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Aviation Technology Graduate Student
D
P

Public Perception
of Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles
Alice Tam
tama214@gmail.com

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s
Part of the Risk Analysis
Commons
Tam, Alice, "Public Perception of
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" (2011).
Aviation Technology Graduate Student
Publications. Paper 3.
http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/atgrads/3

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Runninghead:UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

PublicPerceptionofUnmannedAerialVehicles

ThisproposalissubmittedtothefacultyofPurdueUniversity,inpartialfulfillmentoftherequirements
fortheMasterofScienceinAviation&AerospaceManagementdegree

AliceTam

November8,2011

1105AnthropDrive
Apt.4
WestLafayette,Indiana,47906(812)
5992706tama214@gmail.com
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

Abstract
Thisstudyexploredpublicriskperceptionofunmannedaerialvehicles(UAV)forcivilian
commercialoperations,includingcargoandpassengertransportation.Civilianoperatorsare
consideringtheuseofUAVstoincreasesafetywhilereducinglaborcosts,butnegative
perceptionsmaydelaytheadvancementoftheseaircraft.TodocumentperceptionofUAVor
UASaircraftforcommercialoperations,aquestionnairewasdistributedtoadults(ages18+)who
usecommercialairtravel.Thesurveyclassifiedagegroup,gender,andUAVfamiliarityas
demographicvariables.ThisstudyassessedriskperceptionofUAVsanditscorrelationtothe
variablesthroughstatisticalanalysistoidentifywhethertherewasanassociationbetweenthe
demographicvariablesandriskperception.Uponanalysis,itwasdeterminedthatthedatafrom
thesampleshowednostrongevidencethatdemographicvariablesinfluencedriskperception.
Manyrespondentsrisksperceptionsinvolvedtechnologyreliabilityandhigherperceivedsafety
withahumanpilotonboard.
Keywords:UnmannedAerialVehicles,UAV,RiskPerception
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

Introduction
TheaviationindustryhasbeenstudyingthepotentialuseofUnmannedAerialVehicle
(UAV)commercialairlinersintheNationalAirspaceSystem(NAS)forcargoandpassenger
transportoperations.Commercialcarriersmayconsidertheuseofunmannedaircraftduetothe
possibleaddedsafetyandthecostreductionbenefits,whichUAVsmayyield.Althoughthe
implementationofUAVscanbebeneficial,publicperceptionisaninfluentialfactorintheiruse,
particularlyforpassengertransportation.Thepurposeofthisstudywastoidentifythegeneral
travellingpublicscurrentconcerns,issues,andperceptionstowardUAVs.Thisstudyanswered

thequestion:Whatarethegeneraltravellingpublicsissues,concerns,andperceptionstoward
theuseofUnmannedAerialVehiclesforCommercialAviation?
LiteratureReview
Arapidlyexpandingtechnologicalenvironmenthaspromptedtheconsiderationof
UnmannedAerialVehiclesforcommercialaviation.Currently,UAVaccessintotheNASisstill
heavilyrestrictedduetothelackofprocedures,standards,andpolicies.However,theNASis
beingrestructuredtomakeairtravelmoreconvenient,efficient,anddependable.Thiscontinuous
overhaulprocesswillleadtotheNextGenerationAirTransportationSystem(NextGen).That
systemshouldbeabletoaccommodateincreasedairtrafficmoreefficientlywithareductionin
accidents.CongressintentionallyinstitutedtheJointPlanningandDevelopmentOffice(JPDO)
in2003toaidinthedesignanddevelopmentofNextGen.ThecurrentJPDO(2011)planning
documenthasstatedthatanessentialpartofthedesignandexecutionoftheNextGenisthe
incorporationofUAVsintotheNAS.Itisalsopredictedthatin2018,morethan15,000UAV
willbeinusewithintheUnitedStates,whiletherewillberoughly28,000activeworldwide
(TealGroup,2011).
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

