This week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced new safety regulations for unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds (25 kilograms) that are conducting non-hobbyist operations. In other words, the pilots and drones shooting your wedding video, trailing a snowboarder to catch the best trick as seen from above, or taking aerial footage of the horse ranch for sale in the next county now have dictates to follow. The general sUAS (small unmanned aircraft systems) rules that the FAA announced last year did a reasonable job of regulating small drones flown by hobbyists for fun. However, the rules did not make life any easier for anyone who wanted to fly a drone while making money; commercial operators were still required to register separately through a cumbersome and antiquated process involving paper. The FAA promised that sometime in the spring of this year, they'd announce a streamlined registration process for commercial sUAS.

Transportation of property for compensation or hire allowed provided that The aircraft, including its attached systems, payload and cargo weigh less than 55 pounds total; The flight is conducted within visual line of sight and not from a moving vehicle or aircraft; and The flight occurs wholly within the bounds of a State and does not involve transport between (1) Hawaii and another place in Hawaii through airspace outside Hawaii; (2) the District of Columbia and another place in the District of Columbia; or (3) a territory or possession of the United States and another place in the same territory or possession. If a company or person wants to fly a drone in a way different from these rules, they can do so by applying to the FAA for a Certificate of Waiver, which if granted will give them a legal exception. The rules are a major step towards clarity in the vague world of drone law, though I'm certain there is much still to be decided and discovered in the full body of the rule. Here, if you wish to delve through it, is the full rule.

This tanklike machine could now control a drone from the turret, too. A tank is a moving armored box designed to cause some pain. These tracked armored beasts of war are almost a century old, with the basic form more or less solidified by the end of World War II: put the big gun in the turret, and then drive, with a bunch of other tanks, towards the danger. In the massive battles of the European theater, and in the hypothetical plans for a NATO/Warsaw Pact fight in the Cold War, a tank was guaranteed to have clear targets. Today, as tanks are more often than not found patrolling cities and fighting insurgencies, foes are harder to find.

Flying a drone for commercial purposes will no longer require a pilot's license, the Federal Aviation Administration announced in new rules released Tuesday. Drones flown in for-profit uses will no longer require a special permit so long as they weigh no more than 55 pounds, soar no higher than 400 feet and fly no closer than 400 feet from buildings or structures, the guidelines stipulate. Previous rules required commercial drone operators to have a pilot's license and apply for an FAA waiver – a tedious process believed to have steered many businesses to use drones without proper permission. The new regulation, which takes effect in August, will allow anyone over the age of 16 to fly a commercial drone so long as they apply for a remote pilot certificate, which requires passing an aeronautics test at an FAA-approved facility and undergoing a background check. That threshold is far lower than a pilot's license – a move likely to encourage greater commercial use of drones, industry experts predict.

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration announced new rules regarding drone operation. Here are 5 things you need to know. A man flies a small drone presented by Japan's toy company Nikko Kyosho EGG at the International Tokyo Toy Show on June 9, 2016. WASHINGTON – New drone rules from the Federal Aviation Administration limit most small commercial drone operations to daylight hours and require operators to get certified every two years. The rules, made public Tuesday, mark the FAA's first attempt at a comprehensive plan to ensure the popular remote-controlled aircraft can safely share the skies with commercial craft.

In the not-too-distant future, Amazon could use a drone to deliver a package from a country warehouse all the way to … a nearby farm. And that, the government said on Tuesday, is about it. The Obama administration green-lit commercial drone flights but said it wasn't ready to let Google and Amazon launch automated drone delivery fleets out across urban areas. The regulations mark the government's first explicit efforts to define the commercial uses for the horde of small, plastic, buzzing aircraft that are invading America's skies. The Federal Aviation Administration said commercial drones are OK so long as the drone and its payload weigh less than 55lb, stay within unaided sight of the pilot and operators pass a test every two years.

Federal regulators just opened the skies to commercial drones, with guidelines that include more than a few caveats designed to encourage entrepreneurs while protecting everyone else. The FAA, which announced the rules today, hopes to facilitate innovative uses for the technology like bringing the Internet to remote areas while avoiding the idiocy of drones interfering with firefighting operations or delivering contraband to prisons. "We are taking a careful and deliberate approach that balances the need to deploy this new technology with the FAA's mission to protect public safety," says FAA chief Michael Huerta. The rules let anyone 16 or older who wants to make a business of flying a drone simply do so. In the past, pilots who hoped to make a buck with drones by, say, inspecting power lines, needed FAA permission, a process that could take months.

The federal government issued long-awaited rules authorizing businesses to start using small drones, but they don't resolve some of the biggest safety issues: flying them safely over people or beyond the sight of designated pilots. Without approval to operate in such conditions--current prohibitions left untouched by the regulations--industry officials say some of the most promising applications of unmanned aircraft remain years...

Ed Felten, deputy chief technology officer at the White House, said during the call that drones are becoming more advanced through the use of sensors and artificial intelligence that help them sense obstacles, making them a useful tool for government agencies to assess damage during emergencies. Felten added that drones are "still a nascent technology," so only state and local governments have passed privacy rules to govern the use of drones while the federal government considers broader regulation.

The Obama administration issued new regulations on commercial drone use Tuesday, clearing the way for farmers, businesses and other corporations to utilize "unmanned aircraft" in their day-to-day operations. The rule comes with several caveats: use of drones is restricted to daylight and twilight hours, operators are asked to avoid flying drones over people, and the aircraft are required to weigh 55 lbs. Operators--who have to be at least 16 years of age-- would be restricted to flying one drone at a time and vehicles would have to be within their line of sight. Pilots will also have to to pass a written test and undergo a security vetting process in order to operate the drones. Federal officials are willing to make some exceptions, offering applications for waivers for those who want to use their drones at night and fly over crowds.