IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Winter 2014 - 21

OPINION

Remotely Piloted
Airborne Vehicles

T

his article is a summary report on the
Eighth Workshop on the Social Implications
of National Security Series. This year's
workshop was held on "Remotely Piloted
Airborne Vehicles and Related Technologies," on September 29-30, 2014, at the University of Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia. The workshop was featured as
part of the larger Carlton Connect Conference: Challenges, Partnerships, Solutions.
The aim of the workshop was to further develop the
dialogue promoted by the Unmanned Airborne Systems
and Public Safety: Capabilities, Uses and Regulation
conference held at Flinders University in February
2014 by Professor Andrew Goldsmith. That conference
examined the current state of unmanned aerial systems
(UAS) capabilities and applications in civilian contexts
and explored the implications of their use for the future.
The Melbourne workshop provided a forum for
discussion around:
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the properties of remotely piloted airborne vehicles (RPAVs);
the different types of unmanned aircraft and
aerial systems currently being deployed or in
development;
the challenges and risks posed by the use of
RPAVs;
safety regulation as applied to the manufacture
and civilian use of RPAVs;
the nature of RPAV surveillance and other missions; and
how these impact on important societal values in
Australia and the United States.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2014.2367955
Date of publication: 1 December 2014

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

PHILIP HALL

The workshop considered the RPAV as a platform,
the mission capabilities of platforms and their "payloads" (current and potential), and the integrity of related
technologies that enable them to operate remotely. The
potential for future developments in those technologies
and capabilities, such as the ability for hostile agents to
take control of and autonomously direct airborne systems against the better interests of mankind, was also
discussed as was the issue of operator integrity, including the potential for incompetent, reckless, mischievous,
malicious, and criminal use of RPAVs.
The workshop brought together a select group of
experts and thought-leaders intimately familiar with
the societal challenges and implications of the rapidly
expanding use and sophistication of RPAVs and their
related technologies. Participation was restricted to 20
invited experts (including two from the United States)
and members of the Workshop Organizing Committee,
whose collective expertise covered the spectrum of legal,
insurance, regulatory, operators (military, commercial and
private), and technology (industry and academia) relevant
to the technological development, manufacture, acquisition and operation of RPAVs and related technologies.
The top three key conclusions of the workshop
were:
1) there is a need for a universal vocabulary that
facilitates the international dialogue on RPAVs at
all levels;
2) there is a need for a clear and robust international
framework for the certification of RPAVs and
licensing for their intended use; and
3) while there are countless proposed uses across
the vast range of RPAVs, not all are appropriate.
(continued on page 31)

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WINTER 2014

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