Summary and final tasks

Summary

Congratulations! You have just finished Lesson 9, Civilian and Commercial Applications of the Unmanned Aerial System. You may notice that the use of UAS for civilian applications extends to almost any applications offered by manned aircraft. In fact, the UAS provides more opportunities than the manned aircraft. The UAS, with its small maneuvering size and its low-cost operation, makes them more useful and more affordable than manned aircraft. That is very true for small projects and projects that may involve hazardous operational conditions. UAS applications are expanding, and we hear about new applications every day. Amazon, for example, recently unveiled plans for UAV package delivery service. What do you think the coolest application is that the UAS should be used for and that no one has thought about until now? Post your opinion in the discussion form.

Final Tasks

Activities

Discussion Forum: UAS and Ethics

UAS is capable of collecting very high definition/resolution imagery of people backyards and perhaps through windows. The public in the United States expressed two main opinions about allowing UAS to fly over populated areas especially if it is used for surveillance and search and rescue missions. Express your opinion on the two following public stances on the topic:

1) "The main threat to personal privacy posed by the ever-expanding use of UAVs in U.S. airspace is the substantial potential for violations of the protection against unreasonable search and seizure ensured by the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution." therefore, we should limit or prevent the use of UAS for such purposes.

2) Using UAS for such purposes should be allowed as it is no different from allowing low-flying helicopter on imagery acquisition mission over populated areas or having someone in a neighborhood carrying high resolving power pair of binoculars.

Post your opinion on the discussion board. Respond to at least one posting from your peers. (3 points or 3%)

Deadline for this assignment is on the 5th day of lesson 10.