04. A Note on Safety

Drone Regulations

Regardless of what drone you may be flying, make sure before you go out flying you have familiarized yourself with the drone regulations for your country.

US Regulation Resources

For those of you flying in the US, here are some links to important resources you should be aware of before flying a drone:

• Know Before You Fly - a great starting point for better understanding the different rules and regulations surrounding drones in the US.
• Registering your drone - in the US, all drones above a certain weight need to be registered with the FAA and appropriately marked.
• Part 107 - for those of you looking to fly beyond the capacity of a hobbyist.

Safety Tips

When flying, here are some general safety tips that you should keep in mind. In general, it's always good to err on the side of caution. Most importantly, fly where and when you are comfortable!

• be aware of your surroundings, including people, obstacles, and other drones and aircraft
• yield to, and leave plenty of space with, manned aircraft
• don't fly over people
• make sure you are flying in a large enough space for your level of comfort and control
• if this is your first time flying a drone, practice flying the drone manually to get a feel for how it flies before going right to autonomous flights

There are a helpful set of community guidelines created by the Academy of Model Aeronautics that are a great set of guidelines to follow for safety when flying.

It is also important to remember that most of these drones, including the Intel Aero, do NOT come with obstacle avoidance! The only obstacle avoidance is the pilot. Therefore it is very important that the pilot always keep an eye on the drone at all times, even during autonomous flight.

Disclaimer

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOUR RIGHT TO USE ANY CODE PROVIDED BY UDACITY IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE, THE FLYING CAR SPECIAL TERMS, HONOR CODE, AND COMMUNITY CODE OF CONDUCT. TO THE EXTENT UDACITY PROVIDES YOU CODE TO USE IN CONNECTION WITH DEMONSTRATING FLYING DRONES AND/OR OTHER AUTONOMOUS FLYING VEHICLES, SUCH CODE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE ENTIRE RISK FOR YOUR USE OF ANY CODE AND/OR OPERATION OF ANY AUTONOMOUS FLYING/UNMANNED VEHICLES. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED UNDER THE LAW, UDACITY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL LIABILITY RELATING TO YOUR USE OF ANY CODE OR YOUR OPERATION OF ANY UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OR FLYING VEHICLE AS SET FORTH IN THE TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO PROPERTY DAMAGE, PERSONAL INJURY, OR DEATH. TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU USE UDACITY’S CODE AND/OR YOUR OWN CODE FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS COURSE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, USE CONNECTED WITH A FLYING DRONE, OR AS OTHERWISE ALLOWED BY UDACITY, SUCH USE BY YOU SHALL COMPLY WITH ALL FEDERAL, STATE, PROVINCIAL, AND/OR LOCAL LAWS REGARDING THE LICENSURE, REGISTRATION, AND OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT OR OTHER VEHICLES. FOR EXAMPLE, BUT NOT IN ANY WAY AS A LIMITATION, THE U.S. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION HAS SPECIFIC RULES RELATING TO THE OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT. THERE ARE ALSO PRIVACY REGULATIONS THAT MAY BE APPLICABLE TO YOUR USE OF THE CODE AND/OR OPERATION OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT AND/OR VEHICLES AND ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THOSE LAWS.