Drone Safety – Flying Tips, Policies & Regulations

Drones

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)/ Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) commonly known as drones/UAVs are unmanned aerial vehicles without a human pilot aboard.

The potential of drones is starting to be realized and it is making a big impact. They can take on complex tasks and reduce costs minimizing intervention of humans. The drone industry is growing rapidly, and people are finding new areas where drones can be used effectively.

There are innumerable uses of drones and it is growing day by day.

Drones can be used in a variety of domains such as:

• Shipping and delivery
• Photography
• Archaeological survey
• Agriculture
• Wildlife Monitoring
• Weather Forecasting
• Mining
• Rescue Operations

Flying drones in India finally became legal on  December 1, 2018.

India expects to have huge number of these devices by the year 2021. Industries such as agriculture, construction, surveying, roads, railway, mining, aerial filming, forest and environment study, etc. would be stimulated to great extent. This technology has a promising effect on the economic growth of India; both manufacturing and service industries.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s new Drone Regulations 1.0 layout the framework for how unmanned aircraft will be allowed to operate within the country.

DGCA has classified Civil drones into five categories with Max All-Up-Weight (including payload):

1. Nano: Up to 250 grams.
2. Micro: 250 grams to 2kg.
3. Small: 2kg to 25kg.
4. Medium: 25kg to 150kg.
5. Large: More than 150kg.

Before purchasing/flying a drone do visit https://dgca.nic.in/rpas/RPAS-ind.htm for all information pertaining to rules and regulations for flying in India.

Drone security

This industry is still young, but it’s just a matter of time when hackers shift focus to hacking drones or building malware to use it for their own selfish purposes. As drones have operating systems, network connections, and hardware in many ways a drone is just as easy to hack into as a computer.

If you’re controlling your drone via a computer or mobile device, it’s important to secure it from malware. If you lose control of your machine the drone may crash or land in an insecure place.

Check the following points for the safety of the drone.

Anti-Virus
If you are using your smartphone to fly your drone, make sure you have anti-virus installed on the smartphone. Without an anti-virus, malware may take control of your drone. Use Quick Heal Mobile anti-virus to protect your mobile against advanced malware.

Buying drone
Buy a drone from a reputed manufacturer. This will avoid the chances of faulty parts of the drone and will be less vulnerable to attacks. As per industry estimates, there are 5,00,000 illegal or smuggled drones.
Check this link for more info
https://www.rediff.com/business/report/security-scare-50000-illegal-drones-in-india/20190108.htm

Fly zone
Fly your drone in less technology/populated space. Follow the rules laid down by the Government of India for flying drones. Do not fly in “No Drone Zone” areas such as airports, heliports, military installations, international borders, etc.

Secure network
Fly your drone where there is a secure network. Ensure the communication is strongly encrypted.
An unsecured internet connection is one of the easiest ways to infect your drone with malware.

Watch for vulnerabilities
Keep an active watch on the vulnerabilities disclosed and check whether it can affect your drone. If yes, keep watch on the software updates for the drone and update your drone software as and when the patch/update is available.

With the above initial precautions, you can start with a safe ride of your drone.

Happy flying!