The US Federal Aviation Administration has revealed its proposed new rules for small unmanned drones in a bid to accommodate future technological advances.
FAA administrator Michael Huerta said in a statement the rules were written with flexibility in mind.
“We want to maintain today’s outstanding level of aviation safety without placing an undue regulatory burden on an emerging industry,” he said.
However, in a blow to the scalability of drone delivery startups, commercial drones under 55 pounds will only be allowed to operate in daylight and – more critically – in “visual line-of-sight” of the drone operator.
The FAA is seeking public comment on whether it should permit operations beyond line of sight.
The Civil Aviation and Safety Authority is in a consultation stage regarding potential major overhauls of drone regulations in Australia, however, it is expected that red tape surrounding drones under two kilograms will be scaled back.
Actor and tech investor Ashton Kutcher spoke at the Tech My Way event in Sydney on Friday, predicting what he thinks will be the areas of technology to watch in the near future.
Kutcher says virtual and augmented reality, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, identification software and the disruption of government and local councils are the next big things in tech, according to Fairfax.
Kutcher is a product engineer at Lenovo and also has investments in well-known tech startups such as Uber and Airbnb.
August Capital – the high-profile venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California – has announced it has raised $450 million for a new fund.
August VII will be the firm’s seventh fund, aimed at supporting a range of startups “independent of stage”.
In a statement, August Capital partner David Hornik said he is looking forward to working with “more amazing people solving valuable problems”.
“My partners and I consider it a great privilege to work with entrepreneurs day in and day out, and we are excited to continue that tradition with August VII,” he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.26%, rising 46.97 points to 18,019.35. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 77.7 US cents.
