Responsible Design of Drones and Drone Services:Legal Perspective Synthetic Report

Abstract

The term “drone” is the common language of all types of aircraft without a pilot on board and their ancillary components, such as a control station, if applicable. In addition to the common term “drone”, other terms and acronyms, among others, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unmanned Aircraft (UA), Pilotless Aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) are also widely used in publications. In the past 5 years, drones have demonstrated significant growth in civil market as not only a leisure product but also a tool which can provide professional services. Professional uses of drones include, among others, agricultural services, surveillance, search and rescue, monitoring and inspection, parcel delivery and picturing and filming. Compared to conducting those services above by manpower, drones provide services in higher efficiency and accuracy, decrease the cost of actions, and expand the accessibility. The deployment of drones has impacts on individuals, the society and the environment. The potential threat to aviation safety as well as the safety of persons and properties on the ground is a central issue. In addition, given that drones are very often equipped with cameras and sensors, the potential violation to personal privacy and data protection by drone users is the major barrier that hinders the public acceptance of drone applications