A recent survey sent out to San Diego State faculty is designed to examine drone usage on campus.
The survey comes after the Federal Aviation Administration’s new regulations on the use of unmanned aircraft systems, or drones went into effect as of August 2016.
The new rules, called Part 107, are designed to minimize risks to other aircrafts, people and property on the ground, according to the Administration’s website.
A summary of Part 107 lists various operational limitations, as well as licensing and safety requirements for the pilot in command.
SDSU Export Control Officer Zena Hovda said that this is the FAA’s way of taking the unmanned planes, some of which have not seen regulations, and putting regulations on them.
Hovda said the purpose of the regulations include concerns for safety, airspace and reasons for drone use.
“When we knew that these rules were being put into place we wanted to take action to make sure we were in compliance,” Hovda said.
Hovda said that the main purpose of the survey is to ensure that faculty who use drones as part of work responsibilities are supported.
“Professors and faculty using drones for the purpose of research is where we chose to start,” she said. “We’re not looking into student usage just yet.”
Hovda said that the survey was created to find out what kind of drone usage is happening among faculty on-campus and off.
“We want to get a good grasp to see what we’re dealing with and make decisions from there to see what policies and procedures need to be put in place (on campus)” she said.
Kinesiology sophomore Jade Degraffe said she would not mind seeing regulations put on the use of drones.
“Since anyone can buy drones now, I feel like we should start having more rules to protect people and their privacy,” Degraffe said.
Undeclared freshman Joseph Ramirez said regulations on drone usage may limit the freedom that comes with operating a drone.
“If I spend all of my own money buying a drone, why should I have to comply with some rules that people made up to control how I use my own device?” Ramirez said. “That’s a little unfair to me.”
The final date for faculty to submit the survey is April 14, 2017.
“No measures have yet been discussed or decided,” Hovda said. “This is the purpose of the survey: to get a feel so that we can see what needs to be done.”
