DroneRules Pro

Drones are increasingly used both among recreational users and hobbyists, as well as among professionals and commercial operators, pilots and manufacturers. Due to their manoeuvrability, varying designs and sizes, as well as the vast array of hardware and software capabilities they could be equipped with, drones have found widespread applications in fields spanning cinematography, insurance valuations, construction project planning, real estate sales and infrastructure inspections among others.

As this new technology becomes increasingly available, it has encountered new and challenging regulatory frameworks. One such example is the European privacy and data protection legal framework, which in effect seeks to protect people from “nosy” drones. So how can commercial drone companies keep operating drones near people and comply with the law?

DroneRules PRO will contribute to the development of a privacy and data protection culture among Remotely Piloted Air System (RPAS) operators, manufacturers and pilots (UA professionals) by providing them with high-quality online information and education resources. By providing resources, specifically tailored to the different groups of drone professionals, DroneRules PRO will assist them in critically assessing the privacy and data protection risks posed by their activities and identifying appropriate safeguards. Drone professionals will be supported through an interactive e-learning course, risk minimisation resources and guides and offline training courses.  The project has a pan-European scope, as it closely cooperates with UA industry professionals and regulators and provides the resources in multiple European languages.

The project will ultimately assist UA professionals with understanding their legal obligations and will ensure the responsible application of commercial drone technology. This will, in turn, enhance the social acceptance of drones in Europe. To achieve this, the DroneRules PRO project will build upon the work of DroneRules.eu and continue to develop and enrich the resources available on its website.

Trilateral is the technical coordinator of the DroneRules PRO project and is utilising our expertise in the privacy, data protection, ethics and drone fields to develop the content of the project resources and outputs. To achieve this, Trilateral is working closely with stakeholders by actively expanding and interacting with the project’s Advisory Board and using all opportunities to meet and gauge the views of industry associations, data protection authorities and drone operators, pilots and manufacturers. Trilateral’s work seeks to create informative, accurate and well-tailored information resources.

The DroneRules PRO project will develop detailed and tailored information and education materials for drone pilots, operators and manufacturers. UA professionals will be able to benefit from an interactive e-Learning Course, spanning privacy and data protection principles, requirements and safeguards. In addition, for drone pilots and operators, we will make available:

• A Privacy Code of Conduct
• A Privacy Impact Assessment Handbook and Template
• A Pre-flight Checklist

Drone manufacturers, on the other hand, will be able to consult a Privacy by Design Guide.

In addition to information and educational resources, in 2019 the DroneRules PRO project will organise at least 5 live training sessions in the UK, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Poland, where these resources will be piloted and evaluated.

All resources will be made freely accessible on the DroneRules.eu website and will be available in English, German, French, Dutch, Italian and Polish.

The DroneRules PRO project will contribute to the creation of a privacy culture among drone professionals in Europe by targeting both drone professionals themselves and those guiding their compliance. The project’s impact will be to:

• Empower drone professionals to critically assess their drones/drone operations and adopt appropriate safeguards to ensure compliance with privacy and data protection law
• Create clear, useful and tailored training and educational resources that can be used by various stakeholder groups, including flight training providers, industry associations and regulatory bodies such as Data Protection Authorities, Civil Aviation Authorities.
• Contribute to the creation of a set of minimum privacy and data protection standards for the drone industry in the face of the Privacy Code of Conduct and encourage the creation of a Code of Conduct, officially recognised under Article 40 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

For more information and updates visit the DRONERULES PRO project website and follow us on Twitter @DroneRules_EU and LinkedIn