AlthoughideasforUAVusagehaveexistedforalmost100yearsinmilitaryaviation,
theyhaveonlyrecentlyreceivedrecognitionforuseincommercialaviation(Dalamagkidis,
Valavanis,&Piegl,2009).MilitaryemploymentofUAVsdatesbacktotheearly1900s,withthe
firstexamplesbeingballoonsandkites.ThemilitarygenerallyusesUAVsforreconnaissance,
surveillance,andintelligencewhilecivilaviationutilizesthemforborderpatrolandsecurity.
UAVsarealsousedforenvironmentalpurposesandreliefefforts(Hood,2009;Hornyak,2011).
Forexample,Hood(2009)discussedtheNationalOceanicandAtmospheric

Administration(NOAA)useofUASstocollectdatathatmighthaveotherwisenotbeen
availablethroughuseofhumanoperatedaircraft.UAVscansafelypenetratevolcanicplumes,as
wellasaidinthepredictionandforecastingoftropicalstorms,droughts,andfloods.Hood
postulatedthatUAVsmighthelpforecastlandfalltimesoftropicalstorms,whichcouldbea
majoradvantageforevacuationandsafetyeffects.Inaddition,HoodalsoanticipatedthatUAV
gathereddatawouldimproveknowledgeaboutclimatechangesandthepossibleeffectsofthose
changesoncoastlinesandecologies.Inarecentcase,NorthropGrummansGlobalHawkUAV
wenttoJapantoaidinreliefeffortsfromthedamageoftheMarch2011earthquakeandtsunami
catastrophe(GlobeNewswire,2011).InadditiontothecrisesinJapan,GlobalHawkparticipated
inreliefeffortsafterHaitisearthquakeinJanuary2010(Hornyak,2011).InaPACAF(2011)
article,PACAFcommanderGaryNorthconsideredtheGlobalHawkasanidealassettoaidin
disasterreliefandthatitdirectlycomplementedcontinuedeffortsintheareaandrepresented
howadvancedtechnologycanprovidecrucialandtimelysupporttoseniorleadershipofficials
andsearch,recoveryanddisasterreliefefforts.
Regardingcivilaviation,cargooperatorsareconsideringuseofUAVstoreducelaborcosts
andimprovesafety(Han,etal.,2004).Asmuchas85%ofaircraftaccidentsaretheresult

UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

ofhumanerror(MacSweenGeorge,2003).Willitreallybethatmuchsafertoflyifthereisa
machinemakingdecisionsratherthanahuman?Thetechnologyisstillundergoingresearchand
developmenttests,butsomebelievehumanerrorwillnolongerbesuchalargecontributing
factorinsafetyissuesaftertheremovalofthehumanpilot(s)fromtheflightdeckandwiththe
fullautomationofUAVs.FourlongtermprioritiesforUAVdevelopmentswereidentifiedas
selfsituationalawareness,designandcertification,integrityandfaulttolerance,andcrosscutting
priorities(JPDO,2011).Theseprioritiesshouldmeetacargooperatorsgoalforincreased

safety,whilealsomeetingeconomicefficienciesthroughthereductionofpilotlabor.JPDO
(2011)gaveabriefexplanationofeachofthepriorities.Selfsituationalawarenessofthe
unmannedsystemwasexplainedasthesystemscapabilitytoindependentlyidentifyand
determineexternalrisks,environmentaleffects,navigation,andcontrol.DesignandCertification
wasdefinedasthecapabilitytodesignandcertifysystemplatformsandthesysteminits
entirety.IntegrityandFaultTolerancewasreferredtoasthecapabilitytoupholdsafetyand
exercisetolerancetocomponentfailureswithouthumanintervention.CrosscuttingPrioritieswas
explainedtobetrustinunmannedsystemsandtrustinsystemsofsystems.Thiswouldentail
establishingtrustthatincludesfacetsofreliabilityofthesystemandconfidenceofthesystemas
perceivedbyhumans.
Airlineoperators,inadditiontocargooperators,arecontemplatingtheincorporationof
UAVsforpassengertransportation.ClothierandWalker(2006)directlyaddressedsomeofthe
riskperceptionissuesrelatedtoUAVtransportation.Forinstance,whilecivilianoperatorsmay
eventuallyaspiretouseUAVsinflightoperations,publicperceptionmayhinderthegrowthof
thisunmannedresource.ApassengerairlinesprematureacquisitionofUAVsmightbe
especiallycostlyifthepublicwereunwillingtoacceptthem.Therefore,itisevidentthat
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION
minimizingriskperceptionofUAVswillbeavitalsteptowardtheadvancementofcivilianuse
ofUAVs.
MacSweenGeorge(2003)conductedresearchtodeterminewhetherthepublicwould
acceptUAVsforcargooperationsandpassengertransportation.MacSweenGeorgedeveloped
twostandardizedsurveyscontainingthesamefourquestionsoneachform.Arandomsample
ofonehundredtwentypeopleparticipated.WhileSurveyAcontainedquestionsonly,SurveyB
containedthesamequestionsaccompanyingaparagraphofUAVinformationtoeducatethe

