Rural Pilots Won’t Be Happy About the FAA’s New Drone Rules

A DJ1 Phantom Quadcopter Drone in flight. Paul Mayall/AP

The FAA is preparing to release its first set of rules governing how everyone from hobbyists to movie producers to ranchers can use drones. That’s good news, in the sense that some regulation is probably better than none—what we have now—when it comes to flying machines.

Unfortunately, while some of the proposed rules would do a lot to keep us safe, they could also significantly hamper some really good uses for drones in more rural areas. Part of the problem is that the FAA rules assign drone pilots into just two categories: Hobbyists who are flying drones in their backyard, and “commercial” pilots who are making money.

“We have to get away from these mindsets that there’s a difference between buying a DJI Phantom [a popular $1,000 drone] as a private citizen or for looking at crops,” says Ella Atkins, an associate professor for aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. Instead of dividing folks into hobbyists and commercial, Atkins believes it’s more important to “think about where they’re flying,” especially whether it’s an urban or rural area. Under these rules, “we’re not able to distinguish Times Square from a farm, and that’s a problem.”

The new proposed rules, expected before the end of the year according to the Wall Street Journal , will apply to drones under 55 pounds, limit flights to daytime hours, under 400 feet, and within the pilot’s line of sight. They would also require all drone operators to acquire a pilot’s license from the FAA. Not a special, drone-focused license, but the kind you need to actually get in a plane and fly it.

That’s not totally unreasonable. Part of getting a pilot’s license is learning all about different classes of airspace, where it is acceptable and unacceptable to fly, how to communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft, and what to do in an emergency. For a drone pilot operating in, say, Manhattan, knowing what areas to avoid is really important and having a dedicated course and certification process makes a lot of sense.

In more rural areas, however, there simply aren’t that many things to fly into. Apart from town centers and highways, most of the middle of the country is filled up with wide open spaces. That makes the onerous process of getting a license—including dozens of hours of work with an expensive flight instructor, a medical examination, and lots of classroom time—seem less necessary when the only things you might hit are cows and stalks of corn.

The 400-foot ceiling and line of sight requirements are also impractical for many possible drone uses in rural areas. For example, electric utilities routinely use helicopters to inspect their long-haul high-voltage power lines, to check they’re in working order and make sure trees haven’t grown too close to them. Farmers could use the unmanned aircraft to inspect crops, and ranchers could keep an eye on their herds, over thousands of acres. This is the kind of work drones are perfect for, but only if they can fly over long distances and far above the 200-foot towers.

One reason pilots don’t fly their planes at very low altitudes is because the closer you are to the ground, the less time you have to find a safe spot to land if something goes wrong. Flying at a higher altitude buys you time, and that’s true whether you’re operating a drone from afar or are seated in the cockpit.

Let’s note that these are early days in the rule-making process, and the FAA is known for being deliberate, if also exceptionally slow. The regulations as reported by the Journal will likely go through many more iterations before they’re finalized. But rulemakers should consider that flying over a remote nature preserve to track the migration of animals is very different from flying over the Brooklyn Bridge to track the daily movement of commuters.

The key, Atkins says, is not just translating rules for manned aviation to unmanned flight. We need rules that focus specifically on the needs of drone pilots, both in rural and urban areas. “We want regulations that help the farmer” and “help everybody remain safe,” Atkins says. The proposed rules don’t really deliver, especially since it’s likely that many will simply continue to ignore some of the more pernicious aspects. If regulation is a good thing, considerate regulation is even better.

WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: The Office (UK Version)

BBC

We can all agree that The Office—the original 2001 BBC2 series, not the long-running American version—is the most influential comedy since Seinfeld, right? Its DNA is everywhere you look today: from the single-camera, faux-documentary shooting style of its American successor and Parks & Recreation, to the cringe-inducing humor of Bridesmaids and I Love You, Man.

