Individuals Can Join Database Establishing Drone Flyover 'Barrier' For Residences

Are you concerned about someone flying a small UAV over your house?

Even if you're not a celebrity dodging the paparazzi or a backcountry survivalist, you may not want someone with a quadcopter checking out what you're doing in your back yard. A new company called NoFlyZone.org has come up with a way for homeowners a way to establish a "no-fly zone" over property, "preserving and protecting residents' privacy from drones," according to a company news release. The company provides a comprehensive global database of no-drone areas, supported by drone manufacturers and operators who have joined the NoFlyZone community.

NoFlyZone will soon offer people the ability to set customized airspace access preferences. For example, individuals will be able to clarify that they may not want camera drones over their property, but they do want to receive packages delivered by drone. Some of these advanced features will be premium services, but those who register in February will receive a limited time offer of two years of all NoFlyZone services free of charge.

According to the release, UAVs are growing in popularity and becoming big business, gaining greater adoption among hobbyists, and momentum in industries ranging from entertainment to healthcare. Just before the holiday season, analysts projected 2014 consumer spend on drones to reach $720 million.

"Existing privacy laws and court rulings only go so far to protect personal privacy," the company said. "NoFlyZone and the drone companies in its community are leading the way in leveraging current technology to respect individual privacy." By allowing homeowners to register their properties on its online database, the company opens communication between people who want privacy and the drone manufacturers and operators using the skies above them.

"Drones have grown beyond just a recreational hobby. They're immensely popular around the world, and as usage is growing exponentially, people should to be aware of the great things drones can do for them, as well as their own privacy rights," said Ben Marcus, founder and CEO, NoFlyZone. Marcus has been passionate about aviation his entire life, starting with remote-control airplanes. He took his first flying lesson at age 10 and is an FAA-certified Airline Transport Pilot and Flight Instructor. Prior to NoFlyZone, Marcus co-founded leading aircraft brokerage firm jetAVIVA.

"Our mission is simple: To provide structure for the safe, reliable, responsible and sustainable growth of the drone industry by giving property owners a better way to interact with operators," said Marcus.

Using NoFlyZone.org, individuals simply enter their address to create a virtual barrier, or geo-fence, around their property. Drone companies participating in NoFlyZone's consortium honor the requests for privacy as they update software on their drones. Launch participants represent a wide range of companies defining the industry, including EHANG, DroneDeploy, YUNEEC, HEXO+, PixiePath and RCFlyMaps.

(Graphic provided by noflyzone.org)

FMI: www.noflyzone.org