individualcompletingthesurvey.MacSweenGeorgesplitthesamplegroupintotwoseparate
groupsofsixtyparticipantsandprovidedeachgroupwitheitherformAorB.Survey
participantshadnoknowledgeoftheothersurveyformandwereonlyawareoftheonethey
answered.Surveyquestionsincluded:
1. Would you support the FAA in allowing automated (unmanned) aircraft to
transportCargo?
2. Wouldyouflyinautomatedaircraftforbusiness?
3. Wouldyouflyinautomatedaircraftforpleasuretrips?
4. Wouldyouflyinautomatedaircraftifitwere50%cheaperthanregularfares?
Thepossibleanswerswithinthequestionnairewereyes,no,andnotsure.Surveyresults
weretabulatedandthedatawasanalyzedwithSPSSstatisticalsoftware.Theresultingoutput
waspresentedintablesandbarcharts.MacSweenGeorgeusedcontingencytablesandone
dimensionalchisquaresignificanceteststoevaluateanddecidewhetherthehypothesiswas
rejectedorsupported.Thefindingsgenerallyindicatedthateducation(orothervariables)
mighthaveinfluencedpublicopinionregardingUAVoperationsincommercialservice.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

MacSweenGeorgenotedFormBs15%increaseinquestion1syesresponsesmay
havebeeninfluencedbytheeducationalparagraphprovidedatthetopofthesurveyorother
unknownvariables.Regardingresponsestoquestions24,therewasanincreaseinthenotsure
responseforallthreequestions.MacSweenGeorgesaidthismighthaveindicatedthatthe
educationalparagraphandotherunknownfactorsmayhaveinfluencedpublicperception.
Concerningquestionsaddressingbothcargoandpassengerflights,itappearedevenalittle
knowledgeprovidedonthesurveyformincreasedthelikelihoodforUAVapprovalfromthe
public.InformingandeducatingthepublicaboutUAVswillmostlikelybeanessentialandvital

partofintroducingthisnewtechnologyforpublicacceptancetoreducetheriskperceptioninthe
useoftheseunmannedsystems.
MacSweenGeorge(2003)impliedcargooperationsincreaseeachyearandbelieved
theseoperationsmaybemoreefficientifUAVstransportedcargo.Han,etal.(2004)stated
currentcargosystemsguaranteedeliverywithin24hours;however,itissuggestedUAV
aircraftmaydecreasethetimetoaslittleas8hourswithshortrangeoperations.CivilianUAV
cargoimplementationcouldbeeconomicallybeneficialforabusiness,intermsofreturnon
investment.Han,etal.listeddifferentdesignalternativesforUAVs(e.g.,fullyautonomous
system,useofacopilot,anduseofagroundoperator).Afullyautonomoussystemis
completelypilotlessandhasanonboardcontrolsystemthatisabletocontrolandmake
decisions,thusrequiringnohumaninteraction.Ifthesystemhasacopilot,he/shewouldactas
anaddedfactorofsafetyandonlyassumecontroliftheUAVweretomalfunction.Asidefrom
thebenefitofsafety,thereductiontoonepilotintheflightdeckalsopermitscostreduction
throughmitigationofrequiredlabor.Han,etal.(2004)alsonotedthatiftheUAVhasaground
controller,he/shewouldmonitoroperationsremotelyandberesponsibleforensuringsafetyand
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

