For several years now, we have been hearing in the media the future and incredible (note the irony of the phrase in question) functions that may be held by the unmanned aircraft, or "drones". (English terminology). They never tire of repeating it in practically every media outlet: fire protection, border control, maritime rescue and a long etcetera. Although they are true, the futuristic aura with which UASs are portrayed makes them features that are credible, feasible and desirableend up being the object of mockery and - thanks to social media - public scorn. The latest case comes from one of today's communication giants, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and recent owner of the Washington Post, announcing that Amazon was experimenting with sending packages by drone.
The big obstacle to developing applications is the lack of regulation in many countries.
The effect of social media Any announcement by one of these gurus is, for the uninitiated, unbelievable. First you could read that Jeff Bezos was going to announce something, then the live announcement itself, then the official notice from Amazon and, finally, the mockery, ridicule and analysis throughout the specialised press (print and internet). It is a phenomenon that could be the subject of many more articles. There are media outlets that even see this announcement as a smokescreen to take the heat off ongoing investigations into Amazon's treatment of its employees. Personally, I would be surprised if Bezos had come up with something as elaborate as this line of drones in such a short period of time. Anyway, another discussion for more articles.
Let us return to the subject at hand, the possible applications of UAS. As we technology becomes more accessibleand there is no doubt that in the case of unmanned systems this is the case, the possible applications are experiencing exponential growth. Obviously this leads to all kinds of nonsense, but in this case, in my opinion, it does not. Clearly there are dozens of drawbacks to the application Bezos is talking about. For example: What would happen in bad weather, where would the packages be delivered if your house (unlike in the promotional video) does not have a backyard or garden, how would you control when it arrives... and so on and so forth.
But it is also possible to dozens of solutions. And that, as Bezos shows us, is the important thing: limiting packages to those who can receive them under certain conditions or limiting the distance where they can be delivered, among others. The important thing is to come to the conclusion that it can be done and if, in addition, it is also interesting from a business point of view. And that, coming from one of the world's leading logistics companies, is saying a lot.
Regrettably, the future is not delayed because there are no visionariesas may be the case with Bezos, but rather by a rigid functioning of the regulatory bodiesWhat is the current major obstacle to seeing the investments of many companies in the field of UAS materialise in products that can reach everyday life? The lack of regulation that allows for the safe operation of these unmanned systems. Progress is being made in this area, many countries already have regulatory legislation, but much more is needed. And in crisis situations such as the current one, holding back the potential of a growing sector for administrative reasons and slow regularisation cannot and should not be acceptable to the interested parties. Amongst others, as Bezos suggests, the ordinary user himself.
