UAV - Debatt pågår i USA

Drones over America? Time for debate

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By Daniel Suarez, Special to CNN

November 12, 2013 -- Updated 2024 GMT (0424 HKT)

The growing appeal of private drones

Source: CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Daniel Suarez: FAA releases road map for drones in civilian airspace by 2015
• He says privacy advocates complain but believes FAA's approach is sound
• He says civilian drones inevitable and useful; we must hash out best guidelines
• Suarez: Outcry over aircraft resulted in formation of FAA; drone debate is necessary

Editor's note: Daniel Suarez is the author of "Daemon," "Freedom," "Kill Decision" and the upcoming "Influx," high-tech and sci-fi thrillers that focus on technology-driven change. A former systems consultant to Fortune 1000 companies, he has designed and developed mission-critical software for the defense, finance and entertainment industries.

(CNN) -- On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration released its "Road Map" to integrate drones into civilian airspace by 2015, and it provoked strong reactions from privacy advocates. I've been a vocal critic against the creation of lethally autonomous combat drones, so you might expect I'd be concerned about the vague civilian privacy protections the FAA proposed for their six domestic drone test sites.

But actually I think their approach is a good one.

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta rightly pointed out that his organization is focused on maintaining aviation safety and not proposing new privacy regulations.

Daniel Suarez

The 74-page FAA civilian drone road map focuses a lot on developing "sense and avoid" technology to enable civilian drones to operate safely in skies already crowded with manned aircraft. But each of the test sites will come up with its own drone privacy policies and make them public, to (as the FAA put it) "help inform the dialogue."