Read More Binge-Watching Guides

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Freaks and Geeks

Party Down

The shortlived series takes the mockumentary approach to its logical extreme, making the format feel real and the awkwardness as close to unbearable as possible; the result is a show you just can’t look away from, even if you want to—and you often want to. That admittedly sounds unpleasant, and it would be were the show not able to stay so grounded. It’s impossible not to like these characters, even David Brent, the insufferable, attention-desperate boss whose incompetence is directly proportional to his desire to be liked.

Video: F1 Drivers Race Through a Dubai Mall in Renault’s Tiny EV

The battery-powered Renault Twizy is one of those vehicles that’s hard to define. It’s got four wheels, but it’s not really a car (technically, it’s a quadricycle). It resembles a golf cart but its 13-kilowatt electric motor can send it up to 50 mph. And when you put Formula One drivers behind the wheel, it still looks goofy, but also like a ton of fun.

That’s the point of this video, starring Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Both drive for the Lotus F1 team, which uses a Renault engine. Neither driver had a good 2014 season: They scored 10 points between them, compared to champion Lewis Hamilton’s 384. But they’re still among the best drivers in the world, and when you give them a lightweight ride with plenty of power and free run of the enormous and nearly empty Dubai Mall, they can put on a show.

There are two approaches to enjoying this video: If you’re going to be stuck in the office for the full day, go ahead and watch the full thing (it’s only two minutes). But if your goal is to get home before the bad weather and traffic locks you in at work, use our quick guide to the six best moments and where to find them.

0:19—Maldonado and Grosjean start driving after a gratuitous intro.

0:28—Things start to get exciting at Grosjean breaks loose the back of his Twizy.

0:34—The shot of the (real, 150 million-year-old) dinosaur skeleton in the Dubai Mall provides a subtle reminder that gas-power still dominates our driving. No matter how fun driving the electric Twizy looks.

0:54—In the best 20-second chunk of this video, Grosjean hits the ice rink, spinning his Twizy in circles as Maldonado happily watches from behind the glass.

1:22—Maldonado backs his Twizy into an elevator, pointing out how small this thing really is.

1:49—The drivers speed through a tunnel in the mall’s aquarium, with fish all around them. Maldonado is clearly having a great time.

The Internet of Things Is Far Bigger Than Anyone Realizes (Part 2)

CardioMEMs sensors are implanted using minimally invasive techniques. intelfreepress/Flickr

Last week I talked about how people are thinking too small when they think about the Internet of Things (See Part 1). When we truly consider the ramifications of connecting a vast array of data-gathering sensors, devices, and machines together, what’s important to realize is that information will be translated into action at a rate that we have never seen before. We are closing in on a world with infinitesimal reaction times, immediate responses to changing conditions, and unparalleled control in managing assets and resources.

The key is not to think small. Like I said, the Internet of Things (IoT) is not merely about creating savings within current industry models. It’s about upending old models entirely, creating new services and new products. There is no one sector where the Internet of Things is making the biggest impact; it will disrupt every industry imaginable, including agriculture, energy, security, disaster management, and healthcare, just to name a few.

For example, construction companies have begun equipping silos and trucks with sensors that can monitor inventory levels, such as the amount of concrete, and transmit it via a cloud-based platform to speed up deliveries and ensure a steady pipeline. And giants in the oil industry have started to implement mobile, sensor-to-machine technologies that combat accidents well in advance through quick analysis and immediate action. When sensors detect an issue such as a corroded pipeline or leak, M2M tech allows workers to immediately address it.

Another example of new IoT technology at work in the oil industry is a smart well. This is a well with flow control devices and downhole sensors installed, so it can be monitored and controlled from the surface, without risking the safety of workers. The smart well utilizes 4D seismic technology, which monitors gas breakout, water flow, pressure changes, and any other alterations caused by fluctuating seismic movement, making it easier to predict and control seismic impacts that can cause significant damage.