securityofuptothirtyUAVaircraft.Inthisdesignalternativewithagroundoperatormonitoring
multipleaircraft,itisassumedtheoperatorwillonlyinterveneifthesystemmalfunctions.The
aircraftwouldprovideinformationoftheirflightplan,equipmentstatus,andflightstatusthrough
aninternalinformationrelaysystem.Throughthisgiveninformation,theoperatorwouldknow
whentointerveneandwouldsubsequentlycontactAirTrafficControlforanalternativecourse
ofaction(Han,etal.,2004).Thisalternativemaybebothabenefitandaliability,dependingon
theperspectivefromwhichoneviewsit.Forexample,onegroundoperatormonitoringmultiple
unmannedoperationsmayreducelaborcostsforacompanyunderwhichtheUAVisoperating.

However,thismaybeamajorliabilityifmorethanonesystemmalfunctionedatonetime.
Multiplemalfunctionsmayoverloadthegroundoperator,especiallyifhe/sheismonitoringupto
thirtyUAVaircraft.Anoverloadedandoverstressedgroundoperatorwouldpotentiallyaffectthe
safetyandsecurityofallunmannedsystemsthatareexperiencingmalfunctions.
Priorstudiesproposedthepublicsriskperceptionreliednotonactualrisk,butratheron
perceivedbenefitsofthetechnology(Weibel&Hansman,2005).Alargeinfluenceonrisk
perceptionwasthefearofwhatisunknownorunfamiliar.Thiswasaresultoftheuncertainty
intechnologyandtheinadequateunderstandingofitscapability.BecauseUAVtechnologyis
somewhatnewtocivilaviationandthepublic,Clothier&Walker(2006)believed
underexposurefuelsnegativeperception.Tofurthergainpublicacceptanceandreducethe
perceivedriskinvolved,itseemseducationandgreaterexposuretoUAVwillberequired.
Methodology
AquestionnairebasedonearlierworkbyMacSweenGeorgewasdevelopedtocollect
datapertinenttoidentifyingthepublicsissuesandperceptionstowardtheuseofUnmanned
AerialVehiclesforcommercialoperations.Copiesofthisquestionnaireweredistributed
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION
electronicallytofacultymembersatalargeMidwesternuniversityaswellasmembersofthe
InternationalSocietyofAircraftTraders(ISTAT),aprofessionalgroupfamiliarwithaviation
industryissues.Adults(ages18+)withinthesetwogroupswereaskedtoparticipateinthis
studybecausetheywereconsideredknowledgeableaboutairtravel,andcouldaccuratelyreflect
theviewsofthegeneraltravellingpublic.Thesurveytookapproximately5minutestocomplete
onlineandallparticipantsremainedanonymous.
Thequestionnairecontaineddemographicprofilequestions,whichhelpeddetermine
whethercertaindemographicvariablesofthesamplepopulationwerecorrelatedwithrisk

perceptionofUAVs.Uponsurveycompletion,datawascollectedandanalyzedwithSPSS
statisticalanalysissoftware.Histogramsandbarchartswerecreatedtorepresentdataoutput.
ResultsandDiscussion
Ofthe170respondents,158completedthesurveyandtheircompleteddatasetswere
takenintoconsiderationfordataanalysis.The12remainingincompletedatasetswereomitted
fromdataanalysisforvaliditypurposes.Outof158respondents,60%ofrespondentsweremale
and40%werefemale.About53%oftherespondentswerebetweenages5064,29%between
ages3549,12%betweenages2534,4%overage65,and2%betweenages1824.
Responsesindicatedthat98%ofrespondentsusuallyflyatleastonceayear,82%generallyfly
ineconomy/coach,and77%flydomesticallymoreoftenthaninternationally.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

Figure1.RespondentsratedtheirfamiliaritywithUnmannedAerialVehiclesonascaleof1to
5,1beingnoknowledgeand5beingexpertknowledge.Thenormaldistributioncurveshows
themeanresponseforfamiliaritytobe2.3.

10

Number of Respondents

Number of Respondents

Figure2.RegardingtheuseofUAVairlinersforpassengertransportation,respondents
statedwhethertheysupportedeachrespectiveoperationbyrespondingwithYesorNo.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

Figure3.RegardingtheuseofUAVairlinersforcargotransportation,respondentsstated
whethertheysupportedeachrespectiveoperationbyrespondingwithYesorNo.

