<i>FAA 14 CFR Part 107 for Commercial UAS and UAS as Agriculture Field Equipment: A Review for Agriculture Safety Standards</i>

Abstract

Abstract. August 13, 2015 the ASABE announced the formation of a new technical committee focused on unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Enacted August 29, 2016 the FAA general standards for so-called drones used in commercial operations in the National Air Space (NAS) are known as 14 CFR Part 107. The implementations of UAS in precision agriculture are vast and varied in mission, as are the selections of UAS and Areas of Interest (AOI) selected for UAS missions, yet the FAA Part 107 are generalized UAS standards that can be tailored for common safety standards in all UAS implementations specific to agricultural safety. Safety practices of other commercial industries may be too general and may not be the safety model to follow specific to agricultural safety, but rather the agricultural industry should look to the ASABE to formulate UAS standards common to technical and safety aspects of UAS. So what practices and risk factors are common or what safety factors could be standardized for the many variety of commercial UAS that can be implemented in precision agriculture? For precision agriculture and the ASABE there is the need for such reports and articles with respect to safety standards using UAS. This review addresses UAS platforms, hazards and safety standard considerations specific to precision agriculture implementations.