HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 8747
City of Palo Alto (ID # 8747)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Informational Report Meeting Date: 12/11/2017
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program
Title: City Participation in FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot
Program
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Public Works
Recommendation
This is an informational report only and no Council action is required.
Discussion
The City recently learned that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is undertaking a limited
number of pilot projects to facilitate the establishment of safe commercial Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (UAS, a.k.a. UAV)1 operations while connecting local and national interests. The
program requires a state, local, or tribal government agency serve as lead applicant, in
partnership with private sector entities such as UAS operators or manufacturers.
The City has been approached by prospective partners with two operational concepts. The first
involves Stanford Blood Center, in partnership with UAS manufacturer Matternet. Stanford and
Matternet propose to address potential emergency medical needs by establishing an approved
flight path (anticipated west of Junipero Serra Blvd) and operating procedure enabling the
delivery of blood samples from the Stanford Blood Center at the Stanford Research Park to
Stanford Hospital. Attachment A provides additional background on this concept.
The second concept, from German UAS manufacturer Multirotor, proposes exploration of
various potential business use cases associated with various operational flight procedures at
Palo Alto Airport. This includes the avoidance of conflicts between UAVs and manned aircraft,
as well detection and avoidance of airfield conflicts with wildlife or debris. Additional City uses
could also be identified for future evaluation, such as public safety search operations and utility
infrastructure safety inspections, but would only be pursued after adequate public outreach
1 https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_integration_pilot_program/
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and City Council approval. Attachment B provides additional background on Multirotor’s
interest.
While potentially leading to many positive benefits to the community, any prospective UAV
operation raises numerous issues that would need to be identified, explored and addressed
before approval could be granted. These include, among others:
Safety: Safe operation of UAVs is paramount. The FAA pilot program establishes
reporting requirements and review processes designed to address physical,
technological, and operator requirements.
Environmental: The Palo Alto environment presents numerous natural and sensitive
areas, including the Baylands and other habitats, and UAV operations would need to
ensure compatibility if proposing operations within these areas.
Noise: Residential neighborhoods may be sensitive to noise from UAV operations, so
noise levels and hours of permitted flights will need to be specified.
Privacy: UAV navigation systems and other data collection raises the potential for
collection of personally identifiable and other sensitive information. Application of
privacy protections to UAV operations would need to be developed.
Community support: In addition to the issues identified above, UAV operations raise
the possibility of being perceived as a nuisance or threat from a variety of perspectives
and therefore must be taken into consideration.
The FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program offers the opportunity to
address these issues relatively early in the proliferation of UAV technology and applications
around the nation.
FAA’s national rollout of the pilot program involves a multistep application process with final
applications due by January 4, 2018. Upon review of applications, FAA plans to enter into
Memoranda of Agreement with at least five applicants to proceed with project development.
The City will retain the ability to withdraw from the pilot program at any point it is determined
the project is not proceeding in a positive direction.
Contacts with Stanford and other stakeholders confirmed their interest in exploring the
implications of the proposals. Based on staff’s review of this FAA program, we believe it could
provide a worthwhile framework for engaging key stakeholders in a proactive and constructive
manner and potentially influence national policy on conditions and requirements necessary for
safe and community-sensitive UAS operations.
At this point, staff has filed the required Notice of Intent and met with the companies to assess
viability and approach to next steps. Next steps require the development of a complete
concept of operations and plan to address technical and operating requirements. Should this
proceed to a formal agreement and prior to any operation, staff will formalize community
outreach, seek City Council approval and conduct any necessary environmental review.
Background
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On November 8, the FAA published a Screening Information Request (SIR # DTFAWA-18-R-
00001). The period of performance would be from the date of issuance by the FAA through
October 24, 2020. The City submitted a notice of intent (NOI) to the FAA as a Declaration of
Lead Applicant on the now-past deadline of November 28. The City's Lead Applicant initial
submittal is due on or before December 13 (with other "volumes" in the submittal packet due
January 4, 2018).
The City intends to submit on or before the deadline of December 13 an Interested Parties List,
to include the UAS private sector partners, other involved governments, Stanford University,
and Stanford Health Care (Hospital). If our application is approved, additional parties can
register via the FAA.2
There is no cost to the City for this program. The City can also withdraw from the program.
The FAA's objectives for the program are:
promoting innovation and economic development;
enhancing transportation safety;
enhancing workplace safety;
improving emergency response and search and rescue functions; and
using radio spectrum efficiently and competitively.3
Resource Impact
The role of City staff is essentially to facilitate the application process and to jointly learn from
and participate in the experimental operations conducted by the private sector partners. The
City as the lead agency would be providing staff time to facilitate the program, and all other
costs and expenses would be funded by the participants. Assistant City Manager and General
Manager of Utilities Ed Shikada will be the City's primary point of contact (applicant). Airport
Manager Andrew Swanson will be the lead for topics pertaining to the Airport and FAA-related
matters. Emergency Services Director Kenneth Dueker will be the subject matter expert
regarding public safety.
CEQA
Acceptance into the FAA pilot program does not commit the City to any UAS use. Before
approving any particular use, the City would fully explore the use, identify and address
potential impacts, and conduct environmental review if required.
Attachments:
Attachment A: Stanford Blood Center Concept
2 https://faaco.faa.gov/index.cfm/announcement/search
3 https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/uas_integration_pilot_program/apply/
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Attachment B: Multirotor Letter of Interest
Attachment A
Stanford Blood Center in partnership with the City of Palo Alto and Matternet is currently exploring the
possibility of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to optimize and improve patient care. This nascent
collaboration is currently in the exploratory phase, without any financial or contractual commitments,
while all partners continue to discuss and ensure that all aspects of the projects are agreeable to every
member’s constituents.
We aim to use UAVs in very limited clinical settings where timely delivery of blood products or
diagnostic specimens is of the utmost importance. Examples include emergent delivery of blood
products from Stanford Blood Center when there are patients whose usage outpace the available in-
house inventory at the hospital. More importantly, we are extremely aware and sensitive to the
concerns of residents; every measure to eliminate intrusiveness and maximize safety will be taken.
As we continue planning, we will submit a full application to the Federal Aviation Administration under
the UAS Integration Pilot Program to qualify Palo Alto as an Innovation Zone. If successful, this will allow
the federal assent to continue exploring this initiative. It should be emphasized that the application’s
submission only allows us for continued exploration and does not bind us to the initiative; we will work
with all local and community partners to ensure support for this program and will work assiduously to
address any concerns. If at any point the concerns are too many and insurmountable, we can always
disengage.
It is our hope that Stanford Blood Center and the City of Palo Alto in collaboration with Matternet can
define UAV usage in specific clinical settings that improves patient care. We are in the heart of the area
synonymous with innovation, and it would only make sense that we pioneer this in the United States for
the benefit of all patients.
Attachment B