DJI's Remote Identification Proposal

[We Talk UAV]

Those who engage in illegal activities with drones may want to know that they are being put on notice. DJI proposes a remote, "license plate-type system" which is being viewed as a balanced approach based on rising problems associated with drones. Is this an extreme reaction?

 

[dronezone1010]

I was just reading an old news article about a proposed registry system in the USA:

FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available

Article link below from Forbes.com December, 2015:

FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available

Has the above publicly available registry actually been implemented? (I am not in the USA.) I don't really understand this. Thousands of people are killed in car accidents every year, yet there is no publicly available database of car owners!?

 

[wolf~928]

AND THERE IT IS,! I knew that was coming,,lol

 

[nwcove]

hmmm.......why not police motor vehicles in the same fashion ? i exceed the speed limit, roll through a rural road stop sign etc etc......my vehicle uploads its"I.D." to law enforcement and they mail me a ticket ? cant wait to show my grandchildren this flying device that the oldtimers were once allowed to enjoy as a hobby.

 

[Helihover]

hmmm.......why not police motor vehicles in the same fashion ? i exceed the speed limit, roll through a rural road stop sign etc etc......my vehicle uploads its"I.D." to law enforcement and they mail me a ticket ? cant wait to show my grandchildren this flying device that the oldtimers were once allowed to enjoy as a hobby.

That's closer than you think.

 

[nwcove]

That's closer than you think.

its almost scary....not many years ago people controlled machines, now for example cars have traction control, abs, stability control, lane drift warnings, some apply brakes without input from the driver and probably more things that make us " dumb". i have more years behind me than i have ahead of me......i hope i dont get to see the demise.

 

[Meta4]

I was just reading an old news article about a proposed registry system in the USA:
FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available
Has the above publicly available registry actually been implemented? (I am not in the USA.) I don't really understand this. Thousands of people are killed in car accidents every year, yet there is no publicly available database of car owners!?

That was just part of the hysteria when the FAA announced registration.

The FAA is not posting the names and street addresses of registered owners because the data is exempt from disclosure under a FOIA exemption that protects information in agency files from a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The FAA based its determination to post only city, state and zip code on several factors, including, in part, that many of the registrants are minors and only hobbyists or recreational users. In addition, when the FAA published its Federal Register notice pertaining to the new unmanned aircraft registration system it specifically advised the public that name and addresses would only be available by the registration number issued to the registrant. For these reasons, the FAA believes the privacy interest in such data outweighs any public interest.​

Click here to see the actual database: http://www.faa.gov/foia/electronic_reading_room/media/Reg-by-City-State-Zip-12May2016.xlsx

 

[Extra330]

Personally, I don't have anything to hide but it gets old saying that. When they go this far I will sell every manufactured drone I have and fly only piece built machines. And when even the flight controllers implement this as well, I will shed this part of the hobby and fly my balsa birds. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Protronics00]

R .pdrper m.p
D

 

[sar104]

Personally, I don't have anything to hide but it gets old saying that. When they go this far I will sell every manufactured drone I have and fly only piece built machines. And when even the flight controllers implement this as well, I will shed this part of the hobby and fly my balsa birds. Just my 2 cents.

You mean "if they go this far", presumably. Not that "this far" appears to represent any greater accountability than already exists for other traffic in the NAS.

 

[BigAl07]

R .pdrper m.p
D

?????

 

[JWH]

The FAA already has a public database for my pilot license and aircraft registration for my "regular" plane, so the drone database isn't that big of a stretch. The problem I have is the government watching my every move. I am strongly opposed to DJI and the government tracking my flights. The government does nothing efficiently, nor in moderation. It will be next to impossible stop once it gets going. Where would it end?

 

[len750]

That was just part of the hysteria when the FAA announced registration.

The FAA is not posting the names and street addresses of registered owners because the data is exempt from disclosure under a FOIA exemption that protects information in agency files from a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

The FAA based its determination to post only city, state and zip code on several factors, including, in part, that many of the registrants are minors and only hobbyists or recreational users. In addition, when the FAA published its Federal Register notice pertaining to the new unmanned aircraft registration system it specifically advised the public that name and addresses would only be available by the registration number issued to the registrant. For these reasons, the FAA believes the privacy interest in such data outweighs any public interest.​

Click here to see the actual database: http://www.faa.gov/foia/electronic_reading_room/media/Reg-by-City-State-Zip-12May2016.xlsx

I'm not so sure I would call it 'hysteria'. Things like this happen. Newspaper sparks outrage for publishing names, addresses of gun permit holders - CNN.com

 

[sar104]

I'm not so sure I would call it 'hysteria'. Things like this happen. Newspaper sparks outrage for publishing names, addresses of gun permit holders - CNN.com

But that's an entirely false equivalence, since the information was obtained by an FOIA request. The FAA UAV database is specifically exempted from FOIA.

 

[GMack]

The FAA already has a public database for my pilot license and aircraft registration for my "regular" plane, so the drone database isn't that big of a stretch. The problem I have is the government watching my every move. I am strongly opposed to DJI and the government tracking my flights. The government does nothing efficiently, nor in moderation. It will be next to impossible stop once it gets going. Where would it end?