Figure1suggestedthattheaveragefamiliarityofUAVsamong158respondentswas
littletomoderateknowledge.Althoughonly5/158respondentsindicatedtheywereexperts,itis
possibletheyeventheydidnotreallyknowthatmuchaboutUAVs.Thisisbecausewhat
determinedexpertknowledgewasnotclearlydefinedwithinthequestionnaire.Figure2showed
anoverwhelmingmajorityofrespondentswouldnotsupportafullyautomatedUAVairlineror
aUAVairlinerwitharemotepilot(groundoperator)forpassengertransportation.However,
responsesvariedgreatlywhenitwassuggestedtherewouldbeapilotonboardtomonitorthe
UAV.Couldthispossiblysuggestthatapilotonboardtheaircraft,abletointerveneand

11

overridetheautomatedsystem,increasesperceivedsafety?
WhencomparingresponsesbetweenFigures2and3,respondentsweregenerally
dismissivetowardUAVairlinesforpassengertransportation,unlessapilotisonboard.Responses
indicatedtherewasnotasmuchresistancetoUAVsusedforcargooperationswhencomparedto
UAVsusedforpassengeroperations.Thisseemedtobeespeciallytruewhentherewouldhave
beenapilotonboardforcargotransportation,asFigure2andFigure3suggested,many
respondentswouldfeelsaferwithapilotonboardtheaircraft.Thismightpossiblybedue

UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

12

toperceivedsafetyriskthataUAVmayposetopeopleduringpassengertransportation.The
perceivedriskidentifiedinresponsestoquestions11and12ofthequestionnaire(see
AppendixA),wascausedbytheabsenceofahumanonboard.About38/126respondents
indicatedthatahumanpilotonboardwouldfeelsaferbecausethehumancanactinstinctively
andoverridetheunmannedsystemifanythingmalfunctionsoccurred.
PearsonCorrelationswerecalculatedandusedtoanalyzedatabecauseakeypointofthestudy
wastoidentifywhethertherewasanycorrelationbetweenUAVfamiliarityandperceptions
towardUAVs.ThestudyhypothesiswasthattherewouldbeapositivecorrelationbetweenUAV
familiarityandwillingnesstoflyinaUAVairlinercommercially(seeAppendix
2

Bfordescriptivestatisticsofthesedata).PearsonCorrelationanalysesweremadetofindR
valuestoidentifycorrelationsbetweenrespondentsUAVfamiliarityagainstthefollowing:
2

Ageofrespondentvs.UAVfamiliarity:R =0.000012

LikelinesstoflyonaUAVairlinerforbusinessvs.UAVfamiliarity:R =0.021

LikelinesstoflyonaUAVairlinerforleisurevs.UAVfamiliarity:R =0.032

LikelinesstoflyonaUAVairlinerforinternationaltravelvs.UAVfamiliarity:R

=0.046

LikelinesstoflyonaUAVairlinerfordomestictravelvs.UAVfamiliarity:R =0.025

ThePearsonCorrelationcalculationsshownosignificantcorrelationbetweenUAV
2

familiarityandthelikelihoodofflyinginaUAV.TheresultingR valuesareinteresting,but
theyaretoolowtosuggestthereisacorrelationbetweenUAVfamiliarityandlikelinessto
flyonaUAVairlinerforbusiness,leisure,domestic,orinternationaltravel.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

13

AnR valuewascalculatedtodeterminewhetheracorrelationexistedbetweengender
2

andfamiliaritywithUAVs.TheresultingR valueof0.21weaklysuggestedmaleshadmore
2

knowledgeandfamiliarityofUAVsthanfemales.WhentheR valueswerecalculatedfor
gendervs.likelinesstoflyonaUAVforbusiness,leisure,domestic,andinternationaltravels,
all
2

R valueswerebetween0.019and0.031.Thatindicatednocorrelationbetweentherespondents
2

genderandlikelihoodtoflyonaUAVairliner.R valueswerethencalculatedforagebracket
vs.likelinesstoflyonaUAVforbusiness,leisure,domestic,andinternationaltravelsandall
2

