On Thursday , the Federal Aviation Administration released its `` Road Map '' to integrate drones into civilian airspace by 2015 , and it provoked strong reactions from privacy advocates . I 've been a vocal critic against the creation of lethally autonomous combat drones , so you might expect I 'd be concerned about the vague civilian privacy protections the FAA proposed for their six domestic drone test sites . But actually I think their approach is a good one . FAA Administrator Michael Huerta rightly pointed out that his organization is focused on maintaining aviation safety and not proposing new privacy regulations . The 74-page FAA civilian drone road map focuses a lot on developing `` sense and avoid '' technology to enable civilian drones to operate safely in skies already crowded with manned aircraft . But each of the test sites will come up with its own drone privacy policies and make them public , to ( as the FAA put it ) `` help inform the dialogue . '' Consider that last statement the starting gun for what promises to be a vociferous and active debate on robotic vehicles in an open society . This is a debate that needs to happen , and with the FAA establishing these six `` sand boxes '' in which to practice various drone privacy approaches , we 'll see the good , the bad and the just plain ugly well before regulations are more widely adopted . That might sound messy , but this is how an open society should ingest revolutionary technologies -- by arguing like hell about them . And make no mistake , there will be a constituency speaking on behalf of drones . That 's because in the next three years , civilian drones -- that is Unmanned Aerial Systems -- could be a $ 10 billion industry ( with part of that presumably spent on public relations ) . And on both sides of this struggle , the first combatants will be legions of lawyers arguing drone law and establishing legal precedents in local , state and federal courts . This has happened before . Few will remember that at the birth of aviation , property laws were such that landowners owned the air above their heads , too -- theoretically all the way up into space . And landowners were not happy with the idea of aircraft noisily `` trespassing '' over their property , and yet it was difficult for aviators to fly only over public right-of-ways , especially in poor weather conditions . What followed were legal battles , with one railroad trying to stop rival airmail by claiming `` aerial trespass '' if aviators followed their rail lines . There was aviation litigation about wrongful deaths , noise pollution , canceled flights , air crew working conditions , deferred maintenance , etc . Eventually all that debate , legal precedent and working knowledge was boiled down into a regulatory framework that became the Federal Aviation Administration . Few would argue that FAA regulation has harmed the aviation industry or society . Just ask yourself if you 'd be willing to step on an unregulated commercial aircraft . I thought so . Those regulations made a level playing field for airlines and allowed the entire industry to prosper while simultaneously benefiting the public . But getting there was n't pretty . And so it will be with civilian drones . It will take the passionate debate of civil rights activists , entrepreneurs , hobbyists , aerospace engineers , farmers , environmentalists , ethicists and many more for society to arrive at a stable legal framework to safely and equitably integrate robotic aviation and autonomous vehicles into our society . There is no agency or bureau that will do this for us , and these are thorny issues . For every privacy activist I agree with on the subject of drones , there is also someone with a compelling vision of how they could be used for good , such as entrepreneurs who envision precision agriculture drones that could reduce pesticide use through surgically precise and infinitely patient ministering to crops . Agriculture alone could represent 80 % of the civilian drone industry . And as one drone industry executive put it : `` corn does n't mind if you watch it . '' In case you missed the starting gun for the civilian drone privacy debate , it 's just been sounded .
Daniel Suarez : FAA releases road map for drones in civilian airspace by 2015 . He says privacy advocates complain but believes FAA 's approach is sound . He says civilian drones inevitable and useful ; we must hash out best guidelines . Suarez : Outcry over aircraft resulted in formation of FAA ; drone debate is necessary .