If you’re worried about drones buzzing around your property, enter your address on the website to set up a no-fly zone.
NoFlyZone.org works on the same principle as the National Do Not Call Registry, but responds to a 21st-century problem. The site saves your address and GPS coordinates in a global database which it shares with drone manufacturers in order to keep your home free from drone incursions, writes Stephanie Mlot of PC Mag.
Growing importance of drones
“Private property location information will be included in NoFlyZone’s comprehensive airspace database provided to participating drone companies,” the site says. “This database includes civil and military airspace, airports, hospitals, schools, and other sensitive locations.”
The site does not offer any guarantees as to the extension of the no-fly zone, because “it is up to those participating drone manufacturers and operators to determine how much space they wish to block around each property.” Nor does it guarantee that “no drones or other aircraft will fly over.”
“Drones have grown beyond just a recreational hobby,” NoFlyZone CEO Ben Marcus said. “They’re immensely popular around the world, and as usage is growing exponentially, people should be aware of the great things drones can do for them, as well as their own privacy rights.”
Dialogue between manufacturers and the public
Users will soon be able to set specific preferences, allowing delivery drones from Amazon but banning surveillance robots, for example. Advanced features will be available as premium services, but under the terms of this month’s sign-up offer these services are available to all new users for two years for no extra charge.
“Our mission is simple: To provide structure for the safe, reliable, responsible and sustainable growth of the drone industry by giving property owners a better way to interact with operators,” Marcus said.
Drone regulation is sure to be a hot-topic for 2015 as use of the devices continues to grow. Privacy and safety issues are of the utmost importance, as underlined by the crashing of a drone into the White House lawn last month.