R valuesfellbetween0.002and0.007.Thosevaluesindicatednocorrelationbetweenageof
therespondentandlikelihoodtoflyonaUAVairliner.
Questions11and12ofthequestionnairewereopenendedandtheywerecategorized
torepresenttheissuesandconcernswithUAVairlineroperations.Respondentswereaskedto
respondtothesequestions,buttheywerenotobligatedtodoso.Consequently,notall
respondentsprovidedresponsestothesequestions.Question11received126responsesand
askedrespondents,WhatareyourissuesorconcernswithUAVairlineroperations?Why?.
Question12received127responsesandaskedrespondents,Whatwouldittakeforyoutobe

comfortablewith,orsupporttheuseof,aUAVairlinerforcommercialaviation?
While72/127respondentslistedstipulationsfortheirsupportofUAVairliners,17/127
respondentsbluntlystatedtheywouldneversupportUAVairliners,1/127statedtheywereokay
withUAVairliners,and9/127respondentsstatedtheywerenotsurewhatitwouldtakeforthem
tobecomfortablewithUAVsairlinersbeingusedforcommercialaviation.Stipulationsfrom
27/127respondentsentailedapilotonboardtoactasasafetyorstandbypilot,7/127respondents
expressedtheneedforfailsafesandredundancies,and26/127respondentsstatedthatthere
needstobeextensivetesting,trials,research,anddocumentationtodemonstrateandprovethe
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION
safetyofUAVairlineroperations.Although17/127respondentsstatedtheywouldnever
supportUAVairlineroperations,4those17respondentsspecificallysaidtheywouldnot
supportitsuseforpassengertransportation.Additionalstipulationswereoverridecapabilities
(whetherfromaremotepilotongroundorfromapilotonboardtheUAVairliner),extensive
traininginairspacewithcargoaircraft,peace(nosecurityorterrorismconcerns),interference
protectionassurance(securedatalink),timeandexperience(tolearnaboutandacceptUAVs),
moreinformation/education,andaculturalshift.
RegardingconcernstowardUAVairlinersforcommercialaviation,2/126respondents
hadnoconcerns.Onerespondentinparticularstatedthetechnologyisreadilyavailable,soit
shouldbeusedoncommercialflights.Ofthe124respondentswhodisclosedconcernswith
UAVairliners,38oftheresponseswererelatedtoahumanpilotonboardtoactinstinctively
andimmediatelyduringemergenciesandunforeseensituations,suchasUAVsystem
malfunction,severeweather,orbirdstrikes.Thismaybeduetotheperceivedsafetyofahuman
pilotonboardtheaircraft,whichoneoftherespondentsrevealedastheirspecificconcern/issue

14

withUAVairlineroperations.Inexperienceofcurrenttechnologywasstatedasaconcernby
fourrespondents,whichisrelatedtointegrityandreliabilityofunmannedsystems.Theintegrity
andreliabilityofunmannedsystemswerestatedasconcernsby32respondentsandtheyare
directlyrelatedtotrials,testing,andexperienceofthetechnology.Collisionavoidancewas
statedasaconcernbytworespondents,bringingupthepointthatnotallaircraftmaybe
participatinginconflictavoidance.Unfamiliaritywastheconcernfortworespondentsandone
ofthemsaidtheydidnotknowwhataUAVwas,oranythingabouttheiroperations.
ConclusionandRecommendations
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION
Basedonthesefindings,ifUAVairlinerswillbeusedforpassengertransportation,
resultsfromthesampleofthisstudysuggestthatthereshouldbeapilotonboardactively
monitoringtheoperationsince77%statedtheywouldsupportthistypeofoperation.
Respondentsindicatedthatanonboardpilotshouldbeabletointerveneandoverridethe
automatedsystemincriticalsituationssuchasanemergencyorsystemmalfunction.Fully
automatedUAVairlinersforcargotransportationareonlyacceptedby63%ofthesample,so
itisnotrecommendedtheybeimplementedatthistime.However,90%ofthesample
supportedUAVairlinersforcargotransportationwithapilotonboard.
Sinceabout61%respondentsindicatedtheyhavelittletonofamiliaritywithunmanned
aerialvehicles,itissuggestedthatthepublicshouldreceiveeducationregardingunmanned
aerialvehicles.Perhapssomeeducationandinsightwillreducetheriskperceptionsassociated
withunmannedaerialvehicleoperations.ItisrecommendedthattheFAAshouldsethigh
standardsforunmannedaerialvehiclessothattheyareassafe,orsaferthan,currentaircraft
thatareusedforpassengerandcargotransportation.Uponcertifyingunmannedaerialvehicles,

