The most challenging thing would be to combine a large fleet of Amazon Prime drones carrying packages and the Piper Clubs that just want to punch a hole in the sky on the weekend.
— Ella Atkins, associate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan, on the conundrum of intermingling drone traffic into U.S. airspace. If anyone s wondering why the government is taking what seems like a long time to approve widespread use of commercial drones, consider the potential safety hazards, Atkins and others say. And it s not just companies such as Amazon and Google thinking drone delivery. Others who have joined or are looking to join the party in the skies include Hollywood, the agricultural, mining and real estate industries, and more.
The MIT Technology Review writes about San Francisco-based startup Airware, which is working with NASA on prototypes for air-traffic control systems. Jesse Kallman, head of business development and regulatory affairs at Airware, also uses Amazon as the go-to example for worrisome scenarios: You will have competing interests trying to use the same space. Imagine Amazon trying to deliver packages in an area that an energy company is trying to survey their power lines.
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