Intel is willing to collaborate with the Indian government and share its learnings to bring about a policy framework for flying drones in India.“I see the market in India is very scalable. But, of course, regulation and other policies have to come into view [for the industry to thrive],“ said Anil Nanduri, GM of Intel's Drone Group.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had released a draft paper last year, which laid out certain guidelines for obtaining permission to operate drones in the homeland.
However, a final draft policy is yet to be released by the DGCA. Nanduri said from an application standpoint, local needs for drones in each country is vastly different from others.
From industry inspections to photography, rescue missions to remote surveillance, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have a breadth of applications they cater to. “Having some kind of industry-government framework would be the best approach,“ he said.
The American multinational, primarily known for its computer chips, entered into the drone industry in 2014 and has since caught the world's attention with its drone light shows.
Recently, the company made headlines for its light show at the Super Bowl halftime performance by Lady Gaga in which a swarm of 300 drones equipped with LED lights formed an American flag in the sky.
Nanduri said the Super Bowl performance has brought in global attention for its UAVs. “You can create even brands and logos in the sky and can be used for advertising,“ he said, adding, Intel holds the current world record for the most number of UAVs airborne simultaneously.
Nanduri believes that light drones are in many ways better than other sky lighters because of the pollution and the noise that accompanies fireworks. “Everything you see with the lights of the fireworks can be recreated in the sky using light shows,“ he said.
While drones can be used for multiple applications, airspace regulations differ from place to place. “It is important that people who are building drones have a homogeneous framework in place,“ he said.
For instance, the US lets people fly a drone under 400 feet and one has to obtain a license to be a commercial drone pilot.
On the other hand, the draft policy in India requires the pilot to obtain permission from local administration even to fly within 200 feet. If the airspace rules for drones are consistent worldwide, it would help drone companies scale operations quickly.
“Having different rules for every country becomes a burden for development and drones have to be modified for different regions,“ Nanduri said.
He added: “This is not going to be viable for manufacturers since there would be a manufacturing burden. The rules have to be consistent.“ Intel's RealSense technology helps in navigation and collision avoidance in drones.
0 comments:
Post a Comment