The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Authority announced this week the imminent expansion of drone regulations. New rules would permit drones to fly over people and at night, two types of flights that are currently banned.

New rules will permit drones flying after dark and over people. However, the changes only apply to drones that are equipped with Remote ID technology. This is a self-identification technology that broadcasts the drone's and drone operator's locations continuously during use. This will help enforce that only qualified drone operators can fly, and that law enforcement can deal with nuisance drones. Drones flying at night must also be equipped with marker lights visible within a 3 mile radius. Finally, operators are now required to be carrying their certificates and licenses during flights.

Additionally, to be eligible to fly over people, the drone must belong to one of these four categories.

• Category 1: A small unmanned aircraft weighing less than 0.55 lb, including everything on board or otherwise attached, and contain no exposed rotating parts that would lacerate human skin.
• Category 2: A small unmanned aircraft must not cause injury to a human being that is equivalent to or greater than the severity of injury caused by a transfer of 11 ft-lb of kinetic energy upon impact from a rigid object; does not contain any exposed rotating parts that could lacerate human skin upon impact with a human being; and does not contain any safety defects.
• Category 3: A small unmanned aircraft must not cause injury to a human being that is equivalent to or greater than the severity of injury caused by a transfer of 25 ft-lb of kinetic energy upon impact from a rigid object; does not contain any exposed rotating parts that could lacerate human skin upon impact with a human being; and does not contain any safety defects.
• Category 4: A small unmanned aircraft with an airworthiness certificate issued under Part 21 of FAA regulations.

FAA administrators commented that these rules make the most sense when considering the ubiquitous utility of the technology versus public health concerns. According to the FAA, drones represent the fastest-growing segment in the entire transportation sector — with currently over 1.7 million drone registrations and 203,000 FAA-certificated remote pilots.

This brings drones one step closer to delivering parcels, the mail, a pizza, subpoenas and a whole lot more.