How standards will target the drone industry

At a time when drones have become a regular feature in the news and are about to proliferate our airspace, it's a good idea to take a step back and examine some very basic and important questions.

Drones – also referred to as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) – can range greatly in size, capabilities and cost. And the world market for this technology has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. With such investment taking place, it’s clear the world is taking notice and focusing more on this industry, and all its related elements. This includes the aircraft, the control station and the communication link, not just the vehicle itself.

We spoke to Cortney Robinson, Director of Civil Aviation Infrastructure at theAerospace Industries Association (AIA) in the USA and new Secretary of ISO/TC 20/SC 16 on unmanned aircraft systems. AIA, the premier trade association representing major aerospace and defense manufacturers and suppliers in the USA, manages the secretariat on behalf of ANSI (ISO member for the USA). Here, Robinson takes us through the trends facing both standards development and the industry.

Why did ISO create a subcommittee on unmanned aerial vehicles? And why now?
Standardization in the field of UAS is a timely issue, due to the increasing market demand for civil unmanned aviation vehicles as well as aviation for usage in the monitoring of borders, forestry and fisheries, oil and gas pipelines, and the delivery of cargo into orbit.

This technology is also seeing increased interest and use in search and rescue operations, transport and agricultural aviation, forest fires, solving the problems of detecting and mapping the areas of natural and man-made disasters, monitoring the status of water bodies, highways, conservation and other objects, and the organization of communication and the regulation of traffic in major cities.

Article & Image Reference: ISOfocus