smaller drones that will consume less power hence have more flying time, while government regulations will allow more people to acquire and operate the UAVs.
Martha Stewart “Droning”
Jail Time
Got Building Inspections?
Most of today’s building inspections rely on the traditional methods of manually scaling buildings while taking photos or using a manual checklist with a pen and paper.
Workers use Bosun Chairs, suspension scaffolds or swing-stage scaffolds, rope access and other means that allow them to reach the sides or the roof of the building. These methods are not only risky, but also costly, time consuming, and sometimes capital intensive when inspecting tall and big buildings. The job requires more people to complete and the building owner must pay insurance for the workers performing the inspection, something that is not required for the drone operator.
UAV technologies have numerous economic and environmental benefits in keeping industrial and building inspections safe. With the ability to reduce expenses and time to complete inspections , and do so much safer, the drones are likely to become one of the most widely used methods for asset inspections within the next few years.
Demand for safe and fast building inspections have seen a number of industrial asset companies, building owners, Oil and Gas companies, insurers and other supporting businesses adopt emerging UAV technologies. With costs coming down, easing of regulations, and comprehensive software solutions for analyzing data, the use of drones for building inspections is set to increase tremendously within the next three years.
The drones, currently being used for building inspections, and eliminating the risky manual inspections, have the potential to bring down costs while helping in improving quality. Gartner research projects that the construction industry, will account for 30% UAV market by 2020.
There are several benefits of using drones for inspections, they are able to access difficult to reach locations, take as many photographs as possible, and zoom in whenever required to do so, and especially when there are possible defects. The drones can scale tall buildings within a very short time, do a lot of work , safely, within an hour, and save a lot of man-hours, equipment cost required to access the building, insurance for the workers, etc.
Combining the drones and other technologies such as VR and fast communications links will enable prospective buyers, inspectors and insurance people to take virtual tours of the building almost in real time.
Currently, only a small percentage of construction industry players are using drones. Despite the potential benefits, the commercial market is still small but growing. Some of the challenges include;
- Lack of standard data formats to work across different platforms or within existing software environments.
- Concerns about midair collisions: Future drones will most likely be equipped with sensors to detect objects and other drones within a certain radius.
- Lack of consistent regulations and global standards for the safe operation of drones
- Limited drone pilot training to ensure safe UAV operations. There are requirments to train drone pilots on air traffic law, camera usage, meteorology flight time calculation, handling an emergency, etc.
Potential benefits of using drones for building inspections
The potential for drone-based inspections is huge. Technology advances are seeing and more technologies coming together to provide comprehensive and useful data for the construction, Oil and Gas and building industries. From photography to thermal imaging, the drones are providing a wide range of information likely to shape the construction industry in the coming years. Some of the benefits include;
- Cost savings by reducing the time, machinery and labor to complete some inspection tasks.
- Providing managers with real–time data and video footages of the progress at the site. They do not have to walk around to different sections of a site. The scan in effect increase efficiency while providing data that can be used to evaluate the quality of work and identify defects . The data can be assessed by several engineers either at the site or off-site, hence allowing wider consultation.
- The drone surveillance enhances onsite safety and security. It increases productivity .
- The drones will allow larger companies to take up and manage multiple projects at the same time, using the same engineers to supervise and coordinate the jobs at a lower cost. This will allow the companies to complete several projects within a short time while providing better quality and saving time and money.
- People will be able to get accurate and shareable information cost effectively and faster. Insurers, for example, will be able to get the status of a building and the risk data within a short time.
Future of drones in building inspections
The number of commercial drones is expected to rise as regulations are eased and the drones become cheaper, smaller, and easier to operate. Innovative technologies in the photo, thermal, and video cameras, Virtual Reality, analytical tools and high-speed communications will enable the use of drones for a variety of Oil and Gas and building inspection applications.
The software solutions will have the ability to consolidate the videotaped images, photographs, and infrared images, into a comprehensive, easy to interpret and understand interactive reports. Using cloud-based technologies, technicians, managers and facility owners can access the report and get accurate information about the status of the building, allowing them to make informed decisions and plan of action.
Several related industries such as insurers, construction companies, Oil and Gas,and supporting businesses are collaborating to set standards on how to establish safe building inspection practices that will generate standard and comprehensive data that each can consult.
There is a huge opportunity for software companies in providing a wide variety of better technologies for data integration, imaging, object recognition, video analytics, motion imagery, and more.
Conclusion
Combining different technologies such as the VR photo, infrared and video cameras will enable drones to provide enhanced possibilities that will streamline and revolutionize the building inspections.
By 2020, there are likely to be standard regulations for commercial drones across the globe. This will allow more businesses and people to own and operate the devices for building inspections and other activities.