But we’re still thinking too small. Go beyond construction, beyond energy. We have sensors that can measure force, load, torque, and pressure; sensors that can sniff out gas and chemicals; sensors that can hear sound vibrations and distinguish between different acoustics; sensors that can take temperatures, detect motion, velocity, and displacement; identify position, presence, and proximity. In other words, we have the ability to gather virtually unlimited intelligence in real time.

How do you make this intelligence useful? Take a look at your own home. What parts can you make smart? Here’s a simple one. I once observed a video conferencing system that allowed a dog owner to actually talk to his dog, call it over, and feed it remotely through a smart appliance. Think bigger. A house that knows when you’re coming home because it’s connected to a sensor in your car or smartphone. A home that links smoke alarms, security systems, and infotainment consoles to your phone. A home with sensors built into the pipes that can see leaks before they occur.

Perhaps you’re noticing a trend here. One of the biggest advantages of smart technologies is the ability to predict and prevent problems from anywhere. If a car battery were smart, it would tell you exactly how many more trips you could take before it died. If you could monitor and control your assets remotely in real time, you would know the minute a problem erupted, exactly where and what it is, and you’d take advantage of major cost savings.

Wearable tech is going to disrupt health care in extreme ways too. We know that the new Apple Watch is going to have a sensor to monitor your heart rate and offer a host of apps that facilitate and encourage a healthy lifestyle. We already have sensors in our shoe to monitor how far we’ve run and how many calories we’ve burned. What’s next? There will be hospital optimization, where we have sensors that can detect bacteria on the equipment and smart scrubs that can detect viruses that may have traveled from a sick patient.

As I said earlier, this is a huge and transformational shift. It won’t stop with intelligent homes and businesses. We’re going to end up with intelligent highways and vehicles, intelligent factories and farms, intelligent utility and power grids. This is not some flight of fantasy, or one of many potential outcomes (what I call a soft trend). This is a hard trend: it’s a projection based on measurable facts, facts that cannot be changed.

I haven’t even come close to listing all the ways this technology is going to impact us. It’s going to create disruption and opportunity in every imaginable field, and it’s entirely up to you whether you’re going to be one of the disrupted or the disruptors. Because this is going to happen. It’s time to learn about it now.

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and innovation experts, and is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research. He is the author of six books including the New York Times best seller “Flash Foresight.”

Rural Pilots Won’t Be Happy About the FAA’s New Drone Rules

A DJ1 Phantom Quadcopter Drone in flight. Paul Mayall/AP

The FAA is preparing to release its first set of rules governing how everyone from hobbyists to movie producers to ranchers can use drones. That’s good news, in the sense that some regulation is probably better than none—what we have now—when it comes to flying machines.

Unfortunately, while some of the proposed rules would do a lot to keep us safe, they could also significantly hamper some really good uses for drones in more rural areas. Part of the problem is that the FAA rules assign drone pilots into just two categories: Hobbyists who are flying drones in their backyard, and “commercial” pilots who are making money.

“We have to get away from these mindsets that there’s a difference between buying a DJI Phantom [a popular $1,000 drone] as a private citizen or for looking at crops,” says Ella Atkins, an associate professor for aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. Instead of dividing folks into hobbyists and commercial, Atkins believes it’s more important to “think about where they’re flying,” especially whether it’s an urban or rural area. Under these rules, “we’re not able to distinguish Times Square from a farm, and that’s a problem.”

The new proposed rules, expected before the end of the year according to the Wall Street Journal , will apply to drones under 55 pounds, limit flights to daytime hours, under 400 feet, and within the pilot’s line of sight. They would also require all drone operators to acquire a pilot’s license from the FAA. Not a special, drone-focused license, but the kind you need to actually get in a plane and fly it.

That’s not totally unreasonable. Part of getting a pilot’s license is learning all about different classes of airspace, where it is acceptable and unacceptable to fly, how to communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft, and what to do in an emergency. For a drone pilot operating in, say, Manhattan, knowing what areas to avoid is really important and having a dedicated course and certification process makes a lot of sense.

