Overview of the existing UAV regulatory framework in European contries in the context of an emergency response and emergency response exercises

Abstract

Bespilotne letelice, kolokvijalno poznatije kao dronovi, mogu biti od velike pomoći prilikom prikupljanja podataka visoke rezolucije, naročito u slučajevima kada direktno uključivanje obučenog osoblja na lokaciji od interesa ne bi bilo poželjno. Takav je slučaj sa reagovanjem u slučaju nuklearnog ili radiološkog akcidenta. Dron koji bi imao niz kompaktnih senzora, koji bi sadržali i specijalizovanu opremu koja nije deo standardnog tovara drona, kao što je npr. gama spektrometar, bi bio od velike pomoći, naravno pod pretpostavkom pouzdanog linka za prenos podataka u izazovnom okruženju kakvo je i očekivano u tom slučaju. Pitanje koje komplikuje upotrebu dronova u ovakvim situacijama, a možda i više u slučaju istraživanja i vežbi (koje moraju prethoditi bilo kakvoj realnoj upotrebi) je heterogeni regulatorni okvir koji postoji u evropskim zemljama. Ova fragmentacija je potekla od činjenice da je Evropska komisija ostavila regulisanje dronova mase ispod 150kg zemljama članicama. Iako je nova, harmonizujuća regulativa u procesu donošenja i primene, različiti nacionalni regulatorni okviri su još uvek na snazi, i oni imaju i slučnosti ali i kontrastirajuće elemente. U ovom radu je dat pregled odabranih nacionalnih regulativa u kontekstu reagovanja u vanrednim situacijama kao i uvid u neke buduće trendove.Unmanned aerial vehicles -UAVs, more colloquially known as drones, can be of great help in high resolution data acquisition, especially in situations where direct, on-the-ground involvement of trained personnel would be strongly undesirable. One such case is an emergency response following a nuclear or radiological event. Drone mounted with array of compact sensors, which may include specialized equipment not commonly found in the payload, such as gamma spectrometer, would be of great help to first responders, of course under assumption of a reliable data link in a complicated environment. Issue that complicates use of drones in emergency situations, and maybe even more so in research and exercises (that must precede any realistic use) is heterogeneous regulatory framework that currently exists in European countries. This fragmentation originated from the fact that European Commission left regulation of drones under 150kg to Member States. While new harmonizing legislation is under discussion, various national UAV regulations are still in place, with strong similarities but also with contrasting elements. This work summarizes current status of various national UAV regulations in the context of emergency response and also gives perspective into future trends.Proceedings: [http://vinar.vin.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/8681]XXX симпозијум ДЗЗСЦГ (Друштва за заштиту од зрачења Србије и Црне Горе), 2- 4. октобар 2019. године, Дивчибаре, Србиј