How NASA Ames Is Helping The FAA Brace For The Rise Of Delivery Drones
Speaker 1: 00:00 No doubt you've seen that Amazon and Uber eats want to send you everything from sneakers to pizza by drone. The question is, how is that not going to be a complete mess? Researchers at NASA Ames research center in Northern California are working on that question right now as KQ Edis, Rachel Myro reports. I feel like Speaker 2: 00:20 one of those insurance commercial people warning you, the unthinkable happens every day. And frankly, the idea of an army of drones buzzing overhead is they deliver millions of retail orders. Sounds like a bad idea. It only takes one 55 pound drone to land on your head to ruin your day. But Ron Johnson of NASA Ames reminds me, drones are already in the skies for all sorts of uses ranging from search and rescue to firefighting even journalism. Speaker 3: 00:50 So there's this tremendous market out there that's gonna be growing. They're just chomping at the bit. But I think from the human side of it, the safety and security and the acceptance from the public is going to be key. Speaker 2: 01:01 And that's where Johnson and his team come in from their project command center and mountain view filled with massive humming computer screens. They've been developing a cloud based software system for the Federal Aviation Administration. This software does with those folks in control towers do for planes, but without the control towers. NASA Ames researcher obey Bharati promises me. He's thinking about what happens when things go wrong. Speaker 3: 01:28 You know, not everything goes to plan, whether it's weather, birds, maybe there's a miscommunication. The technology itself, Speaker 2: 01:35 they show me a demo. Every drone operator has to log in with a flight plan for every flight so they don't conflict on the screen. You can watch your drone move through space in real time carrying your goods to the customer. What happens if there's a law enforcement emergency? Again, Ron Johnson Speaker 3: 01:54 packaged delivery drones and the building inspection drones. Yeah, for lower priority. And so they need to get out of the way. Speaker 2: 02:00 And if a drone operator behaves badly, everybody else can see that, including law enforcement. So when is this software system launching? It's going to be awhile. Speaker 3: 02:10 So we finished our, our major testing this summer. It will take us several months to document what we found. And the FAA has, has their processes, perhaps less than a decade, but the more than a couple of years, Speaker 2: 02:24 that should give us all time to get used to the idea of drone delivery highways in the sky. Really like something out of a science fiction movie. Speaker 1: 02:32 That was KQ Edis Rachel Meirow in mountain view. Speaker 4: 02:38 Uh.
