This week Yifei and Seth catch on the recent releases of new products and events like DJI’s L2 payload, drone shows, and a potential new drone market.
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In the wake of recent moves to facilitate drone operations in the formerly closed skies of New York City, officials are now reportedly examining the further expansion of already increasing police use of UAVs to include emergency responder activities – provoking immediate, albeit suspiciously motivated alarm.
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In the wake of the city’s recent decision to introduce permitting procedures expected to ease its notoriously tight drone restrictions, the New York Police Department (NYPD) has moved to expand its own fleet by procuring cutting-edge BRINC tactical UAVs designed for use in critical situations to reduce threat to human lives.
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If drones are being deployed to keep people safe from sharks at the city’s beaches, the New York Police Department (NYPD) figures they may prove just as useful in broadcasting audio messages to residents of areas facing emergency situations.
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New York City Council is pushing to use drones for facade inspections in New York City following a horrific accident last year, when a piece of facade came loose from a building and killed a pedestrian.
Justin Brannan, who represents Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Bath Beach in the City Council, argues in the New York Daily News that “it’s time for New York to craft common-sense regulations for drones.” I couldn’t agree with him more. However, Brannan also mentions new legislation that he has drafted to allow drones to be flown in the city. He mentions registration and insurance requirements as well as a form of Remote ID. It is unclear whether his drafted legislation is in line with what the FAA is doing, or whether Brannan is proposing legislation purely for drone flying in New York City. I would argue against the latter, as it will contribute to an impossibly hard-to-navigate patchwork of drone laws around the country, similar to what Mike Lee is suggesting with the Drone Integration and Zoning Act.
Last year we reported on how an outdated law prohibits drone flying in New York City. Today, the Wall Street Journal writes about how drone “technology’s hand is being tied behind its back” by this decade-old law. While other cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago are embracing drone technology, New York City is falling further behind. For instance, the use of drones could save tremendous amounts of time during the five-year inspections of building facades that are currently done manually. Not having to set up scaffolding around New York high-rises also eliminates the risks involved when people have to ascend these structures to perform the mandatory inspections. Drones from companies such as Automodaility and PrecisionHawk could do that work faster, safer, and more cheaply. The article also points out the safety concerns that industry insiders have for New York’s residents and the general public. See below for some quotes and highlights from this Wall Street Journal article [paywall].
You’d like to fly your drone in NYC? Well, it is probably best to watch this video first. Griffin Hammond does a great job explaining why it’s mostly illegal to fly your drone in NYC. He lists four main reasons as to why he, even as an FAA-certified pilot, can’t fly drones in New York City. There’s a fifth reason, not mentioned in the video, that should also warn you against flying your unmanned aircraft in the big apple. Luckily there are a few places where you can still legally fly and you will not be hunted down by the NYPD.
Last week, Tech:NYC together with DJI, organized their third edition of Policy Labs ‘Drones 101’ at DJI’s offices in New York. The event brings together industry leaders and policymakers to discuss the implications of emerging technology. This time the focus was on drones and the outdated NYC law that restrict drone use in both the city of New York and the state.
To celebrate the 4th of July, Casey Neistat just released this video on YouTube of him drone surfing on New York City’s East River. A lot of the footage in the short film is really quite stunning as the city provides an awesome backdrop for all his stunts, not just in this video. Regardless of what you think of his FAA rules-breaking drone flying, you have to admit that Casey has a nick for attention-grabbing videos. Check out his latest video and the behind the scenes video below and let us know what you think. Is he celebrating the 4 of July or his seemingly independence of the drone rules that do apply to the rest of us?
In their December issue, the New York Magazine has published a number of amazing drone photos of iconic buildings and locations in New York City. The aerial photos, taken by Humza Deas, are all captured with the #straightdown perspective that we have come to appreciate so much.
The drone photos show the Statue of Liberty, The Chrysler Building, Grand Central Terminal, the Unisphere, Stuyvesant Town, Columbus Circle, Port Authority Bus Terminal and more all taken by flying the drone straight overhead. The result is amazing and shows the city in ways few of us have ever seen.
CBS New York joined the NYPD on a mission to hunt drones in New York City. With the number of drones rapidly increasing, 770,000 drones have been registered with the FAA as of earlier this year, so is the number of drone incidents. CBS2’s Maurice Dubois took to the sky with the NYPD to see how they are cracking down on rogue drones.
