For this week’s blog I was required to discuss which
type of unmanned system (UGS, UMS, and UAS) I believed will have the greatest
impact on society over the next two decades, what role it will play, and why.
I believe all manner of unmanned system, whether it be
marine, ground or air, will have an impact on society in some form or another,
but it is my opinion, that only those systems with the most exposure to a society
will have the greatest impact. In this
regard I don’t foresee marine systems in their current application having an impact
on a society as significant as ground or air based systems, in part because of
their low or nonexistent visibility (i.e. out-of-sight/out-of-mind). Therefore, given my position within the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), I couldn’t help but address the implications or
impact that unmanned aircraft systems will have on a modern society within the
next two decades.
It’s not by accident that UAS have become the must have technology for civil applications. Over the past two decades of armed conflict, UAS
have shown their ability to remove man from the dull, dirty and dangerous
operations of war. Somewhere along the
way the commercial industry saw the advantages of having an unmanned aircraft system
added to the toolbox for the hazardous and costly operations performed in the
commercial sector.
In an effort to
ensure the fast paced environment of commercial UAS is done in a safe manner,
the Federal Aviation Administration slowed the industries enormous potential by
implementing operational standards to integrate UAS into the National Airspace
System (NAS) in a methodical and measured way.
One way of ensuring that UAS are operated safely in the NAS is to define
and regulate operator or pilot-in-command requirements.
In the article, The
Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Pilot Qualification (2013), A. Mirot
explained:
UAS Operator qualification is a complex issue that will set the
foundation for other integration issues. The FAA's initial guidance is
simplistic and will not appropriately manage the diverse requirements of UAS
operations. The FAA has understandably made UAS operations very restrictive and
placed qualification requirements on UAS crews that far exceed current manned
aircraft or model aircraft requirements (Summary, pg. 26).
Overtime, as collected data shows the reliability of the technology these
stricter operator requirements will be relaxed.
Only then, after the technology has been slowly proven out and accepted by
society will true Integration in the NAS be realized.
In his report, Sustaining
the U.S. lead in Unmanned Systems, Military and Homeland Considerations through
2025, (2014) S. Brannen suggested;
Unmanned systems will
also have a new domestic prominence and importance for the United States as
they are increasingly adopted for homeland and law enforcement missions, for
private commercial use and by individuals (pg.2).
It is also Brannen’ s opinion, that by the year 2025, the most
technological advances will be realized in autonomy, software/integration of
existing systems, better sensors of all types and solutions applicable to
congestion and electromagnetic spectrum (para. 3, pg. 5).
He further
explained that autonomy will be enabled by continued progress in efficiency and
miniaturization of computer processing and power sources, most significantly in
the realm of machine learning or AI (also referred to as artificial Intelligence)
(para. 5, pg.5).
As history has shown over the past 100+ years, technology
of any sort that appears foreign or unrealistic to a society evolves to meet the
society’s concerns and doubts for the need of the technology. It was only over the past two decades that
home computers and mobile phones have found their way into nearly every home
and pocket around the globe.
Unmanned systems,
whether they are marine, ground or air will find their niche in society the same
way, if not sooner.
References
Brannen,
S. J. (2014). Sustaining the U.S. lead in Unmanned Systems, Military and
Homeland Considerations through 2025, Retrieved from https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/publication/140227_Brannen_UnmannedSystems_Web.pdf
Mirot,
A. (2013). The Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Pilot Qualification, JAAER
Vol. 22 Number 3 Article 7, Retrieved from http://commons.erau.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1317&context=jaaer
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