INFORMATIČKA, PRAVNA I EKONOMSKA KARAKTERIZACIJA UPOTREBE DRONOVA U POLJOPRIVREDI
THE USE OF DRONES IN AGRICULTURE - ICT POLICY, LEGAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS

Summary/Abstract: The agricultural development strategy in order to produce quality agricultural products in recent years is developing in the direction of the so-called controlled production and precise agriculture. There are different definitions of precision agriculture. The global concept on which precision agriculture is based is the use of information and communication technologies for the collection and processing of data obtained from various sources. The obtained data are used for the purpose of making a better approach to the cultivation of cultivated plants (Srinivasan, 2006). Under this domain, we can categorized systems for collecting data from the field, field mapping, decision making as well as automation of certain agricultural production processes (Robertson at.el. 2007). A certain number of research shows that automation of agricultural production is still at an early stage, mainly due to the difficult conditions in which automated machines operate: inaccessible and uneven terrain, different types of soil, as well as changes in weather conditions (variation of temperature, precipitation, humidity, dust, etc.). The key techniques on which precision agriculture is based are remote sensing techniques. One of the most used techniques in novel time is to capture production areas from the air (Barrientos at.e., 2011). Remote control platforms used to collect the necessary information on the basis of a series of land-based photos can include: satellites, balloons, planes, and small drones. The use of satellites and planes is expensive and time-consuming, so the recording process can not be repeated frequently. Drones on the other hand offer simpler working mechanisms, good fitting sensors (optical, infrared, sensors for radio detection and ranking, ...) and different types of cameras (RGB, NIR, RE, MultiSpec, ThermoMap), the possibility of frequent repetition of the flight above the production area, and all that at a significantly lower price (Zhang & Kovacs, 2012). Drones are small in size, easy to transport and assemble, they provide instant response to the project requirements as well as quick engagement on the ground. Some of the applications applied in agriculture, based on the processing of images obtained using drones, include: application for monitoring and mapping the condition of the soil, classification of plants on production areas, monitoring the occurrence of diseases and pests, stress detection in plants caused by excess water, detection of water deficiency in soil, analysis of plant leaflets on pesticide content, assessment of the state of biomass of plants, as well as monitoring of the number of weed plants on production areas (Lan et.al, 2009). The aim of this study is to analyze the current state of drone use in agriculture, as well as the types of drones that are commonly in use. Such as the use of large aircraft, the use of drones is governed by the rules laid down by the Directorate of Civil Aviation, both in Serbia and abroad. The paper provides legal frameworks for the use of drones on the territory of Republic Serbia as well as their comparison with the legal regulations abroad. Apart from legal aspects, the use of drones was also analyzed from an economic point of view.

• Details
• Contents