Amazon and Google have joined the FAA’s drone registration task force

This Christmas is going to create thousands and thousands of first-time drone owners, and the FAA want to have some proper regulations in place before anyone unwraps their flying safety hazard. In order to do this, the agency has formed a 25-member task force, which includes companies like Amazon and Google, and has tasked it with helping the FAA create drone registration rules that will have every consumer drone in the country registered with the federal government in a way that doesn’t harm the drone industry and stifle innovation. 

The FAA on Thursday announced the 25-member task force that will advise the administration on its proposed drone registration rules. The group is composed of experts from drone manufacturers, aviation associations, retailers and others, providing a good variety of perspectives. Currently there’s no plan as to what types of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles would be required to register, what it would cost to do so, or indeed what registering would even consist of. The goal is to get these details hammered out before the holidays, so the task force will meet next week (Nov. 3-5) and hopefully produce some practical recommendations. On the manufacturers side, there are major players like 3D Robotics, DJI and Parrot, who can provide technical details and the capabilities of various models. Groups like the Academy of Model Aeronautics and the Small UAV Coalition have much to share on the rules, arrangements and communities already in place. Retailers, including Best Buy, Walmart and two divisions of Amazon, and business associations will likely chime in on how the registration process might work in-store or online – but all three of those commercial giants have also stated an interest in using drones as delivery vehicles, so that will likely be part of the discussion as well.