Academic literature on the topic 'Unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, civil law'

Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) are revolutionizing the world. RPA, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or ‘drones’ present many new opportunities for a diverse range of industries and practices. Drones are a new way for a closer societyaviation relationship, transportation of goods and data gathering. These opportunities present corresponding challenges: safety around people, infrastructure and other airspace users; privacy, and international uniformity. It is only a matter of time before drones will need integration with non-segregated airspace. Very soon drones could make international flights, particularly in regions with many countries in close proximity (e.g. Europe, South East Asia). Despite these exciting prospects, drone technology is outpacing national and international law. International aviation regulations are governed by the Chicago Convention 1944 and administered by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Countries around the world are waiting for the first drone Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) from ICAO due in 2018. In the meantime, countries have received from ICAO a 2011 Circular Advisory, the 2015 Manual on Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS’) and Annex 2 Appendix 4 of the Chicago Convention. Working with this limited guidance, research to date on New Zealand, the United States and Singapore demonstrates great divergence in regulatory approaches and overall shows current State drone regulations are inadequate or failing on the current concerns. Therefore, clear guidance and uniformity is needed from ICAO.

The paper gives a general description of unmanned ground, aerial, surface, underwater, space vehicles developed inRussiaand abroad to be used for military purposes and national economy. In general, the paper highlights principles of their functioning and the degree of their autonomy. Special attention is paid to the danger they create to a person, property, etc., in traffic accidents and when moral and legal problems are involved (in compliance with the concepts of a “trolley case” and necessity that are often applied in common practice, e.g. concerning road transport). The authors suggest a road map according to which, first, gaps in the legislation (i.g. in civil and administrative law) should be eliminated; second, the rules of traffic safety and operation of unmanned vehicles should be determined, and, third, a criminal law on liability for damage caused by the drone should be elaborated. Main approaches to the definition of this criminal law prohibition are indicated and the most important algorithms of criminalization of the act in question are highlighted.

In order to assess the airspace risk of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating at low altitudes, the third-party risks of UAV urban operations were defined: the risks caused by drones to people on the ground who are not involved in operations and do not profit from operations, and the sources and objects of the risk were clarified. Taking into account the drone crash, noise, on-board camera, and ground environment factors, a UAV urban logistics risk index evaluation model was constructed. First, the UAV image regression model was used to construct a three-dimensional grid, and then a comprehensive third-party risk index model of UAV urban logistics was built based on the casualty and noise risks. Finally, the Southern District of Civil Aviation University of China was selected as an example scene, and surface data were obtained through a field investigation and instrument measurements. Then, the risk of drone operations in the airspace 30–60 m above this area was evaluated. The results showed that the third-party risk was lower when the UAV flying altitude above a building was greater. However, in other areas such as lakes, woods, roads, open spaces, a lower flight altitude had a lower risk. A comparison of the whole airspace showed that the third-party risk was the lowest when the drone operated at an altitude of 30 m. The results also showed that the third-party risk above the lake and greenery was the lowest when on the same plane, followed by the lower risk above the buildings and open squares, with the highest third-party risk above the canteen passage.

<abstract> <p>Over time, the use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles)/drones has increased across several civil and military application domains. Such domains include real-time monitoring, remote sensing, wireless coverage in disaster areas, search and rescue, product delivery, surveillance, security, agriculture, civil infrastructure inspection, and the like. This rapid growth is opening doors to numerous opportunities and conveniences in everyday life. On the other hand, security and privacy concerns for unmanned aerial vehicles/drones are progressively increasing. With limited standardization and regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles/drones, security and privacy concerns are growing. This paper presents a brief analysis of unmanned aerial vehicle's/drones security and privacy-related concerns. The paper also presents countermeasures and recommendations to address such concerns. While laying out a brief survey of unmanned aerial vehicles/drones, the paper also provides readers with up-to-date information on existing regulations, classification, architecture, and communication methods. It also discusses application areas, vulnerabilities, existing countermeasures against different attacks, and related limitations. In the end, the paper concludes with a discussion on open research areas and recommendations on how the security and privacy of unmanned aerial vehicles can be improved.</p> </abstract>

