By Evan Ackerman GMTFAA Task Force Recommends Registration for All Drones 250 Grams and Up

Photo： Robert Lz via Fllickr

Over the weekend， the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s acronym-laden Unmanned Aircraft Systems （UAS） Registration Task Force （RTF） Aviation Rulemaking Committee （ARC） released its final report， consisting of a set of recommendations on how the FAA should implement mandatory registration of consumer drones. The most immediately relevant is the minimum mass required for registration， which is a mere 250 grams （a little more than half a pound）。 In other words， if your drone weighs more than 250 grams， the FAA’s drone registration will most likely apply to you.

In addition to details on the registration process， the 18-page document also includes some justification for why the task force made the recommendations it did. So， before you get out your pitchforks to protest the 250-gram weight threshold， let’s take a look at where it came from.

Why 250 Grams？

In determining its minimum requirements for small UAS （sUAS） that would need to be registered， the Task Force was concerned primarily with the safety of a hypothetical human on the ground， and what would happen if a wayward drone smacked said human in the head. Due to lack of data， they did not consider “UAS-aircraft collisions， engine ingestion， propeller， and rotor impacts by UAS，” although the report notes that “task force members representing manned aircraft organizations expressed specific concerns” about this omission.

Obviously， mass is only one component of how dangerous a drone might be in this situation： there’s also velocity to consider， among other things. But， trying to work in a bunch of other factors would be complicated， and the Task Force thought that might dissuade people registering their drones at all， so they just went with mass and nothing else.

To come up with the 250-gram minimum mass， the Task Force cited a study showing that “an object with a kinetic energy level of 80 joules （or approximately 59 foot-pounds） has a 30 percent probability of being lethal when striking a person in the head，” and then solved for a reasonable mass and velocity （250 grams traveling at 25 m/s）。 By estimating the mean time between failures of sUAS and making the assumption that sUAS would be flying over densely populated urban areas （even though they’re not supposed to）， the Task Force came up with a ground fatality risk of “4.7 x 10-8， or less than 1 ground fatality for every 20，000，000 flighthours of an sUAS.” This is about 10 times more dangerous than the acceptable risk levels for commercial aviation （air transport of passengers and cargo）， and 1000 times safer than the actual risk levels for general aviation （which includes commercial aviation plus all other kinds of flying things）， and the Task Force judged this to be “a reasonably acceptable risk level.”

This wasn’t an easy decision for the Task Force to make， as the report notes：

“The Task Force spent considerable time discussing and deliberating about what the appropriate weight threshold should be. While general agreement was ultimately reached on the 250 gram weight， there were Task Force members who believed it was too conservative， as the weight could negatively impact the credibility of the sUAS registration program and thus lessen compliance levels because it would require registration of some sUAS generally considered to be in the ‘toy’ category. Others took the opposite view that there should be no registration exemption for UAS of any size. There was also concern that other countries are considering or have already established regulatory cutoffs at much higher weights of 1 kilogram or 2 kilograms. Some also felt there was insufficient time afforded to fully evaluate the calculations and assumptions made that resulted in the 250 gram cutoff weight， particularly because the typical approved operation of small UAS， unlike the typical operation of manned aircraft， does not involve flight over unprotected people.

Certain task force members noted that the FAA’s 25 years of bird strike data show that fatal aircraft accidents caused by small and medium birds （weighing four pounds on average） are extremely rare despite the presence of billions of birds within the low altitudes where small UAS typically fly， and urged the FAA to select a weight that posed a similar safety risk.”

Having said all that， the Task Force is recommending the 250 gram threshold for registration， and that’s that， although they did ask the FAA to avoid using this threshold for anything but registration： they’re not saying that 》250 grams is somehow “l(fā)ess safe” and 《250 grams is somehow “more safe”—this is just what they came up with as a registration cutoff， and nothing else.

Register Your Drone

Here’s how the Task Force envisions the registration process going：

You buy a drone. If it weighs more than 250 grams （including payload）， you go to a website to register your drone before flying it outside. There may be an option to register your drone when you buy it， but it won’t be mandatory.On the website， you enter your full name and street address. You don’t need to give the FAA an email address， telephone number， or any specific information about your drone （although you can if you want）。 You also don’t need any kind of proof of citizenship， although you do need to be 13 or older due to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Younger kids can still fly drones， but they’ll need a parent or guardian to register them.There will probably be some “Know Before You Fly” stuff for you to look through during the registration process， although it won’t be a test， just a sort of “click here to acknowledge that you have read and understand this information.”There’s no fee.You’ll immediately receive a digital certificate of registration that contains a unique universal registration number. For a little bit of money， you can ask the FAA to mail you a physical copy， too. You’ll need to somehow put your registration number onto your drone so that it’s “readily accessible” before you fly the drone outside. This isn’t the same as “clearly visible”： you can hide the number in an enclosed battery compartment， for example， as long as tools aren’t required to access it.You should be prepared to show your registration certificate whenever you’re out flying your drone. If you get more drones， they’ll just use the same registration number that you already have： the number is associated with you， not with your drone. You’ll have the option to delete your registration if you stop flying your drone（s）。

That’s it.

