In February 2020 American company Nuro was the first who achieved the abolition of the two regulatory restrictions, which significantly complicated life to developers of unmanned vehicles in the United States. It is about an old, but still relevant requirement is necessary to put on the ground transportation side of the rear view mirror. In addition, such machines are bound to have a hard windshield to show the driver information from rearview camera when driving forward.
The need for a hard windshield is dictated by concern for the passengers of the vehicle, in a broader sense – about living people inside. This is done so they do not suffer from the dust and wind, and can remain inside without helmets. Rear view mirror is a concern about the driver, and the same goes for the rear cameras. The man behind the wheel should select where to get information, it can not overload the data. But we are talking about the man-the driver, whose drone is not by definition.
As shown, the bureaucracy was not ready to quickly adapt to industry changes and certification of drones for public roads is carried out according to the General rules for cars with a driver. This is not just a paradox or contradiction, and is a dangerous brake. The company Nuro lead this argument – when they got rid of the side mirrors, then made the outer surface of the UAV is fully rounded and smooth. That is, it does not remain potentially dangerous for pedestrians projections.
Moreover, the rejection of rigid windshield mount for the cargo version of the drone allowed us to add cushioning mechanism. Instead of glass here is a soft plastic cone that collapses inward upon impact, quenching destructive energy. As for the navigation tools in the turret are lidar, radar and camera in 360 degrees, which no mirror is not needed. Industry Autonomous cars desperately in need of reform legislation, and hopefully, they will not be slow to appear.
Source — Techcrunch