A simple drone solution: pingable serial numbers

• Some have proposed line of sight requirements for drones, which overlooks a number of obvious issues
• The solution is so basic it is being overlooked: mandatory serial numbers that emit a signal whenever the drone is in flight

There have been a number of sensationalized reports of drones in near misses with manned planes, or drones being used for criminal conduct.

Sen. Chuck Schumer and others have proposed line of sight requirements for drones, which overlooks a number of obvious issues, such as a criminal deciding to break the rule. And you still have the issue of tracking who committed the crime.

EDITORIAL:When will FAA act? When a drone brings down a plane?

The solution is so basic it is being overlooked: mandatory, from the point of manufacture, serial numbers that digitally emit a signal whenever the drone is in flight.

I have represented a variety of product manufacturers, including major automobile and motorcycle manufacturers, TASER and military or law enforcement products manufacturers. A common theme among manufacturers of products that pose a risk to life if used improperly is traceability from the point of manufacture.

While criminals can alter such identification systems, doing so poses serious jail time at the federal level, which in turn presents a serious deterrence. Examples where serial numbers are mandatory include guns, silencers, and cars, trucks, airplanes, motorcycles and any form of moving vehicle that has the capacity to harm others.

Why don’t we require the same for drones?

Over 80 percent of drones are manufactured in China, many of which are sold as toys and ordered via the internet. If a drone is used to kill or hurt someone, which will undoubtedly occur in the United States sooner than later, there would effectively be no way to tie a purchaser to it and trace it.

While tracing is not absolute, it gives law enforcement a starting point for liability. As it stands, a person could operate a drone and cause harm, simply toss the controller and walk away, with no way to trace the drone or its operator.

While a serial number would not prevent a bad actor from misuse, it would permit authorities to find the purchaser and then begin the trace from there. It is such a simple fix, and its relative cost is minor, based on my discussions with GPS chip producers.

The solution is simple. Require all drone manufacturers who import into or sell their products in the United States to have a two-step integrated vehicle identification number.

The number must identify the manufacturer, the date and place of creation and the model number. It must be engraved in a fire resistant spot on a key component of the drone (such as a metal plaque on the motherboard).

Second, the drone must have a built in and automatic “pinger” that pings any cell towers with its serial number when in flight. This will permit authorities to identify with a subpoena if a particular drone was in the vicinity of a crime and was in operation.

While that could sound challenging, our cellphones do that right now, billions of times a day. Drone operators such as Amazon and cellphone companies are already in talks to use cell towers as GPS locators for commercial drones.

My point is this: Make it mandatory and do it now, before too many unidentifiable drones have entered the marketplace.

Existing drones without identifiers, because the technology is relatively new, will fade out of the market as they get damaged, break or become obsolete, a bit like musket ball firing guns. But if we continue without a mandatory identification system, a system whose parameters is already well established in other products, we run the risk of have no accountability for when the inevitable does occur, and we provide criminals with an untraceable and powerful tool.

James M. Arrowood is senior counsel with the Frutkin Law Firm in Phoenix.