In more rural areas, however, there simply aren’t that many things to fly into. Apart from town centers and highways, most of the middle of the country is filled up with wide open spaces. That makes the onerous process of getting a license—including dozens of hours of work with an expensive flight instructor, a medical examination, and lots of classroom time—seem less necessary when the only things you might hit are cows and stalks of corn.

The 400-foot ceiling and line of sight requirements are also impractical for many possible drone uses in rural areas. For example, electric utilities routinely use helicopters to inspect their long-haul high-voltage power lines, to check they’re in working order and make sure trees haven’t grown too close to them. Farmers could use the unmanned aircraft to inspect crops, and ranchers could keep an eye on their herds, over thousands of acres. This is the kind of work drones are perfect for, but only if they can fly over long distances and far above the 200-foot towers.

One reason pilots don’t fly their planes at very low altitudes is because the closer you are to the ground, the less time you have to find a safe spot to land if something goes wrong. Flying at a higher altitude buys you time, and that’s true whether you’re operating a drone from afar or are seated in the cockpit.

Let’s note that these are early days in the rule-making process, and the FAA is known for being deliberate, if also exceptionally slow. The regulations as reported by the Journal will likely go through many more iterations before they’re finalized. But rulemakers should consider that flying over a remote nature preserve to track the migration of animals is very different from flying over the Brooklyn Bridge to track the daily movement of commuters.

The key, Atkins says, is not just translating rules for manned aviation to unmanned flight. We need rules that focus specifically on the needs of drone pilots, both in rural and urban areas. “We want regulations that help the farmer” and “help everybody remain safe,” Atkins says. The proposed rules don’t really deliver, especially since it’s likely that many will simply continue to ignore some of the more pernicious aspects. If regulation is a good thing, considerate regulation is even better.

Twitter’s New Targeted Ads Will Peek at the Other Apps on Your Phone

Ariel Zambelich/WIRED

Twitter will soon identify the other apps on your phone in an effort to personalize your experience on its service—i.e. serve you targeted ads.

The company discusses that the move on its website, and according to the news site Re/code, this sort of tracking will begin with a new version of its iPhone app, set to roll out on Wednesday. A new Android version that works in much the same way, the site says, will roll out over the next week or so.

Now a public company, Twitter is exploring many different ways to boosting its revenue, and one method is through better targeted ads. The company already has some personal information about those using its service—what they type into their Twitter profiles and the tweets they post—but now, they company wants more. “Help build a more personal Twitter experience for you, we are collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device so we can deliver tailored content that you might be interested in,” the company says.

In this way, it’s following the lead of Facebook and Google and so many others that seek to target ads. The difference is that Twitter doesn’t have access to nearly as much personal data as Facebook, which inherently encourages users to provide do much information about themselves, or Google, which operates such as wide range of series atop its own mobile OS. So Twitter is reaching out into other parts of the phone, something that is easy to do. The Apple and Google mobile OSes provide ready access to information like this, and many apps take advantage of this—sone going much further than others.

Twitter says it will point users to its new data policy, via an in-app notification, before it starts collecting any personal information. But the new update is opt-out, which means that in order for the company to stop gathering data on your account, you must explicitly turn this data collection off. But few users are likely to do so.

WIRED Binge-Watching Guide: The Office (UK Version)

BBC

We can all agree that The Office—the original 2001 BBC2 series, not the long-running American version—is the most influential comedy since Seinfeld, right? Its DNA is everywhere you look today: from the single-camera, faux-documentary shooting style of its American successor and Parks & Recreation, to the cringe-inducing humor of Bridesmaids and I Love You, Man.

Read More Binge-Watching Guides

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Freaks and Geeks

Party Down

The shortlived series takes the mockumentary approach to its logical extreme, making the format feel real and the awkwardness as close to unbearable as possible; the result is a show you just can’t look away from, even if you want to—and you often want to. That admittedly sounds unpleasant, and it would be were the show not able to stay so grounded. It’s impossible not to like these characters, even David Brent, the insufferable, attention-desperate boss whose incompetence is directly proportional to his desire to be liked.