What About Violations？

The FAA still needs to figure out how to enforce all this， and what happens if something goes wrong. For example， while the Task Force recommends that you should be prepared to show your registration certificate when you’re flying your drone， it’s unclear who you’d have to show it too， and under what circumstances， not to mention the consequences of not complying. Luckily for all of us， the Task Force does at least recognize the the current framework should definitely not be applied to sUAS：

“The Task Force recommends that the FAA establish a clear and proportionate penalty framework for violations. Current registration-related penalties （perhaps exceeding $25，000） were established in order to address and deter suspected drug traffickers and tax evaders who failed to register aircraft as part of larger nefarious schemes. Any person flying an sUAS， including consumers and juveniles， may now find themselves inadvertently in violation of this new system. The Task Force recommends that the FAA expressly establish a reasonable and proportionate penalty schedule that is distinct from those relating to traditional manned aviation.”

What Happens Next？

Adjusting， approving， and implementing the rules are up to the FAA now， but from the sound of things， they’re going to move fast. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta released a few statements on the report over the last few days; here’s the one worth caring about：

“We will consider ［the Task Force］ recommendations and the public comments as we develop an Interim Final Rule on registration， which will likely be released next month and go into effect shortly thereafter. This step will be followed by another opportunity for the public to comment as we move toward issuing a final rule on registration.”

Next month is December， so it still looks like the FAA is shooting to have something up and running by the time an estimated 400，000 new drones arrive for the holidays. But remember， even if you don’t get a new drone next month， these rules will be retroactive， and you’ll need to register in order to （legally） fly drones that you currently own.

Our guess is that whatever the penalty framework for violations ends up being， at least initially， it’ll be pretty forgiving as people get used to the new system. The FAA mostly just wants people to fly their drones safely， and registration that connects you with your drone encourages accountability while also giving the FAA at least one opportunity to inform each pilot about existing regulations designed to make things as safe and fun as possible for everybody.

［ Task Force Report （pdf） ］

自動翻譯僅供參考

美國聯(lián)邦航空局的工作小組建議，所有無人機250克登記了 faa專責小組建議所有無人機250克和up

照片登記：羅伯特LZ通過fllickr

周末，美國 聯(lián)邦航空局 的縮寫，拉登無人飛機系統(tǒng)（UAS）注冊任務部隊（RTF）航空規(guī)則制定委員會（ARC）發(fā)布它的最終報告，組成的一套建議，F(xiàn)AA應實施強制登記消費者無人機。最直接相關的是注冊所需的最低質量，這是一個僅僅250克（一個小的超過了半磅）。換句話說，如果你的無人機的重量超過250克，F(xiàn)AA 的無人登記將最有可能適用于你。

除了詳細的注冊過程，18頁的文件，還包括為什么任務力也建議一些正當?shù)睦碛?。所以，在你拿出叉子抗議250克重的門檻，讓‘ 看一看它是從哪里來的。

為什么是250克？

在確定小型UAS的最低要求（SUAS）需要注冊，專案組關心的主要是地面上的一個假設的人的安全，如果一個任性的無人機打在頭上的人說會發(fā)生什么。由于缺乏數(shù)據(jù)，他們沒有考慮 美國飛機碰撞，引擎攝食，螺旋槳，和轉子影響UAS， 雖然報告指出， 專案組成員代表的載人飛機組織具體問題”表示 這個遺漏。

明顯，質量是唯一的一個組成部分如何危險的無人機可能是這種情況：有 的速度考慮，在其他事情上。但是，試圖在一堆其他的因素很復雜，與工作小組認為可能導致注冊他們的無人機在所有的人，所以他們的質量和別的去。

拿出250克的最小質量，專案組引用的一項研究顯示， 以動能80焦耳的能量水平的一個對象（或約59英尺-磅）有百分之30 的概率是致命的打擊一個人的頭部， 然后解決合理的質量和速度（250克25米/秒的旅行）。估計故障SUAS和假設SUAS將飛越人口稠密的城市地區(qū)之間的平均時間（即使他們 你不應該），專責小組想出了一個“地面死亡風險 4.7×10-8，或小于1，病死率為每20000000 flighthours地面一個SUAS。 這是10次更危險比為可接受的風險水平 商業(yè)航空 （乘客和貨物航空運輸），比實際風險水平 安全1000倍 通用航空 （包括商業(yè)航空加飛行的東西等），以及小組判斷這是 一個合理的可接受的風險水平。

這并 為使特遣隊的一個容易的決定，正如報告指出

專責小組花了大量時間討論和審議什么合適的權值閾值應。雖然最終的協(xié)議是在250克的重量達到，有專案組成員誰認為它過于保守，因為體重可能產生負面影響的SUAS登記程序的可靠性和減輕合規(guī)水平，因為它需要一般被認為是在’一些SUAS登記 玩具 及nbsp 類別。人應該有對UAS任何尺寸的沒有注冊豁免相反的觀點。也有人認為其他國家正在考慮或已經(jīng)建立了監(jiān)管下限在更高的重量1公斤或2公斤。有的還覺得沒有足夠的時間給予充分的評價，導致在250克截止重量計算和假設，特別是因為典型的經(jīng)營小型UAS，不像載人飛機的典型操作，不涉及到未受保護的人飛行。

