Public Perception of Drones… or Should that be Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems?

Abstract

The media coverage of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) has highlighted some issues, particularly in terms of security and privacy concerns. As such, it is essential to understand the public's perception towards these systems. The purpose of this study was to assess the public's perception towards 1) The terminology used to define RPAS, which varies across the industry; 2) The applications, current and future, of RPAS; 3) The future of passenger transport involving RPAS, and 4) RPAS in general. It was found that there was little difference between the "terms" used to describe RPAS; however, there was a significant difference at the 90% confidence level for "remotely piloted aircraft systems" over "drones". In terms of RPAS applications, community based applications had a positive perception, while personal applications were neutral. The implementation of RPAS into passenger transport aircraft was strongly negative. Finally, there was an overall positive perception towards RPAS.