Research on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been conducted for quite some time, even though experiments were rather difficult to carry out. However, recent years have seen a proliferation of published reports in this field. This is most likely due to the spread of multicopters, which are easier and safer to operate than fixed-wing aircraft and single-rotor helicopters. Other factors that have made it easier to conduct research on UAVs and thus contributed to the increased number of studies include the wide availability of high-performance flight controllers that are either low cost or offered on an open-source basis, such as ArduPilot and MultiWii. Although this has minimized technological hurdles in conducting research, it has become more difficult to conduct research safely in a social and legal context. Prompted by a 2015 drone incident, Japan’s civil aeronautics law was revised to control UAV flights under stricter regulations. Even so, these regulations are still considered less restrictive than those in most other countries. UAV research includes obvious risks and dangers of operating airborne devices, but also makes it more interesting as a scientific inquiry, generates high expectations about practical utility, and makes a highly significant area of investigation. Placing a high priority on safety will hopefully lead to further research in this area. This special issue covers the latest in UAV research, including <ul> <li> • UAV control system design, </li> <li> • Studies on flight characteristics of aircraft equipped with special mechanisms, </li> <li> • UAV applications, </li> <li> • Studies on operational UAVs. </li> </ul> Readers will find it interesting and rewarding to explore the latest UAV research trends presented in this issue.

The number of tasks that nowadays are accomplished by using unmanned aerial vehicles is rising across many civil applications, including agriculture. Thus, this work aims at providing the reader with an overview of the agronomical use of unmanned aerial vehicles. The work starts with a historical analysis of the use of aircrafts in agriculture, as pioneers of their use in modern precision agriculture techniques, currently applied by a high number of users. This survey has been carried out by providing a classification of the vehicles according to their typology and main sensorial and performance features. An extensive review of the most common applications and the advantages of using unmanned aerial vehicles is the core of the work. Finally, a brief summary of the key points of the legislation applicable to civil drones that could affect to agricultural applications is analyzed.

The possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles in the examination of the technical condition of high-rise civil and industrial structures, even with little discernible defects and damages, photo fixation and damage analysis in hard-to-reach places is being considered. Examples of the main types of layout of unmanned aerial vehicles and a set of auxiliary elements mounted on drones are shown. Possible automated control methods based on digital image processing and artificial intelligence methods applied to the identification of defects and damages during monitoring are presented. The advantages, expediency and prospects of using unmanned aerial vehicles with remote and contact (non-destructive) method of inspection of building structures are indicated.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones, can play a significant role in military and civil emergency medicine. The aim of the study was to present the real possibilities of using them in rescue operations and to provide examples from all over the world. Unmanned aerial vehicles can be applied to transport goods on demand, provide blood in urban areas, save sinking people, analyse the scale of damages, monitor large human gatherings, perform exploration activities, deliver blood samples and other analysis material, provide automated external defibrillators, support rescue operations and air transport, and perform agricultural activities. One must, however, be aware of the existing regulations regarding drone flights as an appearance of an unreported unmanned aircraft in the controlled space is identified worldwide as affecting aviation safety.

AbstractUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), more popularly known as “drones,” have become emblematic of twenty-first century military technologies but scholars have yet to convincingly explain the drivers of UAV proliferation. Using the first systematic data set of UAV proliferation, this research note examines the spread of UAVs in the context of scholarly debates about interests versus capacity in explaining policy adoption. The results yield important insights for both IR scholarship and the policy-making community. While countries that experience security threats—including territorial disputes and terrorism—are more likely to seek UAVs, drone proliferation is not simply a function of the threat environment. We find evidence that democracies and autocracies are more likely than mixed regimes to develop armed UAV programs, and suggest that autocracies and democracies have their own unique incentives to acquire this technology. Moreover, supply-side factors play a role in the UAV proliferation process: a state's technological capacity is a strong predictor of whether it will obtain the most sophisticated UAVs. The theories and evidence we present challenge emerging views about UAV proliferation and shed useful light on how and why drones spread.

