DRONES

You got a license plate for that drone?

This April, new US drone regulations went into effect. While “Remote Identification”—or Remote ID—may sound dry, the rule will have far-reaching impacts on American skies.

Remote ID will have a tiered rollout that requires: 

1. Manufacturers to build broadcasting capabilities into drones, as of this September. This effectively creates a digital, real-time license plate system for drones. 
2. Drones to broadcast a unique identifier number and details about the drone’s orientation, starting in September 2022. 

So what? The rule, which the FAA called “a major step toward the full integration of drones into the national airspace system,” will pave the way for drone delivery at scale. But Remote ID, especially in its earlier incarnation, was not a welcome change for the groups who most passionately know and use drones. 

Rotor rules

When the FAA advanced the initial rule to the public comment phase, it was flooded with criticism, both from drone companies (DJI called it “deeply flawed”) and hobbyists concerned about the financial and privacy costs of the rule, among other things. 

• Over 53,000 individuals and groups wrote into the agency. 

In its final rule, announced at the end of 2020, the US government ultimately walked back some of the more unwieldy and draconian stipulations for its 21st century drone license plate system. 

• Drones won’t need a cellular connection to be compliant with Remote ID.
• The FAA also scrapped requirements that more sensitive flight data and personally identifiable information be stored in government databases. 

“I was actually very surprised with what the FAA published in the final ruling,” Greg Reverdiau, cofounder and lead instructor at the Pilot Institute and an initial Remote ID critic told the Brew. “I think it was overall a fair compromise.” He estimates that a Remote ID module will cost $20–$30 to add to a drone, and weigh 5–7 grams. 

• “I don't think it will reduce the number of people interested in the hobby,” Reverdiau said. 
• His sole outstanding qualm is that the location of the pilot will be shared with the public, “which I think is a terrible idea that will lead to pilots getting harassed or possibly worse.”

Wing, the drone delivery unit of Alphabet assisting with the build-out of Remote ID, also criticized this component of the final version. The broadcast RID methods stipulated by the rule could be intercepted by anyone with an internet connection, creating ominous privacy implications for pilots, Wing noted. 

Bottom line: The final version of Remote ID, a rule that will be an inflection point for US drone commercialization, didn’t escape criticism entirely. But drone makers and hobbyists alike are much more comfortable now than they were before.

Click here to read the full piece.—RD

AI

Gov’t agencies on facial recognition oversight: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After surveying 42 federal agencies that employ law enforcement officers about their use of facial recognition tech, here’s what the Government Accountability Office found. 

Between January 2015 and March 2020, at least 20 agencies owned their own facial recognition systems or used systems owned by others. Those “others” included controversial software like Clearview AI. 

Of the 15 agencies that used non-federal FRT software, only one agency (ICE) was aware of which systems were used by employees. The other agencies didn’t track that information, according to the report, meaning they had no list of approved FRT software—and virtually no accountability framework. 

Case study: Six federal agencies used FRT during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests, in attempts to identify people in images of “civil unrest, riots, or protests.” 

• For example, the US Postal Inspection Service used Clearview AI’s software in investigations related to damaging USPS property, stealing mail, and more. 

Three federal agencies also used facial recognition software to identify people at the US Capitol attack on Jan. 6. 

Solutions, solutions: Since most agencies using FRT had no accountability standards, the GAO made its own recommendations in a separate report, including introducing a tracking mechanism to identify which systems are being used and assess the risks. 

Zoom out: Proposed legislation, including the recently revived Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, would ban federal agencies from using FRT and other biometric technology entirely.—HF 

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CONNECTIVITY

In case you didn’t make it to Barcelona...

Mobile World Congress wrapped up its *in-person* conference yesterday, after a week of presentations and announcements from some of the world’s biggest telcos. 

The return to the physical event in Barcelona was rather...quiet, with many vendors opting to attend virtually and few companies making major announcements compared to past years.

Nevertheless, some takeaways

Samsung announced its One UI Watch user experience, which will bring “performance enhancements, a more seamless experience between the Watch and Android smartphones, and access to an even greater number of applications.” 

• One UI will be featured on the new platform it’s building with Google. Samsung, the (distant) No. 3 smartwatch maker, also teased its Unpacked event later in the summer, where it will reveal its new Galaxy Watch, which will also use One UI.

Qualcomm said it had organized support from over 35 telcos to implement the faster 5G variant, mmWave, in more networks. 

• Right now, most 5G networks and connections use the “sub-6GHz” variant. In plain english: Sub-6GHz is only a slight upgrade over 4G/LTE connections. mmWave will be most effective in urban environments, where large numbers of people are connecting devices simultaneously.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a keynote that SpaceX's broadband project Starlink is hemorrhaging money ($5 billion–$10 billion) and has 69,000 users, up from 10,000 in February. He hopes to have Starlink available to everyone outside of polar regions by August.—JM 

BITS & BYTES

Stat: Articulate, a software company that makes online trainings, raised a $1.5 billion series A—approximately 167x bigger than the average series A of $9 million.

Quote: “I think the vast majority of [drone] companies out there are trying to get the FAA to approve something sort of sight-unseen. That’s going to be really hard.”–Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo to the Brew 

Read: The hyperlinks are rotting away. 

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WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Maine passed the strongest statewide facial recognition ban in the US. 
• Tesla delivered over 200,000 cars in Q2, breaking its previous record of 185,000 set in Q1 2021. 
• The EU rolled out its vaccine passport yesterday. 
• Zebra Technologies, an e-comm automation company, bought Fetch Robotics, a leading autonomous mobile robotics manufacturer. 
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will require companies to report on car accidents involving driver assist/automated systems within a day of learning about them.
• Thailand is the latest country to crack down on Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.

GOING PHISHING

Three of the following news stories are true, and one...we made up. Can you spot the odd one out?

1. OpenAI founder Sam Altman announced an eye-scanning cryptocurrency project.
2. Augmented reality company Magic Leap will require its employees to return full time to its new “virtual office.”
3. Amazon wants to form a “rebel alliance” with Slack.
4. IBM botched an email migration, leaving thousands of its employees unable to use email for several days. 

LEADERBOARD

These are the cities dominating the rollout of 5G coverage, according to WhistleOut. 

1. Wichita, KS
2. Minneapolis, MN
3. Cincinnati, OH
4. Little Rock, AR
5. Aurora, CO

So...where are the more populous cities? Chicago (19th), New York (29th), and Los Angeles (49th). The larger cities ranked lower because 5G mmWave, the highest-performing 5G standard in urban environments, is expensive to build out and not yet widespread. 

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions: 

• Zipline's CEO on its plans for $250 million funding
• So far, 2021 is a unicorn frenzy
• What we get wrong about machines taking our jobs, part 2

GOING PHISHING ANSWER

To our knowledge, Magic Leap has made no such mandate. 

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