Transportation secretary urges drone industry to engage public

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told attendees at a Fargo drone conference Wednesday they must do a better job of engaging the public about safety, security and privacy issues.

"You and other innovative leaders have got to step up and share with the public your understanding of new technology and address legitimate public concerns," urged Chao.

The secretary says regulators have a hard time keeping up with rapidly developing technology such as drones and driverless vehicles, and part of the challenge is public acceptance.

"Because unless the public feels comfortable with the new technology that is occurring today, we the regulators are being held back by the public's acceptance or non-acceptance of new technology," Chao told about 600 attendees at the Drone Focus conference.

One challenge related to drones is the ability to identify and track small drones for security and safety. The Federal Aviation Administration will start discussions this summer on how to use technology to identify, track and potentially disable drones, said Chao.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced the state is creating a public-private task force to facilitate development of the technology needed to detect drones and protect against illegal activity.

North Dakota is home to one of six national unmanned aircraft test sites and a number of drone businesses.

Burgum said the state is embracing and encouraging development of not only drones, but all types of autonomous vehicles.

"And I'm sure you all know people that say, 'hey you know that's Jetson's stuff, that's flight of fancy you know maybe someday but the projections are all wrong,'" he said. "This stuff is coming and it'll actually be here faster than what a lot of people are predicting."

The former Microsoft executive turned governor says automation technology and artificial intelligence will dramatically change transportation systems and he wants North Dakota to lead the transition.