When is Follow-Me / Activetrack within/out regulations?

[RoboticTundra]

And are new regs needed for such autonomous operation?

 

[brett8883]

And are new regs needed for such autonomous operation?

What country?

 

[RoboticTundra]

Primarily U.S.

 

[Vic Moss]

The same rules for standard drone use apply to follow me. The only one that may go into effect in this instance is flying a drone from a moving vehicle. Not allowed in congested areas.

 

[RoboticTundra]

Thanks Vic. The bulk of the use that I see of this is someone running or bicycling and having their drone follow behind them. Illegal?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The pilot in charge rule just means they need to be able to take control immediately if necessary.
That could be as simple as being able to hit the pause button if it loses tracking, which can happen easily anytime.

 

[Chaosrider]

I have a vision of riding along on my motorcycle, with a passenger flying a drone that leads the way for us!



TCS

 

[Lets Fly]

Thanks Vic. The bulk of the use that I see of this is someone running or bicycling and having their drone follow behind them. Illegal?

The drone is not in VLOS, so according to the rule yes, illegal. Same as using goggles without a spotter, which is why some rules need changing.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The drone is not in VLOS, so according to the rule yes, illegal.

Are you sure ?
Most tracking use would certainly be at distances within VLOS.
VLOS doesn't mean watching your drone ALL the time with your eyes, it just means you should be able to quickly see it in that way if you need to.

If VLOS was watching the drone at all times, 99.9% of us flying and filming, composing photos, etc would be watching their screens and operating illegally.
Pretty sure this is not the case.

If it's tracking behind you at any time, signal loss is more of a risk, and it's harder to know exactly where it was . . . unless watching it on the screen and being able to see it is behind on the right quarter, approx 20m distance, and 20m high, etc.
It would be relatively easy to turn and be able to see the drone.

 

[RoboticTundra]

Do the rules say that you need only to be able to quickly look up and see the drone or that you need to be watching it, eyes on it, the majority of the time?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Do the rules say that you need only to be able to quickly look up and see the drone or that you need to be watching it, eyes on it, the majority of the time?

It’s a bit ambiguous.
Or maybe I just hope it is !!

Our (Australia) VLOS rule is as follows, cut and paste from the CASA website.

“You must keep your drone within visual line-of-sight. This means always being able to see the drone with your own eyes (rather than through a device, screen or goggles).”

> being able to If one was not able to see the drone except through a device or screen etc, the you are obviously beyond VLOS.

To me this means the drone must be visible by the pilot from where they are positioned.
Naturally while filming or composing photography, we are looking at a device screen at the very least.

Maybe 99.9% of Aussie drone pilots are breaking the rule every flight as almost all are taking video or photos.

What’s the FAA actual rule wording ?

 

[Lets Fly]

Are you sure ?

No, but here's the rule.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, the remote pilot in command, the visual observer (if one is used), and the person manipulating the flight control of the small unmanned aircraft system must be able to see the unmanned aircraft throughout the entire flight in order to:

(1) Know the unmanned aircraft’s location;

(2) Determine the unmanned aircraft’s attitude, altitude, and direction of flight;

(3) Observe the airspace for other air traffic or hazards; and

(4) Determine that the unmanned aircraft does not endanger the life or property of another.

I for one feel we certainly should be able to watch what we are videoing or photographing its only common sense. But what does must be able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight really mean?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

No, but here's the rule.
(a) With vision that is unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, the remote pilot in command, the visual observer (if one is used), and the person manipulating the flight control of the small unmanned aircraft system must be able to see the unmanned aircraft throughout the entire flight in order to:

(1) Know the unmanned aircraft’s location;

(2) Determine the unmanned aircraft’s attitude, altitude, and direction of flight;

(3) Observe the airspace for other air traffic or hazards; and

(4) Determine that the unmanned aircraft does not endanger the life or property of another.

I for one feel we certainly should be able to watch what we are videoing or photographing its only common sense. But what does must be able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight really mean?

Very interesting question to pretty much 'fall into'.

I think the "must be able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight" is to be read along with the next part "in order to", which basically means in the events listed be able to see your aircraft quickly, ascertain any risks, and take action required if necessary.

Our rules are basically the same for VLOS, except our regulator added "(rather than through a device, screen or goggles)" to make sure that was clear about the 'own eyes' part of the rule.

It must be the spirit of the rule that one can monitor their device screen, there's just no way around that.
If it were watching the drone all the time, there would have been some sort of clarification coming a long time ago.

Maybe @BigAl07 has some input, as he's up with FAA legislation, and as most countries take virtually the same rules for drones (probably though ICAO), it would flow on that other countries follow a similar line of rule application.

 

[maelstrom]

Although it doesn't help with the original question in the US, in the UK CAP 722 (Unmanned Aircraft System Operations in UK Airspace) now says:

‘Follow-me’ mode may be used for flight, up to a maximum distance of 50m from the remote pilot.

 

[RoboticTundra]

@maelstrom, that's good progress and even if not within the U.S. can help to influence U.S. policy.

 

[RoboticTundra]

But what does must be able to see the aircraft throughout the entire flight really mean?

I think legally this means that you must be able to look up and immediately see it. So you can be looking down at your screen the entire time so long as you know where your drone is and can look up and see it.

 

[RoboticTundra]

(2) Determine the unmanned aircraft’s attitude, altitude, and direction of flight;

This could be tricky. A small drone doesn't have to be very far away before it begins to get difficult to tell direction of flight by visual, particularly going away from you or coming at you (vs what you know you're doing with your controller). Attitude could be difficult visually as well.

 

[maelstrom]

So you can be looking down at your screen the entire time so long as you know where your drone is and can look up and see it.

Whilst it's obviously a grey area, I don't think that's what the rule means. One of the main reasons for the VLOS rules are so that you can take avoiding action if necessary. Looking down at your screen continuously wouldn't allow you to see what's happening in the airspace around your drone except for in the very small field of view provided by the drone camera. It's not just knowing where your drone is, it's more about knowing what's happening around it.