Drone operators host first trade show in Brussels to lobby for opening up of commercial drone market
Drone operators and manufacturers convened in Brussels at the weekend to talk up the prospect of a commercial market for unmanned aerial flight.
With drones outlawed in Belgium, the hopes of the industry are currently tethered to the ground. Exhibiters gathered to send the message that flying drones could be done safely.
The organiser of the ‘Drone Days’ event, Walter Borrey, said he is pushing for legislation that would allow "an open airspace”. He is looking enviously abroad, where advantage has been gained by neighbouring countries, such as the Sweden, the UK, France and Germany, whose rules have liberalised drone flights.
As things stand in Belgium, waivers to test drones are only granted for research or testing purposes, but regulators are discussing a law to allow commercial activity. Issues related to safety, privacy and intrusion will be the main complications.
Initially a product built by defense contractors for military use, drones are taking off in civilian life largely thanks to the falling costs of commodity electronics.
A recent report commissioned by the EU Committee of the UK’s House of Lords predicted something of a bonanza in the industry, saying there could be as many as 150,000 drone jobs, in piloting as well as manufacturing and other support work, in Europe by the year 2050.
Applications
People are finding more and more practical uses for drones.
Jean Charles Van Der Wielen’s company, VDW Airdrone, does mapping projects using drones. “We fly over stadiums, golf courses and forests filming or taking up to 400 pictures at a time,” he said. His services cannot be sold in Belgium. “We have taken jobs in the US and the Netherlands,” he said.
Farmers are beginning to use drones for crop surveillance, while scientists are using them to study algal blooms in oceans and track rare wildlife. “They can be used to check wind turbines and nuclear reactors. They can also check if solar panels are broken,” said Borrey, who also pilots drones.
Long-term, Amazon thinks drones can be used to deliver post. In Germany, logistics firm DHL recently started using drones to deliver medicines to remote parts, such as to Juist, an island in the North Sea.
The film industry is already full of drones. “They’re easier and in many cases safer than using a helicopter,” said Jean-Yves Leclercq, a drone pilot. If you saw the recent James Bond film, where Daniel Craig drives his motorbike across bazaar rooftops in Istanbul, you were seeing the work of Leclercq’s firm, Flying-Cam.
A couple of companies have a stranglehold on the market. China’s DJI Innovations is probably the biggest global manufacturer. Most of the drones on show at the Brussels fair were developed by Sky-Hero, with individual modifications.
Google is investing in the space too. Last April, the tech giant outbid Facebook to buy Titan Aerospace, a manufacturer of high-altitude drones that it hopes will provide viable alternatives to telecommunications satellites.
What’s going to fly?
Legal requirements are likely to vary according to location, since flying drones in a city carries more risk than in rural areas.
It is expected there will be a height ceiling over which drones will not be allowed fly and an outright ban on going anywhere near airports.
If legislation follows other international examples, there will also be a requirement for pilots to remain in the line of sight of their radio-control drone.
Belgian lawmakers will be keeping an eye on international developments. Last week, the UK’s House of Lords demanded a national, online database recording all drone operators and flights. Authorities would trace individual flights, and the general public would be able to access data through a smartphone app.
Also, the European Aviation Safety Agency is developing EU-wide safety standards, which it says will be as high as those for manned aircraft.
New laws will not be expected to fully fix the public perception of drones, which is skeptical. The unexplained sighting of drones above Paris last month had a city recently recovering from a terrorist attack on edge.
With drones outlawed in Belgium, the hopes of the industry are currently tethered to the ground. Exhibiters gathered to send the message that flying drones could be done safely.
The organiser of the ‘Drone Days’ event, Walter Borrey, said he is pushing for legislation that would allow "an open airspace”. He is looking enviously abroad, where advantage has been gained by neighbouring countries, such as the Sweden, the UK, France and Germany, whose rules have liberalised drone flights.
As things stand in Belgium, waivers to test drones are only granted for research or testing purposes, but regulators are discussing a law to allow commercial activity. Issues related to safety, privacy and intrusion will be the main complications.
Initially a product built by defense contractors for military use, drones are taking off in civilian life largely thanks to the falling costs of commodity electronics.
A recent report commissioned by the EU Committee of the UK’s House of Lords predicted something of a bonanza in the industry, saying there could be as many as 150,000 drone jobs, in piloting as well as manufacturing and other support work, in Europe by the year 2050.
Applications
People are finding more and more practical uses for drones.
Jean Charles Van Der Wielen’s company, VDW Airdrone, does mapping projects using drones. “We fly over stadiums, golf courses and forests filming or taking up to 400 pictures at a time,” he said. His services cannot be sold in Belgium. “We have taken jobs in the US and the Netherlands,” he said.
Farmers are beginning to use drones for crop surveillance, while scientists are using them to study algal blooms in oceans and track rare wildlife. “They can be used to check wind turbines and nuclear reactors. They can also check if solar panels are broken,” said Borrey, who also pilots drones.
Long-term, Amazon thinks drones can be used to deliver post. In Germany, logistics firm DHL recently started using drones to deliver medicines to remote parts, such as to Juist, an island in the North Sea.
The film industry is already full of drones. “They’re easier and in many cases safer than using a helicopter,” said Jean-Yves Leclercq, a drone pilot. If you saw the recent James Bond film, where Daniel Craig drives his motorbike across bazaar rooftops in Istanbul, you were seeing the work of Leclercq’s firm, Flying-Cam.
A couple of companies have a stranglehold on the market. China’s DJI Innovations is probably the biggest global manufacturer. Most of the drones on show at the Brussels fair were developed by Sky-Hero, with individual modifications.
Google is investing in the space too. Last April, the tech giant outbid Facebook to buy Titan Aerospace, a manufacturer of high-altitude drones that it hopes will provide viable alternatives to telecommunications satellites.
What’s going to fly?
Legal requirements are likely to vary according to location, since flying drones in a city carries more risk than in rural areas.
It is expected there will be a height ceiling over which drones will not be allowed fly and an outright ban on going anywhere near airports.
If legislation follows other international examples, there will also be a requirement for pilots to remain in the line of sight of their radio-control drone.
Belgian lawmakers will be keeping an eye on international developments. Last week, the UK’s House of Lords demanded a national, online database recording all drone operators and flights. Authorities would trace individual flights, and the general public would be able to access data through a smartphone app.
Also, the European Aviation Safety Agency is developing EU-wide safety standards, which it says will be as high as those for manned aircraft.
New laws will not be expected to fully fix the public perception of drones, which is skeptical. The unexplained sighting of drones above Paris last month had a city recently recovering from a terrorist attack on edge.
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