Page 4
FARM FAIR
East Oregonian/Hermiston Herald
November 2015
The Ag Drone, made
by a startup Portland
company, may repre-
sent the application
of drone technology in
agriculture.
Courtesy of HoneyComb Corp.
New tech
boosts ag
UAV uses
By SEAN HART
EO Media Group
New unmanned aerial technology is
rapidly expanding its agricultural uses.
Two presentations are planned at the
Farm Fair this year to explain the latest
advancements that can help farmers save
time and money.
Lav Khot, an assistant professor in
agricultural automation engineering at
Washington State University, will explain
the advancement in capabilities of small
and mid-size unmanned aerial vehicles.
“A lot of things are happening,” he said.
“The industry is becoming very dynamic.”
When the aircrafts were ¿ rst being used
for agricultural purposes, Khot said the
focus was on improving the crafts them-
selves. Then researchers began to focus on
improving the sensors the crafts could carry,
he said, followed by increasing the À ight
time. Now, he said, the industry is shifting
to focus on the particular data collected and
how it can be used.
Khot said UAV sensors can gather a
variety of different types of information,
such as crop temperatures, irrigation effec-
tiveness and crop color. The information
can help farmers make real-time decisions,
he said, and as the technology is improved,
it will be even more effective.
Khot said he is currently researching the
effectiveness of using the rotor wash from
a mid-size rotorcraft UAV — between 55
and 1,000 pounds — to dry the canopies
of sweet cherry trees in Washington and
Oregon. He said the university is also
studying different applications for small
UAV systems — up to 55 pounds — such
as hail damage and pathogens in potatoes.
Chad Higgins, an assistant professor
from Oregon State University’s Water
Resources Graduate Program, said the UAV
industry is “booming.”
“There’s more and more people À ying,”
he said. “We’re in a phase of discovery of
all the things we can actually get done.”
He said he has been researching UAV
use to detect atmospheric motions, such
as evaporation, which can improve water
management and frost protection. Using a
distributed temperature system consisting of
a ¿ ber optic cable and a laser, Higgins said
he can determine down to an area as small
as ¿ ve inches where frost may be a problem
in a fruit orchard — “down to the level of
the fruit.”
New lidar technology, which analyzes
the light reÀ ected back from obMects
illuminated by a laser, will soon be able to
create three-dimensional images of “every
leaf and every fruit” on a tree, Higgins said.
“We’re on the edge of that,” he said.
“That’s where we can go with these types
of technologies. It’s a time of immense
innovation.”
inexpensive and straightforward to À y with
practice, Higgins said the regulations are a
barrier to entry for many people.
“There are efforts to make it easier and
simpler, but the FAA is a conservative
organization and rightfully so, because
there are safety issues at stake,” he said.
“I’m sure they’re going to move slowly
toward a more ef¿ cient path, but it will be a
safe path.”
Higgins said he and two other Oregon
State professors also operate the Center for
Transformative Environmental Monitoring
Programs, which is funded by the National
Science Foundation. Although the center
must charge for its services to cover its
costs, Higgins said it provides reasonably
priced help for people who want to use
UAV systems.
The center has crafts, sensors, licensed
pilots and people who are knowledgeable
about industry regulations and ef¿ cient use
of the technology, he said.
“We’re prepared to provide logistical
support to help people use UAVs and use
them legally,” he said. “We basically listen
to people and what they want as their
ultimate outcome, and we facilitate that
until it’s achieved.”
For more information, visit ctemps.org.
FAA UAV regulations
In an industry taking off as fast as
unmanned aerial vehicles, regulations can
take a little longer to get off the ground.
Khot said the industry is prospering in
Canada and other areas but is still being
held back in the United States by federal
regulations. He said he anticipates the
Federal Aviation Administration will release
new rules next year that he hopes will
provide more clarity.
“The FAA is trying to keep pace with the
industry,” he said. “The new rules that are
coming out hopefully will be geared more
toward these systems.”
To comply with current regulations, a
UAV must receive a certi¿ cate of authoriza-
tion from the FAA, according to Higgins.
“This is a very long and involved
documentation process where you have to
attest to the À ightworthiness of the platform
(UAV), and you have to declare an air space
you’re going to operate in,” Higgins said.
“This process can take months.”
(ven then, a licensed pilot must À y the
craft along with a copilot who has passed a
À ight physical to monitor for safety issues,
he said.
Although a UAV can be relatively
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