STARKVILLE – Perhaps no recent technological development has engendered more curiosity and has more room for possible mischief in the hands of unscrupulous people than has the development and proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles or systems (UAV and UAS).
What immediately comes to mind is the use of UAVs or “drones” to capture video footage. Rare these days is a large public event – or even a relatively small one – in which hobbyists don’t attempt to launch these vehicles to capture innovative video footage. There’s a “wow” factor in those images that national ad agencies covet and social media absolutely loves the images.
Sid Salter
In Mississippi, I’ve seen beautiful footage after something as relatively routine as a large snowfall, a county fair, or a community festival.
Nationally, there is a huge debate over UAS and UAV regulation. Advocates who support expanded use of the technology resist government regulation of it at all levels – federal, state and local – arguing that such regulations will impede innovation.
Opponents of wide-open use of the technology argue about the possible abuses and dangers of UAS and UAV capabilities on civil liberties, privacy, and public safety. Both camps offer valid concerns.
How much debate is there over those issues? The National Conference of State Legislatures recently reported that this year 45 states took up 156 distinct pieces of proposed legislation designed to regulate this technology. Some 19 states passed legislation targeting the use of commercial drones as well as the use of devices flown privately or by law enforcement.
Mississippi was one of those 19 states, adopting Senate Bill 2022 – which made the use of UAS technology to commit “peeping Tom” crimes a felony. That bill was authored by state Sens. Chris McDaniel, Melanie Sojourner, and Joey Fillingane.
Back in May when the Federal Aviation Administration selected Mississippi State University a new to operate a new National Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, perhaps it was easy to understate the importance of Mississippi’s position in the development of future UAS rules and regulations.
But as states move into carving out their own regulations, federal regulations become paramount. In May, the FAA announced that MSU’s Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) will operate the new center.
Congress has charged the FAA with developing rules regulating commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and the new center will play a key role in that process. The center will provide the agency and industry with research to maximize the potential of commercial unmanned systems with minimal changes to the current system regulating manned aircraft.
Why does that matter? According to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, the domestic UAS market is projected to create more than 100,000 jobs and $82 billion in economic impact in the first decade after FAA integration is complete. During the same period, the UAS industry could create more than 1,200 jobs and approximately $973 million in economic impact in Mississippi alone.
Think about existing Mississippi industries and the impact this ongoing research could have on their business – and right in their backyards. MSU research expertise has already helped companies such as American Eurocopter, Aurora Flight Science, GE Aerospace and Stark Aerospace establish bases in Mississippi, bringing more than 700 high-tech jobs to the state.
Mississippi has a rich history in aviation and that success doesn’t wear exclusively maroon and white. Remember Fred and Al Key of Meridian, whose aerial exploits led to their plane – the “Ole Miss” – being displayed in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for the feat of remaining aloft for 27 consecutive days back in 1935?
Regardless one’s university affiliation, the fact that a Mississippi school will be Ground Zero for the burgeoning growth and likely federal regulation of the UAS/UAV industry is a huge win for our state and the future of our economy. Many of the nation’s future regulations on this industry will have their genesis right here in Mississippi.