Tiny Tim better get ready to register his toy drone with Uncle Sam this Christmas.
Task force officials at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that regulates the aerospace system, are recommending that a national drone registry include drones weighing as little as eight ounces, the San Francisco Gate reported Nov. 23. Such a light-weight requirement would consequently mean some remote-controlled toys have to be recorded in the national drone registry.
Unnamed officials told the Associated Press that the intent is not to force toys to be registered in the drone database, but “the weight threshold that triggers registration should be set at 250 grams or above.” That weight threshold equals roughly 8.8 ounces. (RELATED: Massive Potential Of Drones Could Be Undermined By Federal Regulators)
The task force came to the weight limit conclusion based on the potential effect a drone of that size would have if, due to malfunction or accident, it fell from the sky or crashed into another aerial machine. According to SF Gate, the FAA receives about 100 reports per month from pilots who have spotted drones near planes and airports.
The Obama Administration announced plans for the registry Oct. 19 and the hope was to have the drone regulations in place before Christmas. They claim that over one million new drones could be given as gifts this season. (RELATED: US Announces Task Force To Develop Drone Registry)
The registration requirement would apply to drone operators and not the individual drones. The operator would receive a single registration number from the FAA and then place the number on each drone they own.
As the use of drones in military campaigns increased over the years, so has the domestic and commercial use for drones increased.
Amazon and Walmart are experimenting with drone-based deliveries, utility companies are considering using drones to cut costs, a number of companies use drones for image and video photography, hospitals and research facilities use drones to deliver medicines, and these are just a few examples. (RELATED: Whistleblower Releases Federal Drone Documents Illustrating Obama’s Bloody ‘Drone War’)
However, with the growing use of drones for individuals and companies, comes higher instances of drone accidents—which captured the attention of the FAA and was a prime reason for the creation of the drone database.
In Virginia, four or five people suffered minor injuries Aug. 2013 from a drone that crashed at during the Great Bull Run festival at Virginia Motorsports Park. (RELATED: British Company Develops E-Ink Panels To Make Small Drones Invisible)
A drone operator cut the nose of a photographer Dec. 2014 after the operator tried to land the drone on a reporter’s hand. After flinching, the reporter sent the drone straight into the face of the photographer.
A drunken Department of Defense employee crashed a drone into the White House lawn Jan. 2015.
The video below is just one example of the type of toy drone that could fall under the regulatory arm of the FAA if the task force proposals are accepted.
Watch:
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