Having drones deliver packages for giant companies such as eBay or Amazon seems like the natural step the electronic commerce should take. But that is not a good enough reason for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to give them the green light. It’s why the governmental agency started the Pathfinder program in the first place. And the tests it’s about to run starting next Monday represent a significant step towards that decision. At the moment, one can purchase any type of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – whether it’s a cheap Kickstarter-born contraption or a thousand-dollar model – with one sole condition: to fly it in the owner’s line of sight. No matter how good your sight is, that remains a limited distance that stops drones from being used in economic activities such as inspecting bridges or wind turbines, and everything from agriculture to package delivering. The FAA is not looking to become some evil enemy of the economy, but they are supposed to prevent airspace hazards from happening. In other words, aside from shooting the average aerial selfies, there’s not much you can do with a drone until the Administration legally approves them to fly freely. For UAVs to fly […]

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