Elwell: UAVs Will “Do For Aviation What The Internet Did For Information” Written 7 September 2018

Aviation International News reports that in his keynote address at the InterDrone conference in Las Vegas, Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell forecast that UAVs will “do for aviation what the internet did for information,” and called upon the industry to work with the FAA on their integration into national airspace. Elwell charged industry leaders to make not just a business case for an expansion of UAV operations but a safety case, taking into account the legitimate concerns of the public and law enforcement. Elwell continued, “The public has very real and justified questions about these aircraft. And their concerns can’t just be swept under the rug. If we want this technology to take hold, we’ve got to take these questions head on.” Elwell was critical of lax regulation of recreational UAVs in contrast to commercial operation, arguing, “Until we can set remote ID requirements that will be universally applied to every drone, until we can make sure everyone is following the same rules inside the system, full integration just isn’t possible.” Elwell concluded that “a lot of safety problems require technological solutions. And that means we need buy-in from all of you. The innovators. The inventors. The out-of-the-box thinkers.” 
More Info (Aviation International News)