After the pomp and circumstance of last year’s event announcing North Dakota had been designated one of six national test sites for unmanned aerial systems, the real work is set to begin.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) joined 31 other organizations today to send a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) encouraging the agency to expedite the rulemaking process for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in the U.S. airspace.

Clark State Community College wants to create a precision agricultural program that could help bring thousands of new jobs related to farming and the unmanned aerial systems industry to Ohio.

Crop scouting, 3-D mapping, spot spraying and pathogen detection all could be performed by unmanned aerial vehicles to cut labor and input costs and improve decision making.

Members of the farming industry are beginning to see the potential of using robotics technology to save money and improve efficiency, said speakers at the AUVSI Atlanta Chapter's Conference on Unmanned Systems in Agriculture.