As small drones have become increasingly commonplace, so have reports of close calls by airliners. A recent FAA report tallied the average at four sightings a day, a five-fold increase from the year before. To help address the issue, the American Association of Airport Executives, a trade group representing 850 of the largest airports around the US, has partnered with a startup called AirMap on a Digital Notice and Awareness System, or D-NAS for short. AirMap will collect data from participating pilots flying popular consumer brands like DJI, 3D-Robotics, and Yuneec, then automatically upload that data to a web portal air traffic controllers can access securely.
Read MoreFAA PANEL UNVEILS PROPOSALS FOR FLYING DRONES OVER CROWDS→
/A Federal Aviation Administration panel on Wednesday unveiled highly anticipated safety recommendations for flying small commercial drones over crowds, setting the stage for final regulations on the issue. The Micro Unmanned Aircraft Systems Aviation Rulemaking Committee suggests that micro drones weighing less than a half pound can fly over crowds with very limited restrictions because they have a less than a 1 percent chance of causing serious injuries.
Read MoreTechCrunch: DJI, 3DR, Parrot and GoPro form new drone advocacy group→
/DJI, 3DR, Parrot and GoPro are launching their own drone advocacy group to lobby for “policies that promote innovation and safety, and create a practical and responsible regulatory framework.” The Small UAV Coalition, which launched with participation from DJI, 3DR, Amazon Prime Air and others interested in the drone ecosystem, has been one of the main lobbying groups for drone manufacturers since it launched in 2014. Now, however, the logos of DJI, 3DR, Parrot and GoPro are nowhere to be found on the Small UAV Coalition’s member page (which still includes the likes of Google[x], Amazon Prime Air, AirMap, Intel and others).
Read MoreArkansas Business: Drones: Farmers' Eyes Take To Arkansas Skies
/The American Farm Bureau Federation has calculated that farmers using drones to gather crop information can see a return on investment of $12 per acre for corn, $2.60 per acre for soybeans and $2.30 per acre for wheat.
Read MoreBloomberg: Will Drones Become the Toast of Napa?→
/For generations, Napa Valley growers have used workers on foot or tractors to apply nutrients and pesticides to the vines that produce grapes used in some of America’s most storied wines. Now Japan’s Yamaha Motor thinks it has a better way: drones. After testing its helicopter-like RMax for the past two growing seasons, Yamaha in December became the first company to win federal certification for a drone to be used as an agricultural aircraft in the U.S.
Read MoreForbes: There's Nothing Wrong With A 21st Century Farm→
/Drones are becoming all the rage. Agriculture is expected to be the largest user and investor in commercial drones in the near future.
Read MoreThe Hill: Drones may have limited range, but regulatory coordination doesn't have to
/Former Rep. James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.), contributor, and Rod Hall - Safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace is one of the foremost policy challenges of 2016. But while Capitol Hill has largely focused on the regulatory efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), developments overseas will also shape the future of the dynamic UAS industry in the year ahead.
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