New Drone Industry Group Sets Sights on Improving Public Opinion

Cisco, CNN and drone companies said they formed an alliance to tout the benefits of the commercial unmanned aircraft industry in an effort to counter a negative public perception and actions by state and local lawmakers to curb drone use, in part due to privacy concerns. The Commercial Drone Alliance said in a Tuesday news release it will focus on educating lawmakers, fostering a positive view of the industry, and helping develop consensus-based standards, among other activities. While the Federal Aviation Administration predicted drone sales for commercial purposes will grow to 2.7 million by 2020, from 600,000 this year, "skepticism and fundamental misunderstandings have to led to efforts to stunt the growth of this industry," the release said. Diverse stakeholders in an NTIA-led initiative are expected to agree on voluntary drone privacy recommendations in two weeks (see 1604280066). The new alliance will be led by co-Executive Directors Lisa Ellman and Gretchen West, both of Hogan Lovells. West was previously executive vice president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, and Ellman is a former White House adviser who led an initiative to develop drone policy within DOJ. Other group members include Aerialtronics, AirMap, DataWing, Lift, Measure, Nightingale Intelligent Systems, SkySpecs and Talon Aerolytics.