某些工作組成員注意到，F(xiàn)AA 的25年鳥擊數(shù)據(jù)顯示， 致命的飛機事故中小型鳥類造成（平均體重四磅）是極其罕見的，盡管在小型UAS通常飛的低海拔地區(qū)數(shù)十億鳥的存在，并敦促聯(lián)邦航空局選擇一個重量，構成了類似的安全風險。

說了這么多，任務力E推薦250克的注冊門檻，而 的，雖然他們也要求FAA避免不登記使用該閾值：他們 并不是說 gt 250克就是 不安全 和《 250克不知何故， 安全 mdash 這正是他們想出了一個登記截止，沒別的。

注冊你的雄蜂

這里 的任務如何力將注冊過程 你買一架無人機。如果它的重量超過250克（包括有效載荷），你去一個網(wǎng)站注冊您的無人機飛行之前，它的外部?？赡軙幸粋€選項來注冊你的無人機當你買它，但它不會 T是強制性的。在網(wǎng)站上，輸入你的姓名和地址。你不需要 不給FAA電子郵件地址，電話號碼，或任何關于你的無人機的具體信息（盡管你可以如果你想）。你也不需要任何證明 公民，盡管你需要13以上由于孩子 的在線隱私權保護法案。年輕的孩子們仍然可以飛行的無人駕駛飛機，但他們 需要父母或監(jiān)護人登記?？赡軙幸恍帮w” 在你知道 你看在注冊過程中的東西，雖然它不會 T是一個考驗，只是一種與 點擊這里承認您已閱讀并理解此信息。 有 無費。你 將立即獲得數(shù)字證書注冊，包含一個獨特的通用注冊號。一點錢，你可以向FAA的郵件你物理復制，太。 你需要以某種方式 把你的注冊號碼到你的無人機， 的 易于 在你飛無人機外。這是‘ 不一樣的 清晰可見 ：你可以躲在一個封閉的電池倉，數(shù)量為例，只要工具是 不需要訪問它。你應該準備出示登記證書時，你再飛你 無人機。 如果你得到更多的無人駕駛飛機，他們 會使用相同的注冊號碼，你已經(jīng)有了：數(shù)與你，而不是你的無人機。你’ 要選擇刪除您的注冊，如果你停止你的無人機飛行（S）。

什么是違法行為？

FAA仍然需要弄清楚如何執(zhí)行這一切，如果出現(xiàn)錯誤的時候會發(fā)生什么。例如，雖然工作組建議你應做好準備，當你要表現(xiàn)出你的登記證書 重新放飛你的無人機，它 不清楚你 D有太多，什么樣的情況下，更不用說不履行義務的后果。幸運的是，我們所有的人，專案組至少認識當前框架絕對不應該被應用到SUAS

專責小組的建議，F(xiàn)AA建立明確而適當?shù)倪`規(guī)處罰框架。目前登記的相關處罰（可能超過25000美元）是建立在以解決和阻止疑似毒販和逃稅者誰沒有登記的飛機為較大的邪惡計劃的一部分。任何人飛SUAS，包括消費者和青少年，現(xiàn)在可能無意中在這個新的體系違反發(fā)現(xiàn)自己。專責小組的建議，F(xiàn)AA明確建立一個合理、適當?shù)奶幜P的時間表是不同的，與傳統(tǒng)的載人航空。

接下來會發(fā)生什么呢？

調整、批準和實施規(guī)則由美國聯(lián)邦航空局，但從事物的聲音，他們都要快速移動。美國聯(lián)邦航空局局長米迦勒韋爾塔發(fā)布在過去幾天的報道的一些語句 這里 是一個值得關心

我們將考慮［任務］的建議和我們發(fā)展登記暫行最終規(guī)則公開征求意見，這將有可能下個月將發(fā)布之后生效。這一步之后會有另一個機會，為我們走向發(fā)出最終規(guī)則登記評論公眾。

下個月是十二月，所以它仍像FAA拍攝有什么和大約400000個新的無人駕駛飛機抵達的假期運行時間。但要記住，即使你不 不能得到新的無人機的下個月，這些規(guī)則將是顛覆性的，和你‘ 要以注冊（合法的）飛無人機，你目前所擁有的。

我的猜測是，無論處罰違規(guī)端框架是的，至少在最初階段，那會相當寬容 人們習慣了新的系統(tǒng)。美國聯(lián)邦航空局大多只是希望人們飛無人機安全，并登記，與你無人機鼓勵責任同時也給聯(lián)邦航空局至少一個機會通知各試點對現(xiàn)有法規(guī)旨在使事情盡可能安全和有趣的人。