Since the Obama Administration officially encouraged the FAA to write guidelines governing the use of drones in civilian airspace (including weaponized versions), a lot of noise was made. This act will help strengthen domestic policing and weapons contractors, which has caused many Americans great concern for the future of civil liberties. However, there is also a rumbling among the industrious U.S. DIY community of developers, who see this as a possible boon to technology innovation (the Arduino chip is a big component of this). Amateur resources like DIY Drones have grown a large following, and are instrumental in spreading open source designs.
Sarah Childress of Frontline writes an excellent analysis of the present climate:
In part because of the current FAA restrictions, the civil market for drones in the U.S. is still small. The civil market value in the U.S. is only about $131 million in 2012, out of a total $2.53 billion spent by the U.S., said Philip Finnegan, the director of corporate analysis at the Teal Group, a defense-consulting agency. Its market forecast put the total amount spent worldwide on UAV production at $3.55 billion.
But the market is expected to expand in the next few years, especially as drone manufacturers seek new customers now that the U.S. military demand has ebbed in the wake of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Several drone manufacturers — including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and Raytheon — sit on the FAA’s rulemaking committee, helping the agency determine how to integrate drones into domestic airspace. [emphasis added]
Not surprisingly, the largest weapons contractors in the world are at the helm of this legislative proposal.
Cyclosapien 