15

theFAAshouldpublishinformationavailabletothepublicsotheymaylearnthebenefitsand
safetystandardsbywhichunmannedaerialvehiclesoperate.
BasedonindicatedissuesandconcernstowardUAVairliners,findingsfromthisstudy
suggestthatUAVairlinerswithonboardpilotsbeconsideredforcargotransportationbefore
consideringthemforpassengertransportation.Since6364%ofthesampleindicatedthey
wouldsupportUAVairlinercargooperationswithoutanonboardpilotand90%indicatedthey
wouldsupporttheseoperationswithapilotonboard,moreresearchshouldbeconductedona
largersamplesize.ThepossiblesuccessofUAVairlinersforcargotransportationmightshow
the
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

16

publicthattheseunmannedaerialvehiclesaresafeforpassengertransportationandatthat
time,UAVairlinerscouldbeimplementedforpassengertransportation.
Becausethiswasonlyanexploratorystudy,itisrecommendedthatfurtherresearchbe
conductedregardingtheuseofUAVsforcommercialairliners.Additionally,ifrespondents
areaskedtoratetheirknowledgeofUAVsonascaleof1to5,fromnoknowledgetoexpert
knowledge,itissuggestedthatthereshouldbeamethodtoevaluatethisknowledge.The
familiarity,orknowledgelevel,shouldbeassessedwithatestofsomesorttosetthecriteria
fortheleveloffamiliarityorknowledge.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

17

References
Clothier,R.A.,&Walker,R.A.(2006).DeterminationandEvaluationofUAVSafety
Objectives.Proceedings21stInternationalUnmannedAirVehicleSystems

Conference,18.118.16.
Dalamagkidis,K.,Valavanis,K.,&Piegl,L.(2009).OnIntegratingUnmannedAircraft
SystemsintotheNationalAirspaceSystem(Vol.36).(S.Tzafestas,Ed.)Springer
Science+BusinessMedia,B.V.
GlobeNewswire.(2011,April4).NorthropGrumman'sGlobalHawkContinuestoShine10
YearsonFromHistoricTransPacificFlight.RetrievedApril13,2011,from
NASDAQOMX|GlobeNewswire:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=217712
Han,K.,Garcia,A.,Leo,I.,Campo,M.,Muhammad,C.,OrtizValles,L.,etal.(2004).
UnmannedAerialVehicle(UAV)CargoSystem.Proceedingsofthe2004Systems
andInformationEngineeringDesignSymposium,121130.
Hood,R.(2009,March).UnmannedAircraftSystems(UAS).RetrievedMarch7,2011,
fromNOAA:http://uas.noaa.gov/library/infosheets/UASINTRO.pdf
Hornyak,T.(2011,March16).U.S.sendingGlobalHawkdronetoJapan.RetrievedMarch
21,2011,fromCNETNews:http://news.cnet.com/830111386_32004399876.html
JPDO,J.P.(2011,January4).OperatingUnmannedAircraftSystemsin2018andBeyond:
NextGenChallengesandOpportunities.RetrievedMarch2,2011,fromMaking
NextGenaReality:OperatingUnmannedAircraftSystemsin2018andBeyond:
NextGenChallengesandOpportunities
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

18

MacSweenGeorge,S.(2003).WillThePublicAcceptUAVsforCargoandPassenger
Transportation?AerospaceConference,2003.Proceedings.2003IEEE,357
367.
PACAF,P.A.(2011,March16).AirForceutilizesGlobalHawktosupportJapanreliefefforts.

