CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, Syracuse University’s relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration was misstated. SU did not receive a letter from the FAA about getting a certificate of authorization. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Syracuse University students are enlisting the help of a Newhouse professor to form a student-based group advocating for the use of drone technology.

Arland Whitfield, a sophomore information management and technology major, wanted to create a group at SU to promote awareness of drone technology’s potential. For help, he reached out to Dan Pacheco, chair of journalism innovation at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Pacheco said he considers drone technology to be an important element of journalism’s future, but federal regulations prevent him from flying his own drones commercially.

“This is something that has potential uses in every industry, studying carbon dioxide levels for the EPA in the atmosphere, search and rescue and studying oil pipelines are all options,” Whitfield, the owner of a $4,000 drone, said. “It’s an easy and affordable way to go places people normally couldn’t go.”

Pacheco said he has been unable to use his drones commercially without incurring a $10,000 fine.

Pacheco said he feels the Federal Aviation Administration’s policies on drones are “ridiculous,” as the technology is becoming more available to the public. Meanwhile, there is “no transparent process” for getting commercial authorization for drones, he said.

 “If a flood were to come and hit central New York state, SU wouldn’t be allowed to tape it with a drone. The FAA is not allowing us to use this technology for journalism, which is really problematic,” he said.

Pacheco and Whitfield both prefer the term “unmanned aerial vehicles” due to the stigma attached to drones and the military. They said they were interested in testing UAVs in indoor facilities on campus. Though the student group is still forming, Pacheco already refers to it as the “Drone Avengers.”

 Pacheco said experimenting and becoming familiar with drone technology is important to its future.

“It’s important for Newhouse to explore uses for this technology and provide model behavior and to come up with standards early on to help protect this technology,” he said.

Yukti Matta, a graduate student in L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, also approached Pacheco, due to her experience with surveillance robots. She too joined the student group.

“As far as the impact of robots and drones are concerned, they have both advantages and disadvantages,” she said in an email. “While human intervention can be reduced to nil in places that require security surveillance, it has the disadvantage of intruding on privacy.”

Though he hopes it will become easier for civilians to use drones, Whitfield said he does realize the importance of regulation of drone use for safety purposes.

Said Whitfield: “I have no problem with regulating. If you can’t prove you’re competent, you shouldn’t be flying.”

Published on September 23, 2013 at 1:11 am