The National Centre for Precision Farming - Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Special Interest Group

The Unmanned Aerial Systems Special Interest Group (UAS SIG) is a membership group focused on the application of unmanned aerial systems in agriculture. Supported by the National Centre for Precision Farming and founder member URSULA Agriculture, its membership broadly reflects the UAS in agricultural industry, including UAS operators, operations and service providers, technologists, agronomists, agricultural training and academia. The group has close links with organisations such as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (ARPAS).

The UAS SIG was officially launched on 6 March 2014 and it aims to develop operational standards and training for UAS operators in agriculture; raise awareness of the operational requirements for UAS in agriculture, and develop all aspects of UAS technology, thereby increasing the application of UAS in agriculture.

The special interest group provides links between commercial, industrial, academic and international organisations and gives its members wider opportunities to exploit available technology and to combine their knowledge and skills. Its activities are relevant to individuals and groups interested in the:

application of UAV sensing data to real world agricultural problems
design and development of instrumentation, sensors and UAV platforms to increase the scope for UAS in agriculture
development of novel techniques and methods for analysing UAV-sensed agricultural data
integration of UAV-sensed data with other spatial data
development of the agricultural market for UAV-sensing products and services
development and support of education in UAV and UAS for agriculture

Members are involved in an extensive range of projects including: