DJI removes geofencing from its drones in the US

If you are the owner of a DJI drone and you live in the US, you can now fly pretty much anywhere you want. DJI has announced the lifting of geofencing which blocked drones from flying over restricted and sensitive areas -- such as power stations, military buildings and the like.

The move brings US drone owners the same freedoms as those in the EU, but it could ultimately see DJI banned from the United States. But DJI is standing by its decision to lift restrictions, saying that a decade of having its geofencing system (GEO) in place has already helped to “foster responsible flight practices and prevent DJI drone operators from unintentionally flying in restricted airspace”.

See also:

• Microsoft increases its focus on artificial intelligence by creating a new CoreAI team
• Microsoft will forcibly install the new Outlook app on Windows 10 in February
• Apple defends Siri, saying the data it collects is never used for advertising, never sold, and never used for profiling

But the fact that DJI is no longer blocking its drones from flying in restricted airspace does not mean that the rules have been relaxed about flying in such areas. Drone owners will be notified if they drift close to a restricted area, but ultimately the choice about where to fly is in the hands of the drone operator.

In a blog post about the changes, DJI explains:

Areas previously defined as Restricted Zones (also known as No-Fly Zones) will be displayed as Enhanced Warning Zones, aligning with the FAA's designated areas. In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility.

The drone maker points to years of restrictions being in place as justification for the changes, saying that users have become familiar with what they are allowed to do with their drones, and what is not permitted:

When DJI first introduced the GEO system in 2013, consumer drones were still a relatively novel technology, and formal drone flight rules and regulations were sparse. The geofencing system was created as a voluntary built-in safety feature to help foster responsible flight practices and prevent DJI drone operators from unintentionally flying in restricted airspace, such as around government buildings, airports, or prisons.

Drone owner need simply to update their flight app via the FlySafe pop-up shown above.

Full details are available on the DJI blog.