Washington---US President Barack Obama called for drones to be more closely regulated Tuesday, after a "quadcopter" crashed on the White House grounds prompting a security alert.
Obama told CNN that the use of commercial and recreational drones, which can now be bought for as little as $40 (35 euro), were not really regulated "at all."
Drones like the DJI Phantom which crashed on the White House grounds in the early hours of Monday are used most often for collecting often stunning aerial video, but the authorities fear they could also pose a security threat.
"The drone that landed in the White House you buy in Radio Shack," said Obama.
Obama also noted that Amazon is among those companies mulling the commercial use of drones, unveiling plans to use the devices to deliver packages.
"There are incredibly useful functions that these drones can play in terms of farmers who are managing crops and conservationists who want to take stock of wildlife," he said.
"But we don't really have any kind of regulatory structure at all for it."
"So I've assigned some of the relevant agencies to start talking to stakeholders and figure out how we're going to put an architecture in place that makes sure that these things aren't dangerous and that they're not violating people's privacy."
AFP
