BY Fast Company South Africa 4 MINUTE READ

Drones are becoming a top technological device for travellers, whether you are a content creator or someone who wants to document high-quality content.

But, before you pack your drone on your next travel trip, there are a few places that do not allow the flying of drones following concerns for privacy – as drones can be flown from 5km away whilst recording (and streaming) 4k footage.

Surfshark compiled data on drone legislation around the world – and then created a series of maps. Surfshark collated drone legislation for 210 countries from sources inc UAV Coach, RAND Corporation, UAV Systems International, and the Library of Congress, among others.

Drone laws around the world range from outright bans of the technology to relatively unrestricted flight, but most legislation focuses on how the drone is being operated and does not address nuances related to privacy.

The team found that drone regulation in each country fell into one of six categories, including an outright ban, effective ban, visual line of sight required, experimental visual line of sight such as experiments, where drones fly beyond line of sight are allowed, unrestricted and no drone-related legislation.

According to a press release, Surfshark assigned each country a category status based on its legislation as of October 2020.

These are the interesting facts included on each map produced in this project:

NORTH AMERICA

Picture: Surfshark.

• According to police in Ensenada, Mexico, one single surveillance drone has led to 500 arrests in the city and a 10% drop in the overall crime rate.

• Of the 1.8 million drones registered with the US FAA, 71% are hobbyist drones and 29% are commercial UAVs.

SOUTH AMERICA

Picture: Surfshark.

• Amazonian tribes in Brazil are using drones to track deforestation in the country.

• A tech company called Hugo recently began using drones to deliver hospital supplies in El Salvador.

• In Chile water rescue services use drones to deliver life jackets to people stuck in dangerous areas.

MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA

Picture: Surfshark.

• China is home to the world’s largest drone manufacturer, DJI, which controls over half of the world drone market share.

• While Iran bans the use of drones by the public, it was one of the first countries to use armed military drones.

• The Malaysian police deployed a fleet of drones for surveillance purposes to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

• Dubai, UAE has been testing passenger taxi drones, aiming to be the site of the first drone taxi system.

EUROPE

Picture: Surfshark.

• The first drone test flight occurred in the UK in 1917.

• Slovenia is the only country in Europe with an outright ban on drones.

• Domino’s successfully delivered a pizza via drone in the Netherlands in 2017.

AFRICA

Picture: Surfshark.

• Flying a drone in Ghana without a permit can result in a prison sentence of up to 30 years.

• The first African Drone and Data Academy opened in Malawi in 2020, which will focus on the use of drones for humanitarian purposes.

• In Rwanda, the use of drones to deliver medical supplies has cut delivery times from 4 hours to 20 minutes.

•Pilots in Ghana are using drones to disinfect public areas during the Covid-19 crisis.

REST OF ASIA AND OCEANA

Picture: Surfshark.

• There are some 5,870 licensed drone pilots in Australia.

• New Zealand’s beautiful landscapes make it one of the most popular destinations for drone tourism.

• In Indonesia you have to be 20 years old to fly a drone weighing more than 2 kilos.

• The National Parks Board of Singapore employs 30 drones to monitor park users to ensure they follow Covid-19 guidelines.


Article originally published on iol.co.za