Following the federal court ruling from May that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to create a national registry of recreational drone operators was unconstitutional, President Trump and his administration introduced legislation that would require the government to prove a drone is a security threat to government-protected properties before being legally allowed to destroy or down it. While this implementation of drone policy has yet to pass, Trump continued to focus on federal drone policy when he announced his intention to privatize air traffic control. This would be a huge boon to commercial drone use, particularly in pulling drone delivery in the US closer to reality. In the meantime, the administration has organized a meeting for Thursday with four of the largest drone companies in the world.
According to Recode, the four companies in question are Kespry, AirMap, PrecisionHawk, and Airspace, which are all based in the United States. In order to understand what this convergence of drone companies will bring about, we'll have to dig into their specialties. It is known, however, that among the topics of discussion, wireless 5G technologies will be discussed as well. The specific goals of the drone meeting are yet to be disclosed, but from all of the aforementioned desire to consolidate drone laws in order to allow the corporate sector to grow, the overall objective here seems clear. Of course, security measures will be covered, as well. Let's have a look at the list of attendees.
Kespry, for example, is a drone company that focuses specifically on construction, mining and insurance industries. This would likely boost Trump's stance on actively supporting the miners of this country. CEO of Kespry, George Matthew, will attend alongside one of his clients from the construction industry.
AirMap's founders Greg McNeal and Ben Marcus will be at the meeting as well. Their company supplies nearly all airports in the country with alert systems for nearby drones and maps restricted airspace areas which Texas legislation recently called "critical infrastructures" to prevent UAVs from entering. According to Recode, AirMap's core alert and mapping system is used by DJI and Intel drones, the former of which is a Chinese company with 50 percent of US hobby drone market share.
PrecisionHawk is a drone company that specializes in drone data analysis, particularly in the agricultural and energy fields. Think crop and pipeline inspections, and you'll understand CEO Michael Chasen's goals for the company.
Airspace builds software that we've recently reported on a lot—downing or destroying unwelcome aerial visitors at public events or properties that require absolute security and airspace control. Jaz Banga, Airspace's CEO, will personally be at the meeting.
Kespry and PrecisionHawk hue closely together, while AirMap and Airspace seem to share a lot in common. All in all, this seems like a sophisticated group of drone innovators to meet with, if one were inclined to consolidate drone regulations, increase security, and maximize profits in certain industries. For somebody like Trump, who could use the support of any industry that will take him, using drone technology to focus on mining, agriculture, and energy seems like a smart idea. Regardless of the political implications here, it's exciting to see the evolution of drones and their tangible implementation into everyday American life. Perhaps a few years from now, we'll have UAVs zipping by our windows, delivering our morning coffees, all while legally and safely following standard federal regulations.