There are difficulties, however. Star Simpson, one of the three co-founders of TacoCopter, has struggled with the U.S. government’s regulations.
“It’s really the legal obstacles in the U.S. that seem insurmountable at this time,” said Simpson. “Current U.S. FAA regulations prevent…using UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] for commercial purposes. Honestly, I think it’s not totally unreasonable to regulate something as potentially dangerous as having flying robots slinging tacos over people’s heads. … On the other hand, it’s a little bit ironic that that’s the case in a country where you can be killed by a drone with no judicial review.”
The U.S. government isn’t the only barrier. The logistics of a machine flying through urban areas, negotiating airways with birds, on limited battery strength could spell disaster for the otherwise clever idea.
Tacocopter may have a ways to go before its ready for lift-off; but if it became a success, what might the skies look like around major cities someday?
