ABSTRACT

In the United States of America (USA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains operational control of the national airspace and the aircraft in it – including small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). However, states and local jurisdictions can regulate collection of imagery/data and where the operator of the aircraft is located. Surprisingly, numerous states have enacted laws that impact unmanned aircraft operations in the national airspace. The proliferation of state statutes regulating sUAS operations and imagery/data collections has resulted in a patchwork quilt of laws affecting the academic or researcher using sUAS in the United States for image collections. These legal challenges are often known in a scientist’s home state but unknown and challenging to operate in another state. This research examined the state-level statutes (currently as of 2020) that govern sUAS operation and associated image collection in the United States as they would apply to academic research/instruction, in particular. All state statutes were categorized into the preparatory, operations, image/data collection regulations and the geographic space affected. The chronology, of when and by state, the laws enacted were also examined. These regulations are presented with interpretation of how the sUAS operator is affected and the possible exemptions available for university personnel lawfully operating a sUAS in their home state and in a non-home state. Problematic issues, such as the restriction of overflights over critical facilities, when the locations of these type facilities are unknown (because of security), are also presented and discussed. Recommendations on how an academic/researcher can qualify for an exemption to statute restrictions are provided.

摘要

在美利坚合众国（美国），联邦航空管理局（FAA）对国家空域及其中的飞机（包括小型无人机系统（sUAS））进行操作控制。但是，各州和地方司法管辖区可以规范图像/数据的收集以及飞机运营人的所在地。令人惊讶的是，许多州都颁布了影响国家空域中无人驾驶飞机运行的法律。规范sUAS操作和图像/数据收集的州法规激增，导致拼凑而成的法律影响了在美国使用sUAS进行图像收集的学者或研究人员。这些法律挑战在科学家的家乡通常是已知的，但在另一个州进行则未知且具有挑战性。这项研究检查了州级法规（当前为2020年），这些法规管理着sUAS在美国的运作以及相关的图像收集，因为它们尤其适用于学术研究/教学。所有州法规都被分类为准备，操作，图像/数据收集法规以及受影响的地理空间。还检查了制定法律的时间顺序和时间。这些法规解释了sUAS运营商的影响方式，以及在其本州和非本国合法合法使用sUAS的大学人员可以享受的豁免。还提出并讨论了诸如此类的设施的位置未知（由于安全）而限制关键设施飞越的问题等问题。