UAV - Håpet er at begrepet "drone" skal ut - Det er antikvert og feil

A Drone By Any Other Name…

At a drone conference in Washington, D.C., last year, the trade group running the event sent a not-so-subtle message to the journalists there: The Wi-Fi password was DONTSAYDRONES in the press room.

As the drone industry takes off, many people in it say it needs a different name. They say “drone” suggests the devices are dumb, it is technically inaccurate and now has a militaristic reputation. Unmanned-aircraft advocates scold reporters and even congressmen who use the term.

But they have another problem: Few of them agree on what the devices should be called.

“Maybe we call it the ‘crone’ for commercial drone?” said John Mulcahy, a patent attorney with clients in the commercial-drone industry.

The alternatives are an alphabet soup. There is “UAV” (unmanned aerial vehicle), “RPA” (remotely piloted aircraft), and “UAS” (unmanned aircraft system). Some prefer the more digestible “unmanned aircraft,” or just “robot,” while European Union officials opt for the bulkier “RPAS,” or remotely piloted aircraft systems.

“We need another name for it, but I’m not sure what that new name should be,” said Zack Porter, a venture-capital executive considering investments in commercial drones.

The Federal Aviation Administration is still working out rules for the commercial use of drones—which U.S. farmers, filmmakers and others have been flying in growing numbers, even without permission. But both the agency and Congress have settled on a name: they use UAS in legislation and official documents.