The first national system intended to prevent hobby drones from interfering with planes and helicopters fighting wildfires has launched, federal authorities say.
The U.S. Interior Department announced the kickoff of the pilot project Monday that uses a smartphone app and real-time wildfire information to create virtual boundaries, or geofences, that drones can't cross.
Officials say drones colliding with firefighting aircraft could be catastrophic. Planes and helicopters have been grounded numerous times this year because of drones, most recently on Sunday in Southern California where 10,000 homes are threatened by fire. Earlier this month authorities arrested a man they say flew a drone over a Northern California wildfire and grounded firefighting aircraft.
"We believe this program, which uses the global positioning system to create a virtual barrier, will move us one step closer to eliminating this problem for wildfire managers," Mark Bathrick, director of the Interior Department's Office of Aviation Services, said in a statement.
The Interior Department developed the system with DJI, the world's largest civilian drone-maker, and two other companies that specialize in offering navigational information to drone fliers, AirMap and Skyward.