Drones have become popular world over,with a whole range of applications. Their usage has become part of the norm with the Military using them in warfare, wildlife services such as the KWS using them to tackle poaching and Internet companies like Amazon using Drones to deliver goods that consumers have purchases. They have been used for rescue activities, where a drone helped rescue two boys from drowning.
Increasing, drones have come under sharp scrutiny as they continually pose danger to air travel operations. In one incident in May, a commercial airline almost collided midair with a drone near the LaGuardia airport in New York. Just last week, a Lufthansa plane almost collided with a drone in Warsaw, Poland. The drone passed within 100 meters of the plane.
Now two tech giants Google and Amazon are pushing for the creation of a super highway specifically for drones. Drones are unmanned flying aircraft operated by remote controls, and users do not require any special licenses to operate. The drones will then communicate their positions to a centralized communication system available to all operators as the case with aviation operators. NASA is leading the efforts to create the traffic system aptly called the Unmanned Aerial System Traffic management. Amazon is interested in the project as it seeks to deliver packages to users faster, while Google sees the project as critical in disaster relief activities.
The drones will remain at 120 meters above the ground with slow lane traffic created below 60 meters with a fast lane for long disasters at 60 meters and 120 meters created. Altitudes between 120 meters and 152 meters will be a no-fly zone. Drones will also be required to give way to air crafts if they enter the drone fly zone. In addition, a computer system for any drone flight hazards such as towers and high grounds would be created and shared with users allowing them to avoid such areas when flying.
Source: Daily Mail
