Drones, in addition to being a hobby for many people, are a work tool for many civil applications, and users want to extend their radius of action as much as possible.
Until recently they had the legal limitation that they could only fly within the pilot's sight, but that is a serious limitation that everyone wants to avoid, and that is why they have pressured the authorities to obtain permits to operate them out of the pilot's sight.
The permits are granted by the Civil Aviation authorities (the FAA in the USA) taking into account many conditions of flight safety, privacy, etc…. It is not something immediate, but it is clear that every day it is more necessary.
In fact, in the USA the FAA has granted "special" permits to a few companies to perform certain services. They are companies that carry out installation control tasks (high voltage lines, power plants, etc…) and that need to expand the field of action of these devices.
But they cannot go granting special approvals, and what is needed is a regulation of this type of functions. And that is more difficult, since it involves many participants from very different fields.
For the safety of the flight, the FAA must limit the areas to be flown over, because nobody wants a drone to fall on our heads, nor do they want it to fly over us and affect our privacy.
The manufacture of these professional devices must be such that they guarantee their safety in flight, in a similar way, although with a lower level than airplanes. A device must not fall from the sky due to an unforeseen technical failure. Flight safety is essential.
On the other hand, they are small and difficult to see by a helicopter, small plane, hot air balloon, or the like. And since a crash can cause an accident that causes deaths, these drones should be identified in some way in flight (with some radio signal) to be detected by another flying device. That already happens today on airplanes.
Besides, the more autonomous drones become, the more things they can accomplish, and that will increase the pressure to ask them to work beyond the pilot's view.
The companies are going to press more and more to obtain flight permits, and to regulate their operations. But if safety is kept above all else (as I think it should be), it will take some time to have adequate regulation to the liking of many.
Although it seems quite clear that hobby drones will go another way, and with their low price being an important feature, it seems logical that they would be required to fly within view of the pilot. That is not a big problem.
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