In GIS-projects the data capture is one of the most time consuming processes. Both how to collect the data and the quality of the collected data is of high importance. Common methods for data capture are GPS, LiDAR, Total Station and Aerial Photogrammetry. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs, have become more common in recent years and the number of applications continues to increase. As the technique develops there are more ways that UAV technique can be used for collection of geographic data. One of these techniques is the UAV photogrammetry that entails using an UAV equipped with a camera combined with photogrammetric software in order to create three dimensional models and orthophotos of the ground surface. This thesis contains a comparison between different geographic data capture methods such as terrestrial and aerial methods as well as UAV photogrammetry. The aim is to investigate how UAVs are used to collect geographic data today as well how the techniques involving UAVs can replace or be used as a complement to traditional methods. This study is based on a literature study and interviews. The literature study aims to give a deeper insight in where and how UAVs are used today for geographic data capturing with focus on three main areas: environmental monitoring, urban environment and infrastructure, and natural resources. Regarding the interviews companies and other participants using UAVs for geographic data collection in Sweden have been interviewed to get an accurate overview of the current status regarding the use of UAVs in Sweden. Advantages, disadvantages, limitations, economical aspects, accuracy and possible future use or development are considered as well as different areas of applications. The study is done in collaboration with the geographic IT company Digpro Solutions AB. The goal is to be able to present suggestions of how UAV data can be applied in Digpros applications. Information from the literature study and the interviews show that using a UAV makes it possible to cover a large range between terrestrial and aerial methods, and that it can replace or complement other methods for surveying and data collection. The use gives the possibility to get close to the object without being settle to the ground, as well as work environment profits since dangerous, difficult areas can be accessed from distance. The data can be collected faster, quicker, cheaper and more frequent. Time savings occurs in the measurement stage but compared to terrestrial methods more time is required for the post-processing of the data. The use in Sweden is limited due to difficulties linked to Swedish legislation regarding camera surveillance, as well as long waiting times for the permissions that is required to fly. However, a change in the camera surveillance law is expected which means that UAVs will be excluded from the law. That may result in great benefits for everyone within the industry as well as a continued development of the technique and the use of UAVs.
Inom GIS ar datainsamling en av de mest tidskrävande processerna. Både hur data samlas in samt kvaliteten ar av hög vikt. Några av de vanligaste metoderna för datainsamling idag är GPS, LiDAR, totalstation och fotogrammetri. Obemannade flygfarkoster, UAVs, har de senaste åren blivit allt vanligare och användningsområdena fortsätter att öka. I takt med att tekniken hela tiden utvecklas finns idag flertalet satt att med hjälp av UAVs samla in geografisk data. Med kamerautrustade obemannade flygfarkoster och fotogrammetriska programvaror ar det bland annat möjligt att skapa tredimensionella modeller samt ortofoton av markytan. Detta kandidatexamensarbete innehaller en jämförelse mellan terrestra- samt flygburna metoder för datainsamling och obemannade flygburna metoder. Syftet är att undersöka hur UAVs kan anvandas för att samla in geografisk data samt möjligheten att ersätta eller komplettera existerande metoder, samt att presentera en overgripande bild av UAVs anvandningsomåden. Denna studie bygger pa en litteraturstudie samt intervjuer. Litteraturstudien syftar till en djupare inblick i anvandningsområden för UAV tekniken med fokus på tre huvudområden: miljöövervakning, urbana miljöer och infrastruktur samt naturliga resurser. Under intervjuerna intervjuades företag och andra aktörer inom branschen med syftet att göra en nulägesanalys av hur UAVs används för insamling av geografisk data i Sverige. Det insamlade materialet analyserades med avseende pa användningsområden, för- och nackdelar, hinder, kostnader, noggrannhet samt möjlig framtida användning och utveckling av tekniken. Studien är gjord i samarbete med företaget Digpro Solutions AB som är verksamma inom geografisk IT. Målet är att efter studien kunna ge förslag på hur data insamlad med UAV kan appliceras på Digpros applikationer. Information fran intervjuerna och litteraturen har visat att UAV täcker ett stort spann mellan terrestra- och flygburna metoder, och att den kan ersätta eller utgöra ett komplement till många mät- och datainsamlingsmetoder. Användningen av UAVs innebär möjlighet till att samla in data på ett nära avstånd till objekt utan att vara bunden till marken. Den medför även arbetsmiljövinster då farliga, svårtillgängliga områden kan nås från avstånd. Data kan samlas in snabbare, enklare, billigare och mer frekvent. Tisdbesparingar sker i inmätningsskedet men jämfört med terrestra mätmetoder krävs dock mer tid för efterbearbetning av mätdatat. Användningen i Sverige begränsas av svårigheter kopplade till Svensk lagstiftning gällande kameraövervakning, samt långa väntetider på de tillstånd som kravs för att få flyga. Dock väntas en ändring i kameraövervakningslagen som innebär att drönare inte innefattas i lagen. Detta kan komma att medföra stora fördelar för samtliga inom branschen samt en fortsatt utveckling av tekniken samt användningen av UAVs.