RetrievedApril13,2011,fromPacificAirForces:
http://www.pacaf.af.mil/news/story.asp?
id=123247021
TealGroup.(2011).WorldUnmannedAerialVehicleSystems2011MarketProfileandForecast.
TealGroupCorporation.
Weibel,R.E.,&Hansman,R.J.(2005).AnIntegratedApproachtoEvaluatingRisk
MitigationMeasuresforUAVOperationalConceptsintheNAS.AIAA's4th
Infotech@AerospaceConference,111.
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

AppendixA
UAVAirlinerQuestionnaire
1.TheaviationindustryhasbeenstudyingthepotentialuseofUnmannedAerialVehicles
(UAV)commercialairlinersintheNationalAirspaceSystem.MilitaryUAVsarecurrently
usedforoperationssuchassurveillanceandreconnaissance.Researchersareinterestedinyour
opinionsregardingthepotentialcertificationbytheFederalAviationAdministration(FAA)of
UAVairlinersforcommercialpassengerand/orcargousage.Pleasecompletethefollowing
surveytoconveyyourissues&perceptionsofUAVs.

Thissurveyshouldtakeabout5minutestocomplete.Itisconductedforresearchpurposes
only.Youwillnotbeidentifiedandwillremainanonymousuponcompletionofthissurvey.
Thissurveyisentirelyvoluntaryandyoumaystopatanytime.Youmustbeatleast18years
ofagetoparticipate.Thankyouinadvanceforyourparticipation,yourresponsesarevery
important.
Areyouatleast18yearsofage?
Ye
s

19

No
2.PleaseSpecifyYourAgeBracket
18
24
25
34
35
49
50
64
65+

3.Gender
Male
Femal
e

UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION
4.Whichbestdescribeshowoftendoyoutypicallytravelbyaireachyear?
Never
OnceaYearorLess
SeveralTimesa
YearOnceaMonth
SeveralTimesaMonth
5.Whatclassdoyoutypicallyfly?
First
Business
Economy/Coach
6.Whichtypeoftraveldoyouutilizemoreoften?
Domestic
Internationa
l

20

7.Onascaleof1to5,1beingnoknowledgeand5beingexpertknowledge,pleaserateyour
familiaritywithUnmannedAerialVehicles.
1

8.Onascaleof1to5,1beingleastlikelyand5beingmostlikely,pleaseratethefollowing:
1

Howlikelywouldyoube
toflyinaUAVairlinerfor
businesstravel?
Howlikelywouldyoube
toflyinaUAVairlinerfor
leisuretravel?
Howlikelywouldyoube
toflyinaUAVairlinerfor
InternationalTravel?
UAV
PUBLIC
PERCEPTI
ON

21

Howlikelywouldyoube
toflyinaUAVairlinerfor
DomesticTravel?

9.AssumingUnmannedAerialVehiclesairlinershavebeencertifiedbytheFederal
AviationAdministrationtobeassafeorsaferthancurrentoperatingcommercialaircraft,
pleaseanswerthefollowing:

ForPassengerTransportation

Yes

ForCargoTransportation

No

Yes

No

Wouldyousupportafully
automatedUAVairliner
withoutapilotonboard?
Wouldyousupporttheuseofa
UAVairlinercontrolledfrom
theground?
Wouldyousupporttheuseofa
UAVairlinerwithapiloton
boardtomonitortheremote
operation?
10. WhatareyourissuesorconcernswithUAVairlineroperations?Why?
11. Whatwouldittakeforyoutobecomfortablewith,orsupporttheuseof,aUAVairliner
forcommercialaviation?
UAVPUBLICPERCEPTION

22

AppendixB
Table1
DescriptiveStatistics
Mean

Std. Deviation

2.30

1.186

158

1.61

.936

158

1.56

.892

158

1.49

.850

158

1.61

.923

158

On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being no knowledge and 5 being

expert knowledge, please rate your familiarity with
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being least likely and 5 being most
likely, please rate the following: How likely would you be to
fly in a UAV airliner for business travel?
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being least likely and 5 being most
likely, please rate the following: How likely would you be to
fly in a UAV airliner for leisure travel?
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being least likely and 5 being most
likely, please rate the following: How likely would you be to
fly in a UAV airliner for International Travel?
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being least likely and 5 being most
likely, please rate the following: How likely would you be to
fly in a UAV airliner for Domestic Travel?