Video: F1 Drivers Race Through a Dubai Mall in Renault’s Tiny EV

The battery-powered Renault Twizy is one of those vehicles that’s hard to define. It’s got four wheels, but it’s not really a car (technically, it’s a quadricycle). It resembles a golf cart but its 13-kilowatt electric motor can send it up to 50 mph. And when you put Formula One drivers behind the wheel, it still looks goofy, but also like a ton of fun.

That’s the point of this video, starring Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Both drive for the Lotus F1 team, which uses a Renault engine. Neither driver had a good 2014 season: They scored 10 points between them, compared to champion Lewis Hamilton’s 384. But they’re still among the best drivers in the world, and when you give them a lightweight ride with plenty of power and free run of the enormous and nearly empty Dubai Mall, they can put on a show.

There are two approaches to enjoying this video: If you’re going to be stuck in the office for the full day, go ahead and watch the full thing (it’s only two minutes). But if your goal is to get home before the bad weather and traffic locks you in at work, use our quick guide to the six best moments and where to find them.

0:19—Maldonado and Grosjean start driving after a gratuitous intro.

0:28—Things start to get exciting at Grosjean breaks loose the back of his Twizy.

0:34—The shot of the (real, 150 million-year-old) dinosaur skeleton in the Dubai Mall provides a subtle reminder that gas-power still dominates our driving. No matter how fun driving the electric Twizy looks.

0:54—In the best 20-second chunk of this video, Grosjean hits the ice rink, spinning his Twizy in circles as Maldonado happily watches from behind the glass.

1:22—Maldonado backs his Twizy into an elevator, pointing out how small this thing really is.

1:49—The drivers speed through a tunnel in the mall’s aquarium, with fish all around them. Maldonado is clearly having a great time.

The Internet of Things Is Far Bigger Than Anyone Realizes (Part 2)

CardioMEMs sensors are implanted using minimally invasive techniques. intelfreepress/Flickr

Last week I talked about how people are thinking too small when they think about the Internet of Things (See Part 1). When we truly consider the ramifications of connecting a vast array of data-gathering sensors, devices, and machines together, what’s important to realize is that information will be translated into action at a rate that we have never seen before. We are closing in on a world with infinitesimal reaction times, immediate responses to changing conditions, and unparalleled control in managing assets and resources.

The key is not to think small. Like I said, the Internet of Things (IoT) is not merely about creating savings within current industry models. It’s about upending old models entirely, creating new services and new products. There is no one sector where the Internet of Things is making the biggest impact; it will disrupt every industry imaginable, including agriculture, energy, security, disaster management, and healthcare, just to name a few.

For example, construction companies have begun equipping silos and trucks with sensors that can monitor inventory levels, such as the amount of concrete, and transmit it via a cloud-based platform to speed up deliveries and ensure a steady pipeline. And giants in the oil industry have started to implement mobile, sensor-to-machine technologies that combat accidents well in advance through quick analysis and immediate action. When sensors detect an issue such as a corroded pipeline or leak, M2M tech allows workers to immediately address it.

Another example of new IoT technology at work in the oil industry is a smart well. This is a well with flow control devices and downhole sensors installed, so it can be monitored and controlled from the surface, without risking the safety of workers. The smart well utilizes 4D seismic technology, which monitors gas breakout, water flow, pressure changes, and any other alterations caused by fluctuating seismic movement, making it easier to predict and control seismic impacts that can cause significant damage.

But we’re still thinking too small. Go beyond construction, beyond energy. We have sensors that can measure force, load, torque, and pressure; sensors that can sniff out gas and chemicals; sensors that can hear sound vibrations and distinguish between different acoustics; sensors that can take temperatures, detect motion, velocity, and displacement; identify position, presence, and proximity. In other words, we have the ability to gather virtually unlimited intelligence in real time.

