The federal government has taken a step toward opening US skies to commercial use of drones, allowing several movie production companies to use flying 'bots on their shoots.

On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that six companies have been granted exemptions from current regulations that, the agency says, ban most commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles.

In a conference call with reporters, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta called the exemption process a roadmap for other applicants seeking to use drones for other purposes, from crop inspections to pipeline patrols. "This process opens up a whole new avenue," Huerta said. The approved exemptions represent the first of 40 petitions under consideration by the FAA.

The exemptions allow the companies to use the drones for any kind of video production, but only under strict conditions. Drone operators must have pilots' licenses, and the drones cannot leave the pilots' line-of-sight while airborne. The drones cannot go higher than 400 feet, and they can only fly over closed sets. What's more, filmmakers must still apply to the FAA for approval to operate in specific areas.

Safety Struggle

The restrictions reflect the long struggle to reconcile the many potential uses of inexpensive unmanned aircraft with concerns over safety and privacy. Determining how to integrate drones with the national air traffic control system is also proving complicated. The FAA is under congressional mandate to craft rules for the civilian use of drones in US airspace by September 2015, though an audit predicted the agency is likely to miss that deadline.

In the short term, these difficulties mean that one of the most powerful features of drones—the ability to pilot themselves over long distances without human observation or control—won't be available to commercial users. "We're a long way from having autonomy in civil airspace," said attorney Greg Cirillo, a partner at Wiley Rein, who heads the Washington, D.C., law firm's aviation practice.

Safety concerns in particular also mean drones are less likely to be approved anytime soon for uses that would require them to fly over populated areas, such as delivery or news-gathering. "For the most part, you're dealing with image capture, heat sensing, chemical sensing. You're not dealing with moving objects from point A to point B yet," Cirillo said.

More Drones, More Jobs

Still, some in the drone industry are hailing the FAA's decision as a move in the right direction. "I am happy for the news and expect to see many more of these granted," said Jesse Kallman, head of regulatory affairs at Airware, a San Francisco startup that makes software for commercial drones.

The exemptions will also mean more domestic business for the motion picture industry, said former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, now chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, which worked with the FAA to craft the new rules.

Productions ranging from Skyfall to The Smurfs had to go outside the U.S. to shoot in countries where drone regulations were more lax. "The decision today allows more of that production now to occur in the United States," he said, adding that drones would open up creative doors for filmmakers. "This is great news for all of us."