UK government launch drone standards to improve public confidence

The conference highlighted the possibilities that drones will bring to freight and passenger transport, which it claimed will reduce the need for expensive infrastructure projects, slash road traffic, ease congestion, save lives and decrease pollution in cities.

Robert Garbett, chairman of the British Standards Institution (7041 BSI) committee on drone standards, said: “The development and adoption of the first quality and safety standards for the drone industry will make 2018 a pivotal year for an industry which is set to become a global phenomenon. It is the year when British and world standards will be crystallised, energising the industry, and enabling it to meet its full potential to the benefit of UK plc, and indeed economies worldwide.”

Challenges that lay ahead such as the levels of intelligence to make a passenger-carrying drone vehicle safe for use at speed and the liability for accidents were also recognised at the conference.

The announcement is sponsored by Field Marshal the lord Guthrie of Craigiebank on behalf of the BSI and Drone Major Group.

BSI chairman sir David Brown and politicians such as aviation minister Baroness Sugg attended the event alongside other senior stakeholders in the drone industry, including manufacturers, users, service  providers, economists, academics and media.