How do you make this intelligence useful? Take a look at your own home. What parts can you make smart? Here’s a simple one. I once observed a video conferencing system that allowed a dog owner to actually talk to his dog, call it over, and feed it remotely through a smart appliance. Think bigger. A house that knows when you’re coming home because it’s connected to a sensor in your car or smartphone. A home that links smoke alarms, security systems, and infotainment consoles to your phone. A home with sensors built into the pipes that can see leaks before they occur.

Perhaps you’re noticing a trend here. One of the biggest advantages of smart technologies is the ability to predict and prevent problems from anywhere. If a car battery were smart, it would tell you exactly how many more trips you could take before it died. If you could monitor and control your assets remotely in real time, you would know the minute a problem erupted, exactly where and what it is, and you’d take advantage of major cost savings.

Wearable tech is going to disrupt health care in extreme ways too. We know that the new Apple Watch is going to have a sensor to monitor your heart rate and offer a host of apps that facilitate and encourage a healthy lifestyle. We already have sensors in our shoe to monitor how far we’ve run and how many calories we’ve burned. What’s next? There will be hospital optimization, where we have sensors that can detect bacteria on the equipment and smart scrubs that can detect viruses that may have traveled from a sick patient.

As I said earlier, this is a huge and transformational shift. It won’t stop with intelligent homes and businesses. We’re going to end up with intelligent highways and vehicles, intelligent factories and farms, intelligent utility and power grids. This is not some flight of fantasy, or one of many potential outcomes (what I call a soft trend). This is a hard trend: it’s a projection based on measurable facts, facts that cannot be changed.

I haven’t even come close to listing all the ways this technology is going to impact us. It’s going to create disruption and opportunity in every imaginable field, and it’s entirely up to you whether you’re going to be one of the disrupted or the disruptors. Because this is going to happen. It’s time to learn about it now.

Daniel Burrus is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and innovation experts, and is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research. He is the author of six books including the New York Times best seller “Flash Foresight.”

3-D Printed Parts That Help Your Kids Play With Their Food

With these 3-D printed parts, kids can turn veggies into vehicles. Samuel Bernier

With these 3-D printed parts, kids can turn veggies into vehicles.

Samuel Bernier

The project is called Open Toys. Samuel Bernier

The project is called Open Toys.

Samuel Bernier

Carrotmobile! Samuel Bernier

Carrotmobile!

Samuel Bernier

French designer Samuel Bernier came up with the idea. Samuel Bernier

French designer Samuel Bernier came up with the idea.

Samuel Bernier

"There are no rules to this game, so it's just plain creativity," he says. Samuel Bernier

"There are no rules to this game, so it's just plain creativity," he says.

Samuel Bernier

Countdown to a rocket ride. Leaving the plate in 5...4...

Countdown to a rocket ride. Leaving the plate in 5...4...

If your kid is going to play with her vegetables, you might as well let her really get down to business.

Open Toys, a project by French designer Samuel Bernier of le FabShop, is a series of 3-D printable pieces that turn veggies into submarines, race cars, airplanes, and more. The set includes wheels, wings, propellers and cockpits, all of which can be mixed and matched on any piece of produce your kid is not eating, no way, no how.

Bernier came up with the idea in 2013, during a summer workshop at Domaine de Boisbuchet, a 15th-century French estate that hosts educational programming related to design and architecture. “I was trying to find a way to combine natural and artificial in a beautiful way,” he says. “Low tech and high tech.”

Kids playing with the parts at a recent pop-up gallery in Paris. Samuel Bernier

The designer revisited the idea last month when Autodesk was holding a pop-up gallery in Paris. He printed a bunch of pieces and left them on a table with an assortment of vegetables. Kids ate it up, so to speak. “There are no rules to this game, so it was just plain creativity,” he says.

Bernier’s done a number of clever projects in this vein. A few years back, he fabricated a series of striking shades for his busted Ikea lamp. It’s a thoughtful use of the technology: In a world that’s already full of stuff, Bernier uses 3-D printing to give some of that stuff new life. Just make sure your kid realizes that his cucumbermobile might go missing next time you want to make a summer salad.