The US Considers A Remote Identification System For Drones (engadget.com)

An anonymous reader quotes Engadget: The FAA is still trying to figure out the best way to regulate drones to ensure safety. Last week, a committee tasked with tackling the issue met for the first time, including representatives from Amazon, Ford and NYPD. One of the items discussed was a better way to identify registered drones from the ground since any ID numbers are pretty much invisible while the UAV is airborne...

As Recode notes, Congress is working to restore mandatory registration which would be key to tying a drone to its owner for the purposes of any remote identification... Back in March, [drone manufacturer] DJI proposed what it calls an "electronic identification framework" for all drones that would give authorities in the U.S. information about the owner when necessary. That proposal includes using the radio tech DJI says is already on most drones to transmit details like location and registration number. EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) made a similar recommendation back in January 2016... [T]he FAA committee is scheduled to meet again on July 18th. Any formal recommendations are currently due to the agency by September 30th.

Comments

Useless

[Anonymous Coward]

People who seek to do harm or make trouble will just mod their drone so it doesn't squawk anything. This is another feel-good regulation that mostly serves to inconvenience the type of people who are going to follow the rules anyway.

Re:Useless

[turkeydance]

tax....as well as inconvenience

Re:Useless

[Obfuscant]

I have a Mavic Pro, and registering with the FAA was a mandatory part of the installation process.

Huh? How can DJI make a step that isn't mandatory, mandatory?

So I either register, or I spend the next 10 years writing my own code to fly my drone.

Registering with the FAA doesn't mean your drone is transmitting an identification. It means you've registered it with the FAA.

It is likely that squawking an ID will be the same. Very few people will have the skills to bypass it.

1. Find the antenna.

2. Cut the wire.

3. ???

4. Profit!

Step 2 might be changed to "paint over the circuit board antenna with conductive paint", or just "unplug the antenna" if there is a connector. Three very easy things for people to do, especially people who are motivated to not be identified flying illegally.

They should be classified as militia weapons protected under the 2nd Amd.

There is no such thing as a "militia" weapon. The 2nd amendment talks about "arms".

Re:Mumble mumble

[Frosty Piss]

Agenda 21 mumble mumble.

OK... From The Wikipedia:

Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels.

So, I'm really not seeing the connection unless you are saying that regulating drones is some "evil" United Nations secret plan for World Domination...