I'm not in favor of DJI installing "Tattleware" on the drones either, but I fear they already have. Some updates are not able to be rolled back so it might already exist on your drone or controller. So now you can wait to find your ticket is in the mail for some rule or ordinance violation (Insert "Demolition Man" language violation citations here.).

I suspect a lot of these recent video break-ups are caused by "call homes" over some open ports in the hardware (Tin-foil hat here.). My ipad Air 2 never broke up generations back, but seems it is doing so with each iteration of GO so something is going on someplace - and maybe for nefarious reasons too.

I still have the FAA letter about being opted-out out of appearing on their soon to be released 107 public list too. Still pondering that too, but need to do it within 60 days now (It is good for 90 days before you're automatically put on it.).

Time to get a Futaba radio and radio controller before it's too late for "DJI's Tattleware" to appear. At that point, I'll stuff the DJI stuff into a tree limb shredder.

 

[Skyler King III]

Those who engage in illegal activities with drones may want to know that they are being put on notice. DJI proposes a remote, "license plate-type system" which is being viewed as a balanced approach based on rising problems associated with drones. Is this an extreme reaction?

It is very obvious that if we don't aggressively self-police, this (USA) will be like Canada is with drones now. I suggest that when we see a post of something crazy or obviously in violations of regs/rules/safe flying, that we advise poster of the problem and consider further action. I don't want to lose my privileges of some shmuck with a drone. I see many posts that when the use is advise of obvious unsafe practices, they say "what, you never drive over the speed limit?" You don't need my permission to criticize my stance here but we're are getting very close to over-regulation because of the growing number of "shmucks" out there, Just saying'......

 

[Russ43Phantom]

My guess, the way some disregard FAA 107 rulings, is that manufacturers, including DJI, will be required to provide real time tracking information to FAA regulatory computers so that violations can be identified in real time. When the price of a Phantom level drone drops below $500, it will be the only way regulations can be enforced. No amount of manpower will meet the task ... whether FAA "police" or through self-regulation. The FAA tag will be built into the drone and the buyer of the drone will have a personal profile entered into the FAA system. There will be no differentiation between hobby or commercial pilot. Given this scenario, we had all better consciously and seriously learn what the regulations are and abide by them.

 

[GMack]

My fear is this plan will become an easy cash-cow or policing-for-profit scheme.

Almost any flight can likely break some rule depending on location. some FAA rules are very gray as it is as well as city ordiances. Maybe you flew beyond VLOS or more than maybe 400 feet high? Within some airport or helipad somewhere? School? Maybe some outfit like Telsa has a "Nothing flown under 250 feet near their plant" as with the Nevada recent infraction by a drone? Flying in the city over some populated road where people were walking under you? Some infrastructure claimed NFZ area that is banned by local or state? City buildings? Trespassing ordinance somewhere? Night flights? No commercial film permit on file? No insurance? No 107 or current license? Reckless endangerment (Gray area, maybe to include hand-catching?)? Flying outside the perimeter of a sanctioned or approved flying field? Etc.

The infraction list could go on a long ways and then you get your multiple fines in the mail much like a red light camera and maybe from some third-party outfit. Tracking outfits like DJI could sell this as a big money maker to local cities who will likely sign on too much like they did with red light or speed cameras. I know a truck driver and his company's satellite tracking is on him 24/7 while driving and if he breaks the speed limit by 5 MPH he can be fired at the end of that day's run.

 

[sar104]

My fear is this plan will become an easy cash-cow or policing-for-profit scheme.

Almost any flight can likely break some rule depending on location. some FAA rules are very gray as it is as well as city ordiances. Maybe you flew beyond VLOS or more than maybe 400 feet high? Within some airport or helipad somewhere? School? Maybe some outfit like Telsa has a "Nothing flown under 250 feet near their plant" as with the Nevada recent infraction by a drone? Flying in the city over some populated road where people were walking under you? Some infrastructure claimed NFZ area that is banned by local or state? City buildings? Trespassing ordinance somewhere? Night flights? No commercial film permit on file? No insurance? No 107 or current license? Reckless endangerment (Gray area, maybe to include hand-catching?)? Flying outside the perimeter of a sanctioned or approved flying field? Etc.

The infraction list could go on a long ways and then you get your multiple fines in the mail much like a red light camera and maybe from some third-party outfit. Tracking outfits like DJI could sell this as a big money maker to local cities who will likely sign on too much like they did with red light or speed cameras. I know a truck driver and his company's satellite tracking is on him 24/7 while driving and if he breaks the speed limit by 5 MPH he can be fired at the end of that day's run.

In my opinion this is an unwarranted slippery slope argument. Just because the FAA has introduced some regulation on the use of UAVs and that tracking technology exists, it does not follow that the events that you describe will happen. Even your trucking example is not a reasonable comparison, since it represents a private company regulating the actions of its employees rather than a government attempt to regulate private citizens.

 

[dgd3]

I was just reading an old news article about a proposed registry system in the USA:

FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available

Article link below from Forbes.com December, 2015:

FAA Finally Admits Names And Home Addresses In Drone Registry Will Be Publicly Available

Has the above publicly available registry actually been implemented? (I am not in the USA.) I don't really understand this. Thousands of people are killed in car accidents every year, yet there is no publicly available database of car owners!?

If I lived there that would be the best reason why I'll never register, just like I'll never here.