Taking as its starting point Nietzsche’s and Foucault’s theses on liberalism and war, and Dillon and Reid’s extensive engagement thereof, this thesis offers a critical conceptualization of drones and drone warfare. I argue that deployment of drones specifically over and against bodies and communities in conflict zones in and between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and until recently, Libya, is the material practice of a legal and political doctrine and precedent that has been established and policed most prominently by the United States and its military and intelligence apparatuses since the end of the Cold War. This novel precedent, however - due to its necessarily mutually constitutive relationship with a perceived danger said to be emerging from specific spaces, bodies, and communities in the decolonized and still-colonized worlds - locates its ontological and thus political genealogy in the anthropological knowledge that legally justified the (in)humanity of peoples and communities in these spaces during the era of high imperialism that lasted roughly from the nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. I theorize this as a mode of political, tragic nihilism through a reading of some key theories of Deleuze and Guattari, Foucault, and Nietzsche and specifically, their import to the field of critical security and international relations theory. I demonstrate that the semiotic image of the drone is a highly pertinent point of departure through which we can understand these political stakes of strategic discourses enunciating the imperatives of both the Revolution in Military Affairs as well as recent global counterinsurgency/counterterrorism operations, specifically as they relate to claims about what it is drones are said to productively offer such militaristic projects. Ultimately, I argue that it is through the semiotic image of the drone as a clean, precise tactic that furthers the strategic goals of counterterrorism to target specific bodies that we can begin to politically theorize a particularly malignant political nihilism symptomatic of contemporary liberal societies. However, I also suggest that it is through Nietzsche’s politics of nihilism that we can begin to think about radical critical interventions that resist such a dangerous mode of politics.
Graduate

The drone industry is rapidly developing around the world, and the numbers of drones are increasing. In order to maintain safety and secure stability of drone flights, regulations and laws related to drone operations are established in each country. This chapter reviews the rules and laws of drones established by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United States, China, Japan, Australia, India, and Korea. In order to protect victims and develop the drone industry, the author proposes that it is necessary and desirable for the legislation of a unified and global “Draft Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Drone Operations and Transport.”

