The general rules governing the use of commercial and non-commercial unmanned mini aircraft (drones) are still on the table, but according to information, an important rule - law is expected to be enacted soon: Legal registration.
In the same way you would register a car, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is set to enact rules requiring all owners of unmanned mini-aircraft to register them with government documents.
The Department has not made an official announcement regarding such a program, but a report from NBC News on Friday claims that the law is expected to go into effect in the near future.
According to the report, drone owners will have to register their devices with the Department of Transportation, with the new program starting over the Christmas holidays, a period when a large number of the unmanned mini aircraft will appear in the sky as Christmas gifts.
However, even if such a registration program works, another concern concerns how the millions of existing drones would be registered underthe new program.
At this point, another report from the Wall Street Journal claims that a group of experts will meet next week to decide how to handle the issue of existing unregistered drones, as well as the type of devices that will be included under the new law.
While some may see the legal registration of drones as excessive government regulation, recent dangerous incidents at airports involving unmanned mini-aircraft have prompted calls for tighter controls around their use in the U.S. The new law would also allow the identification of a drone's owner, who could be anything from a paparazzi to an industrial spy.
