The state of West Virginia added another drone to its small fleet last week, as the Department of Transportation purchased its second unmanned aerial vehicle.
Transportation's planning and programming division bought the 6-pound, 1 1/2 - by 1-foot drone to help provide views of unreachable areas, the Gazette-Mail's Joel Ebert reported Friday.
That's good news for Transportation, whose use of the new technology can provide views of inaccessible areas and get other aerial views safer and cheaper than can be done otherwise.
The use of a drone also helps the Department of Commerce, which used eye-catching video of a fire tower and surrounding forest for a promotional video for Seneca State Forest.
The drones are great tools used by the state. But the reason the state can use them legally is because the state won't use them for "commercial" purposes.
Unfortunately, businesses who have the same good reasons to use drone technology are largely restricted from doing so due to current limitations set by the Federal Aviation Administration.
"Commercial UAS [unmanned aircraft system] operations are limited and require the operator to have certified aircraft and pilots, as well as operating approval," says the FAA on its "busting myths" web page. "To date, only two UAS models (the Scan Eagle and Aerovironment's Puma) have been certified, and they can only fly in the Arctic. Public entities (including state and local governments) may apply for a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization."
Fortunately, the FAA has issued a notice of rulemaking to loosen restrictions on drones under 55 pounds.
"The rule would limit flights to daylight and visual-line-of-sight operations," the FAA's website on the proposed rulemaking states.
Loosening of the rules is better than the current near ban on drones, but the FAA still hasn't moved fast enough to allow for business innovation and economic growth.
The FAA's slow movement makes one wonder if electric lighting would exist today had there been a federal regulatory agency around when Thomas Edison was working on a light bulb.