The global drone industry is expected to double in the next five years – from $22.5 billion in 2020 to $42.8 billion in 2025. Why? Because drones can help in defense, disaster control, agriculture, real estate, entertainment and many other sectors.
However, drone traffic is not evenly distributed across the world. In fact, over time, regulations seem to vary depending on where you are in the world. This makes universal compliance almost impossible, which of course also hinders drone development.
On the other hand, privacy, security, and noise advocates are not particularly fond of drones. Drones are expected to increase in popularity as their price continues to fall, raising significant privacy concerns as flight distances increase beyond three miles and sensor payloads expand to include 4K video.
In fact, lawmakers around the world are struggling to keep up with the pace of drone development. And while at least 143 countries have enacted some form of drone regulation, many experts argue that current drone regulation is inadequate to address the threat of widespread surveillance.
To get a feel for the different drone laws around the world, take a look at the maps below. The maps come from a company called Surfshark, which compiled public data on drone laws and created the maps.
The team found that most countries fall into one of seven categories: Complete ban, effective ban, restrictions (such as licensing for drones, additional observers required, no commercial use , etc.), visual surveillance, experimental flights (experiments where drones fly beyond our line of sight are allowed), no restrictions (when flying away from private property and airports, with a height below 150 meters and with drones weighing less than 250 grams), and no legislation on drones at all.
The colorful map of regulations in Europe and the Middle East may be the most stark examples of how diverse the regulatory landscape is right now, even among close geographical neighbors.
Information source: zdnet.com
Image source: surfshark.com
