Google is testing drones in US airspace by piggybacking on Nasa exemption
Google is testing drones in US airspace by piggybacking
on Nasa exemption
Documents show the tech company has skirted regulations
for private firms for a year by flying its Project Wing aircraft over private
land as part of a deal with Nasa
By Mark Harris
Wednesday 12 August 2015 12.26 EDT Last modified on
Wednesday 12 August 2015 12.56 EDT
Google has been quietly testing its drone delivery
program in US airspace and is planning further tests in rural California after
striking a deal with Nasa, the Guardian has learned.
Documents seen by the Guardian also reveal technical
details of Google’s drone, which is capable of speeds of up to 100 mph and
weighs less than 25kg (55lb). The papers also reveal Google’s safety plans
should a drone lose contact with its operator.
The US currently has a blanket ban on the commercial
operation of unmanned aircraft. When Google revealed its experimental delivery
drones, code-named Project Wing, a year ago, a promotional video showed a
farmer in rural Australia receiving a packet of dog treats by air.
Companies wanting to take to America’s spacious skies
need special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
involving onerous requirements such as having a licensed pilot control the
drone.
However, documents show Google has been skirting these
rules by flying its Project Wing aircraft over private land in the US in
cooperation with Nasa. For more than a year, Google has been quietly operating
its drones in America under Nasa’s Certificate of Waiver or Authorization
(COA), a program originally intended for government agencies.
COAs let public organisations like the military, state
universities and police or fire departments experiment with unmanned aerial
systems (UAS), as long as they meet safety standards. But COAs come with
restrictions. FAA regulations state that a public agency must own or
exclusively operate the drone in question, and that commercial operations are
prohibited.
COAs are not routinely made public, in contrast to the
waivers issued to commercial companies, called “333s” after a section of the
FAA regulations. It is widely known, for instance, that Amazon was issued a 333
exemption in April for research and development of its Prime Air delivery
drones.
“I don’t think this kind of public-private cooperation is
happening with high regularity,” said Diana Cooper, head of the unmanned aerial
systems and robotics practice group at Canadian law firm LaBarge Weinstein.
“But there aren’t too many stats out there.”
Both Nasa and Google declined to comment on the
collaboration, although the Guardian has obtained a Space Act Agreement that
says: “Nasa and Google will conduct joint field tests of UASs ... where Nasa
may issue certificates of approvals to operate.”
The latest trials will be used to see whether cellphone
signals can be used by low-flying drones for automatic air traffic control.
According to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
last week and seen by the Guardian, Google wants to carry out demonstrations
and tests on a remote stretch of privately owned land near Merced, California.
The experiments, which Google thinks might last up to six months, involve
transmissions on the 4G and LTE radio frequencies used by all the major cellphone
companies in America, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon.
At a conference in Silicon Valley in July, Dave Vos,
leader of Alphabet’s X Lab Wing project, talked about drones using cellphone
technology to file flight plans and receive directions from computerised air
traffic control systems. “Let’s work with the cellphone industry,” Vos said.
“Join us – you can make a ton of money and so can we, and we can have fun doing
it.”
Google would not confirm whether any phone companies are
participating in these experiments, but the document it filed with the FCC says
the latest experiments could help “generate new business opportunities for
communications service providers and remove barriers to the broader deployment
of UAS”.
The FCC filing also suggests that Google has a direct
commercial interest in the upcoming tests. In requesting details to be redacted
from the document, Google notes: “The information requested to be kept
confidential has significant commercial value. Google’s tests/experiments and
proprietary wireless applications using particular radio frequency equipment
represent a ‘secret commercially valuable plan’.”
The company goes on to say: “The technology under
development is highly sensitive and confidential in nature. The release of such
information would provide valuable insight into Google’s technology innovations
and potential business plans and strategies.”
Learning how futuristic drones might communicate,
navigate and operate could aid similar technologies also being developed at
Google’s secretive X Lab, now a part of the new Alphabet holding company.
Project Fi is Google’s own wireless phone company, while Project Loon and
Project Titan aim to deliver internet access to undeveloped regions using
balloons and solar-powered drones.
“This is not a smoking gun,” said Cooper. “It’s typical
for companies to want to redact sensitive information that describes how their
technology works. The thing to keep in mind is just because there could be a
commercial purpose later on doesn’t mean that Google is operating commercially
right now.”
But while Google says that it can still legally fly its
drones under Nasa’s COA, the company is hedging its bets. Last week, the FAA
posted a request from Google for a Section 333 exemption to use its drones to
perform aerial data collection, and conduct research and development.
This exemption request, also obtained by the Guardian,
reveals new details about Google’s aircraft. Project Wing drones weigh less
than 25kg (55lb), using multiple electric engines to fly at up to 100 mph and
as high as 120 meters (400 ft). If a drone loses GPS navigation signals or
communications with its ground-based operator, it will automatically return to
base and land immediately.
This document claims that “Google’s proposed UAS
operations ... will not adversely affect safety, but rather will provide an
equivalent or greater level of safety than that provided by ... other delivery
methods ... using trucks/cars/motorcycles or larger manned aircraft”.
Applying for a 333 exemption now makes sense, said Greg
McNeal, drone expert and associate professor of law and public policy at
Pepperdine University. “Google works on big-sky, futuristic thinking, which is
a Nasa attribute,” he said. “Now we’re starting the transition from that big
vision research to practical commercial applications.”
Google is unlikely to it receive its 333 exemption any
time soon, however. “We have a backlog of 1,500 or so exemption requests,” says
Les Dorr of the FAA. “Google’s request was only filed a week ago, so there’s no
chance that it would have been granted at this point.”
Comments
Post a Comment