This chapter presents the role, functions, and prospects of civil unmanned aerial vehicles development, as well as technical and regulatory barriers to the introduction of unmanned aircraft into special cargo transportation technology. The authors' main idea is that the degree of UAV involvement in freight traffic will continue to grow rapidly as the range of UAV flight and carrying capacity increases, and the air law is liberalized. It is proposed to evaluate the economic efficiency of UAV application and their share in the market for the transportation of urgent and perishable goods using the methodology based on the principles of logistics and mathematical modeling. In the formulated model, the process of special cargoes delivery by unmanned aerial vehicles is integrated into the supply chain by all modes of transport along the set route network, taking into account the requirements formulated by the freight forwarder, carrier, and logistics company.

This chapter presents the role, functions, and prospects of civil unmanned aerial vehicles development, as well as technical and regulatory barriers to the introduction of unmanned aircraft into special cargo transportation technology. The authors' main idea is that the degree of UAV involvement in freight traffic will continue to grow rapidly as the range of UAV flight and carrying capacity increases, and the air law is liberalized. It is proposed to evaluate the economic efficiency of UAV application and their share in the market for the transportation of urgent and perishable goods using the methodology based on the principles of logistics and mathematical modeling. In the formulated model, the process of special cargoes delivery by unmanned aerial vehicles is integrated into the supply chain by all modes of transport along the set route network, taking into account the requirements formulated by the freight forwarder, carrier, and logistics company.

Uninhabited vehicles can be used in many applications and domains, particularly in environments that humans cannot enter (e.g. deep sea) or prefer not to enter (e.g. war zones). The promise of relatively low cost, highly reliable and effective assets that are not subject to the physical, psychological or training constraints of human pilots has led to much research effort across the world. Due to technological advances and increasing investment, interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as a practical, deployable technological component in many civil applications is rapidly increasing and becoming a reality, as are their capabilities and availability. UAV platforms also offer a unique experimental environment for developing, integrating and experimenting with many other technologies such as automated planners, knowledge representation systems, chronicle recognition systems, etc. UAV performs various kinds of missions such as mobile tactical reconnaissance, surveillance, law enforcement, search and rescue, land management, environmental monitoring, disaster management. UAV is a complex and challenging system to develop. It operates autonomously in unknown and dynamically changing environment. This requires different types of subsystems to cooperate. In order to realize all functionalities of the UAV, the software part becomes very complex real-time system expected to execute real-time tasks concurrently. This paper describes proposed software architecture for GCS (Ground Control Station) for lightweight UAV purpose-built for medium-scale reconnaissance and surveillance missions in civil area. The overall system architecture and implementation are described.

Introduction: Falls from heights represent one of the most frequent accidents in civil constructions, mainly caused by different roofing activities. The risks should be first evaluated by conducting safety inspections, and then implementing adequate control measures to eliminate or reduce the risks of accidents. New technologies facilitate those inspections and make the processes much more efficient. The objective of this study was to make a systematic review to analyse works which used a drone as a visual tool for such safety inspection activities, systematize main information needed to consider in developing future drone research in civil construction. Methodology: The research was carried out on the Brazilian platform for scientific journals and conferences called “CAPES Portal”through the Preferred Report for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyzes (PRISMA) methodology. Several keywords were used for searching, including: "Construction", "Construction Safety", "Safety Inspection", "Safety Management", "Drone", "Unmanned Aerial Vehicles". Results and Discussion: In total, 102 articles were identified through the searching. After applying all the inclusion and exclusion criteria (published in the last 10 years, published in English or Portuguese language), In addition, the articles were included only if related to the use of drones in civil construction and if had some relationship with work safety inspection. A total number of 15 articles fulfilled the selection criteria’s and were included in this review. Theinformation about the analysed studies included information such as author/reference, the objective of the study, the country where the study was conducted, the activities which were analysed, conclusions, limitations and the type of the drone which was used in the research. In total, 8 of the 15 studies were developed in the United States, representing 53% of the total, while other studies are from Germany (4), Brazil (2), Australia (1) and Spain (1). Most studies analysed the inspection ofbridges and roofs. Conclusions: Studies have shown that there is evidence of the advantages of using drones to assist in safety inspections in civil construction, especially in bridges and roofs.