Opinion: Australia is a world leader in drone technology. From surveying to agriculture to deliveries and passenger transport, Australia is at the cutting edge of drone hardware, software, payload capabilities and logistics support.
For the industry to continue on this trajectory and for widespread commercial adoption to follow, regulation needs to keep pace.
As a nascent industry, drone technology can be perceived as relatively unproven. More precisely, the data points are widely scattered, being spread out over time and between alternative modes and solutions. What industry experience exists represents vastly different approaches implemented by diverse players, ranging from universities through start-ups to well-established aerospace companies and commercial operators.
The regulatory challenge then is quantifying risk based on imperfect information and a relatively short track-record. The sensible approach so far has been to focus on outcome-based approvals where each mission is judged on the risk assessment and mitigations declared by the proponent. This has allowed progress with some world-leading trials taking place in Australia. But it is a labor-intensive process that necessarily takes time – a considerable barrier to commercial adoption as it requires advanced planning with uncertain timelines around when a mission might be approved to be carried out.
Continue reading: https://www.innovationaus.com/regulation-needs-to-keep-pace-with-australias-soaring-drone-industry/
For the industry to continue on this trajectory and for widespread commercial adoption to follow, regulation needs to keep pace.
As a nascent industry, drone technology can be perceived as relatively unproven. More precisely, the data points are widely scattered, being spread out over time and between alternative modes and solutions. What industry experience exists represents vastly different approaches implemented by diverse players, ranging from universities through start-ups to well-established aerospace companies and commercial operators.
The regulatory challenge then is quantifying risk based on imperfect information and a relatively short track-record. The sensible approach so far has been to focus on outcome-based approvals where each mission is judged on the risk assessment and mitigations declared by the proponent. This has allowed progress with some world-leading trials taking place in Australia. But it is a labor-intensive process that necessarily takes time – a considerable barrier to commercial adoption as it requires advanced planning with uncertain timelines around when a mission might be approved to be carried out.
Continue reading: https://www.innovationaus.com/regulation-needs-to-keep-pace-with-australias-soaring-drone-industry/
