17.12.2018
Uncertain Skies: Drones in the World of Tomorrow
Main event: Lectures "WIFO-Extern"
Persons:
Katja Schechtner
Language: Englisch
Österreichisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
Recent years have seen rapid developments in drone technology. Today, drones have the potential to become a reliable technology for civil, commercial and leisure use, presenting both opportunities and risks for societies. Although surveys have forecast likely public support for the use of drones, widespread introduction will need to be accompanied by regulation to address privacy, competition, sustainability, safety and security concerns and be benchmarked against existing transport options. Current government regulation of drones tends to be either too restrictive (hampering the development of new designs), or lagging behind (causing reluctance among potential end-users to adopt drone use). Governments must, therefore, be acquainted with developments taking place in the international context of the industry – particularly when considering transport sector use cases. In this talk we will explore the rapidly developing concept designs for drones and drone services, questions of acceptability of drone services, and their safe integration within the transport system as a whole. We will also consider the use of drones for different scales of payloads – both freight and passenger transport – as well as their potential as a support to other modes and aspects of transport, e.g., logistics, monitoring, maintenance and emergency services. The insights from the discussion will be taken into account in the ongoing OECD Working Group on "Drones – Acceptability and Integration with the Transport System".