FAA had over 500 drone complaints in second half of 2015

Over 406,000 drones have been registered with the FAA since December

If you look up in the sky these days, there's a good chance that you will see a drone flying overhead. As these devices become more prolific, and there are hundreds of thousands of them out there now, there are also going to be more of a chance of there being some type of problem, especially when it comes to other aircraft.

The FAA released a report showing the number of reported drone incidents from August 2015 to January of this year, showing 582 separate times in just those six months when someone called in complaining about encounters with unmanned aircraft (UAS). The agency says it now receives more than 100 of these reports every month.

A good number of them are in regards to UAS devices coming close to airports, which is restricted airspace, and illegal to fly in. 

While 582 seems like a lot, it's actually smaller than the number from the first eight months of the year; from November 2014 to August 2015 there were 764 such incidents, a decrease of 24 percent, though it should be noted that the new report covers a much smaller amount of time. 

The FAA says that, "Reports of unmanned aircraft have increased dramatically since 2014,"and that "Safely integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system is one of the FAA's top priorities."

The FAA has been trying hard to put regulations onto drones, and to gain a better understanding of who is flying them. Last year it announced that it would be implementing a registry for drones, one that would be "streamlined and user-friendly," would, ultimately, help drone owners understand the rules that come with operating one. 

More than 45,000 registrations were completed in less than two days when the registry went live in late December, and the FAA has now revealed that a total of 406,000 people have registered.

The registry applies to drones that weig more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) and less than 55 pounds (approx. 25 kilograms), including payloads such as on-board cameras. 

Registration is a statutory requirement that applies to all aircraft, particularly those who will use the drone for commercial purposes, or anything other than recreation, as well as those who want to use them outside of the United States. 

"We have a number of educational initiatives with our government and industry partners to teach drone operators how to fly safely, including the drone registry we launched last December," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement.

“But enforcement goes hand-in-hand with education, and we will take action against anyone who operates irresponsibly to the full extent of the law.”

The regulation of drones by the FAA has been a somewhat contentious issue.

Last year it proposed certain rules for drone usage, including restricting drones to daylight hours, making it so the operator of the drone has to be able to see the it while it is flying, and now allowing them to fly over people "not directly involved in the operation."

Both Google and Amazon vowed to fight these restrictions. 

Funding for startups in the drone space more than doubled in 2014 growing by 104%, with $108 million invested in a total of 29 deals during the year, but it exploded last year, with roughly $450 million in 74 deals in 2015, an increase of 300 percent in dollars basis, and 111 percent in deals.

(Image source: brattlefilm.org)