About the presentation
In the European Union (EU), one such infrastructure to deal with drone traffic is called ‘U-Space’. That infrastructure consists of various sociotechnical components and ‘automation’ i.e., lesser human involvement, emerges as its indispensable feature. This paper studies U-Space by combining legal, and Science and Technology Studies (STS) analyses. Legal analysis is directed towards the Regulation (EU) 2021/664 which forms the basis of U-Space, and STS analysis helps in drawing on an infrastructural approach. Accordingly, infrastructure emerges as a relational property constituted by technological, social, and human components. Seen from such an infrastructural perspective, various safety and security implications can be found which are not essentially rooted in the drone device itself. By specifically focusing on the ‘automation’ element, this paper provides enriched understanding of potential safety and security implications arising from civilian drones. Moreover, the interdisciplinary analysis shows how legal regulations play a dual role, as a creator of infrastructure as well as an infrastructural component itself.
About the speaker
Samar Abbas Nawaz works as a doctoral researcher at Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) for its research project called RegulAIR. The project overall aims to provide new research based knowledge to Norwegian and European regulatory bodies for safe and secure integration of drones in civilian airspace. Samar is specifically researching the regulatory challenges emanating from autonomous civilian drones from European law perspective. He is also affiliated with the department of criminology and sociology of law (IKRS) at UiO as an external PhD candidate.