The use of unmanned aircraft systems in the commercial domain is now a given, as a host of industries see the benefits of operating an autonomous vehicle to support their businesses. Some years ago, the debate surrounding this proliferation centered around whether UAS would in fact be disruptive enough to have an impact on these commercial operations, but now it is more a case of how their use will expand further and what the technology will be able to do next, and almost more importantly, what framework will be utilized to support this growth. One roadblock to this is the expectation that the regulatory framework that supports an increase in the commercial use of UAS has to be perfect, and will not allow for any misuse of these types of aircraft.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 25, 2017 Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786

On Oct. 4, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill to help get self-driving cars on the road. While the bill still has to clear a Senate vote, it appears to be on the road to passage. Via Reuters, John Thune, the Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, says, the bill “underscores the bipartisan desire to move ahead with self-driving vehicle technology.... The safety and economic benefits of self-driving vehicles are too critical to delay.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 28, 2017 Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786