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Final rules on UAV use expected this summer

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to finalize regulations on the use of UAVs—unmanned aerial vehicles—by this summer.

Dr. Wayne Woldt is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor and chair of the American Society of Ag and Biologicial Engineers Committee on Unmanned Aerial Systems.

“The projections are right now that the final rule will be completed in June of this year,” Woldt says. “Once that’s published and complete, then the rules will be known, the lay of the land will be clear, and it will be a very straightforward method and approach to getting involved with these and flying them for commercial purposes.”

Which will include everyday use by farmers, Woldt says.

He sees the UAV market segmenting into two main directions—one being what he calls “the low-cost system”.

“Where a producer might keep one in the back of their truck, for example, and they want to get a bird’s eye view of their operation—something they can fly fairly easily and then throw it back in the truck and take off and go.”

The other segment, Woldt says, will be higher-end, higher-value systems.

“Where the information that’s being gathered has real value to it—to make strategic decisions about managing a large field or a herd of cattle,” he says. “That’s going to be, I think, a little more specialized.  There will be more specialized people—consultants—that are able to handle the complexity of this technology.”

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International has predicted that 80 percent of the commercial market for drones will eventually be for agricultural uses.

Brownfield spoke with Woldt at the recent Nebraska LEAD Alumni Association meeting in Lincoln.

AUDIO: Wayne Woldt