The President of the United States is trying to make it easier for drones to do a bunch of stuff that has previously been against the rules in the United States. What's going on? I'm Jonathan Strickland and this is tech Stuff Daily. Recently on tech Stuff Daily, we looked at how drone manufacturer d j I is trying to stay ahead of regulations by instituting a drone specific air traffic
control system for recreational and commercial drones. Now, US President Donald Trump is looking to change up the rules that guide drone usage in the United States. He wants to make those rules less restrictive. At the heart of the matter are the rules the Federal Aviation Administration or f a A has in place for drone operation. These rules are meant to keep people safe while also allowing for
the use of drones in different areas and scenarios. For example, one important rule is that the airspace around airports is absolutely restricted from drone own use. The drones could pose a hazard to aircraft pilots and passengers. That rule seems pretty simple and straightforward. Some of the other rules may seem more restrictive, particularly if you wanted to use drones to respond to emergency situations or as part of a
delivery system. It's those cases that the President wants to address. Currently, it's against the rules for a drone pilot to do the following. You cannot operate a drone outside your line of sight. In other words, no matter what you are doing with the drone, you have to be able to see it at all times, unaided by other equipment. You can't fly a drone around the other side of a building, for example, because the building would break your line of sight.
Some pilots may bristle at this requirement, since many drones feature cameras which could, at least in theory, allow the pilot to operate the drone using the drones point of view. As long as you remained within transmission range, you should be able to operate the vehicle safely. Another rule is that drone pilots aren't supposed to operate their drones above people. If you ever been in a crowd in the United States and seen a drone flying directly overhead, you can
be assured that the drone operator was misbehaving. The f a A makes it clear that pilots aren't allowed to do that. Since the drone could cause serious injury if there were some sort of technical failure causing the drone to fall from the sky. Another big rule is that pilots are only to fly their drones during daylight hours. This is related to the line of site requirement. Nighttime
flying operations are against the general rules. The President's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program would remove those restrictions for certain pilots, specifically pilots working for government offices or companies. The rules will still be in place for recreational drone pilots, however. Elaine Chow, the Secretary of Transportation, issued this statement regarding
the decision. This program supports the President's commitment to foster technological innovation that will be a catalyst for ideas that have the potential to change our day to day lives. Drones are proving to be especially valuable in emergencies to situations, including assessing damage from natural disasters such as the recent
hurricanes and the wildfires in California. Of this, there is little doubt drones allow first responders a chance to survey a scene before sending people into it, potentially reducing injury or worse in the process. Drones can also be used to look into areas that may have been compromised due to damage from fire, earthquakes, or other sources. We're seeing robots of all shapes and sizes being used in similar
cases to limit human exposure to potential danger. Meanwhile, there are some big influential companies in the United States that are very much interested in making greater use of drones. Google, Amazon, and ups have all started exploring the possibility of using drones to make deliveries, for example, but restrictions on drone use create logistical problems to roll out those sorts of services. The new policy doesn't automatically grant pilot's free license to
operate their drones outside of the old restrictions. Instead, private sector groups and local governments will have to join forces to create proposals for the Department of Transportations consideration. The d o T will choose at least five proposals to develop into actual pilot programs. These programs will likely last several months, and a lengthy evaluation process could follow. In other words, it may still be a year or longer before we see meaningful changes to the f a A
restrictions governing drone piloting. To learn more about drones, robots, and everything else technological, subscribe to the Tech Stuff podcast. We explore tech topics in detail and get to the bottom of them, or sometimes to the top of them, depends on the shape. That's all for today. I'll see you against in