FAA Releases UAS Remote Tracking & ID ARC Report

The 74-member Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) chartered by the FAA has made its report [pdf] available to the public.

The committee comprised members from the aviation community and industry member organizations, law enforcement agencies and public safety organizations, manufacturers, researchers and standards entities involved with UAS.

Overall, the ARC provided the FAA with a substantial amount of useful data, including very detailed technology evaluations and a comprehensive list of law enforcement needs and preferences," the FAA said in their official news release.

"The ARC’s recommendations and suggestions, which are fully detailed in the report, cover issues related to existing and emerging technologies, law enforcement and security, and implementation of remote identification and tracking."

Although some recommendations were not unanimous, the group reached  general agreement on most. Highlights of the recommendations include:

• The  FAA should consider two methods for remote ID and tracking of drones:  direct broadcast (transmitting data in one direction only with no  specific destination or recipient) and (2) network publishing  (transmitting data to an internet service or group of services). Both  methods would send the data to an FAA-approved internet-based database.
• The data collected must include a unique identifier for unmanned aircraft,  tracking information, and drone owner and remote pilot identification.
• The  FAA should promote fast-tracked development of industry standards while  a final remote ID and tracking rule is developed, potentially offering  incentives for early adoption and relying on educational initiatives to  pave the way to the implementation of the rule.
• The FAA should  implement a rule in three stages, with an ultimate goal that all drones  manufactured or sold within the United States that comply with the rule  must be so labeled. The agency should allow a reasonable grace period to  retrofit drones manufactured or sold before the final rule is  effective.
• The FAA should coordinate any ID and tracking system  with the existing air traffic control system and ensure it does not  substantially increase workloads.
• The FAA should exempt drones  operating under air traffic control or those operating under the  agency’s discretion (public aircraft operations, security or defense  operations, or with a waiver).
• The FAA must review privacy  considerations, in consultation with privacy experts and other Federal  agencies, including developing a secure system that allows for segmented  access to the ID and tracking information. Within the system, only  persons authorized by the FAA (e.g., law enforcement officials, airspace  management officials, etc.) would be able to access personally  identifiable information.

In one section of the report it “addresses the need to have dynamic and active awareness of UAS near heightened awareness areas where a UAS could potentially pose an imminent threat to public safety and security. These areas could include: airports, heliports, prisons, military installations, nuclear facilities, large stadiums, and other critical infrastructure locations.

Stakeholders representing some of these locations expressed the need to have a system in place that would allow certain entities to be alerted when a UAS enters designated airspace near these heightened awareness areas. This would facilitate immediate identification, authentication, communication, and mitigation in areas where timely response is critical.”

The influx of drones near sensitive infrastructures and airspace propels the need for airspace security and drone countermeasures. The FAA will use the data and recommendations in the ARC report in crafting a proposed rule for public comment.