It sounds like something dreamed up for “The Jetsons” — flying vehicles flitting through the skies, transporting everything from medical devices to Chinese food, no pilot required.

But in two years, New Jerseyans may see these airborne robots soaring above them on the Turnpike, a cause of concern for some and a source of wonder for others.

Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, have been used by the United States military for years to hunt down suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so much so that their use in warfare has prompted a fierce debate in Congress.

They come in all shapes and sizes: Some can fire deadly missiles from far above the clouds; others are low-flying spy planes equipped with cameras and heat sensors. They can be controlled half a world away, like a video game brought to life.

Now, federal officials are opening up the airways so U.S. businesses and government agencies can take advantage of the super-gizmos in new, nonviolent ways.

From movie studios to fisheries to police departments, the Federal Aviation Administration estimates that 30,000 drones will be hovering above the United States within seven years, ferrying products and capturing all sorts of sights and sounds.

“Robots have been a disappointment because they’re confined to the ground,” said Todd Humphreys, an associate professor at the University of Texas, Austin, who researches domestic uses for drones. “What people are starting to realize is that robots always wanted to be drones. They’re so much more beautiful when they fly.”

Supporters say drones are the next big wave in the global technological revolution. But the devices — with their capability for surveillance and destruction — have made many Americans fearful for their privacy and safety.

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A Monmouth University poll of 1,708 Americans last year found that 80 percent said they would be okay with police using drones for search-and-rescue missions, and nearly two-thirds of respondents said they could be used to pursue criminals or patrol the southern border.

But 64 percent said they would be somewhat concerned or very concerned about their privacy once drones took to the U.S. skies.

The unease has led state lawmakers to introduce a series of bills banning or severely limiting the use of drones by police and fire departments. The federal government plans to issue the first domestic drone permits after September 2015, and New Jersey legislators from both parties hope to be ready with stringent restrictions.

"Can you imagine? You're sitting in your backyard enjoying some quiet time with your family, and the government's there photographing and recording what you're saying," said Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-Hunterdon), the sponsor of the toughest bill, which would ban the use of surveillance drones in every instance except for a "credible threat" of a terrorist attack.

But state Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-Hudson) said drones, while scary, could be a huge boon to society. His bill would allow police and fire departments to deploy them in extreme cases where existing tools don't work — as long as the agency chief approves it first.

“Think about missing children, missing seniors,” Sacco said. “The immediacy and the ability to use drones to find them quickly is very important. Think about forest fires. Things like this are extremely important.”

A bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Annette Quijano (D-Union) would strike a balance. No law enforcement agencies would be able to use drones, but the federal government could send one out in cases of suspected terrorism or the governor could in a declared emergency or natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy.

“I don’t want our skyways to look like the Garden State Parkway on a Friday night in the summertime,” said Quijano, who is chairwoman of the Assembly homeland security committee. “But you can see the value of the drones, especially after Sandy, on the Shore area. I’m sure there were areas that were not as safe for law enforcement or firemen to go into.”

And a fourth bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Robert Schroeder (R-Bergen), would allow the police to use drones only after submitting a detailed application to a court and obtaining a warrant. But it would forbid police from using them to issue speeding tickets, or in any cases involving motor-vehicle laws.

More than 30 states have introduced similar bills, and Michael Toscano, a lobbyist for the nascent industry in Washington, said he fears overregulation will stifle the industry.

Toscano's group, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, estimates that the flying robots will be an $82 billion industry in the United States after a decade, not just serving law enforcement, but for activities such as weather monitoring, volcano studies and "taco-copters" that transport food and beer to college dorms.

“If you can think of any dirty, dangerous, difficult or dull mission, these things will do very well in that regard,” he said.

Although commercial drone permits are still years away, the FAA since 2007 has issued more than 1,400 permits to select government agencies and universities, which have been testing the flying devices’ capability for research and photography. More than 300 of those permits remain in effect, the FAA said.

Princeton University is already reaping some of the benefits — and wrestling with how widely the drones’ data can be disseminated. University officials said they hired New York-based SkyCamUsa during April to fly a “DJI Spreading Wings S800” drone over its Gothic, wooded campus, snapping photos for Princeton’s admissions office that would have been impossible to take from the ground.

The hovercraft weighed just 6 pounds.

But when the company posted one of its drone videos on YouTube and its own website this month, Princeton quickly urged them to take it down, saying they had no right to post the material, a spokesman said.

“It should not have been published as it was because Princeton University is a nonprofit institution that does not allow its name or images to be used to promote specific commercial vendors,” said Martin Mbugua, a university spokesman.

Humphreys, the University of Texas professor, said that “a drone in a police force would represent a vast savings” because they cost a fraction of what a helicopter does.

Les Dorr, a spokesman for the FAA, said officials are beginning to figure out how to accommodate the drones without causing problems for airplanes and other air transports. The first step is to select six test sites around the country, and New Jersey is one of the states under consideration, he said.

“What the (new federal) legislation said is that the FAA had to develop a plan to facilitate ‘safe integration’ of unmanned aircraft into the airspace by Sept. 30, 2015,” Dorr said. “What ‘safe integration’ will look like really has not been decided yet.”

Lt. Stephen Jones, a spokesman for the State Police, said the state already has a fleet of helicopters equipped with heat sensors for use in rescue operations, the monitoring of nuclear plants, disaster assessments, and to search for fleeing people or vehicles.

For now, Jones said, drones are not being considered.

“Any use of those type of technologies we would thoroughly vet through the Attorney General’s Office and look for guidance to make sure we’re on safe grounds regarding people’s rights and privacy,” he said.

Although some of the New Jersey bills would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor forest fires with a drone, Lawrence Hajna, an agency spokesman, said there is none waiting in the wings.

“We don’t use drones, no plans to, either,” Hajna said.

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Still, Peterson said, the threat is not really immediate but long-term. Without strong protections, New Jerseyans’ right to privacy will erode over time as the technology becomes more prevalent, he said.

He cited the book “1984” by George Orwell, in which the government can peer into each citizen’s private life.

“Say you have a private political conversation in your backyard — the drone can listen in,” he said. “It’s just unnecessary and I think there should be limits on the reach of government when it comes to surveillance.”

Sacco, who sponsored the bill that legalized DNA testing in 1994, said you can’t stop technology from playing a role in everyday life, and that it’s better to be ahead of the curve.

“My bill does a great deal to ensure the safety of the people,” he said. “The technology is going to exist; it’s not going away. It’s the same people who thought DNA shouldn’t be used. Back then, people said, ‘Oh my god, you’re invading my privacy.’ Look how many crimes we’ve solved, and how many innocent people have been released.”

In a matter of years, drones could revolutionize agriculture, medical-supply delivery, private surveillance, real estate and, Humphreys said, may even be used to deliver “burritos.”

After the drones “prove their worth,” people will become comfortable seeing them jetting around despite their controversial past as deadly weapons, he predicted.

As he put it, “We’ve come to be at peace with dogs, even though they’re related to wolves.”