标准2025公司今年宣布将使用无人机递送包裹正在成为现实。随着技术的不断进步，无人机的用户数量和用途种类已攀升至新的高度，到了需要制定国际标准的地步，但这与精耕农业有何联系呢？
有超过70亿的生命依赖于人类独的能力进入地球表层种植作物，。尽管作物扎根于土壤，但要发现它所以春华秋实的奥秘，还只能把目光投向天空。
植物借助光的力量把水和二氧化碳转化为糖分。问问以此奥秘为生的农民，他们的理解可能更实在些：光合作用需要的阳光和空气是免费的，但劳力、燃料、农药和化肥却是笔不小的成本。从经济和环境角度来说，水通常也不是免费的。为了让农民继续坚守在土地上，满足人口激增带来的粮食需求增长（从你开始阅读本文到现在，全球人口总数又增长了50），我们必须更好地利用这些资源，这也是引入精耕农业的原因。
精耕农业这个想法诞生于上世纪80年代，而现代科技正以当时无法想象的方式使其成为现实。究其原因，我们可以再次把目光投向天空，或者问问康特妮.罗宾森（Cortney Robinson），她所在的ISO/TC20/SC16ISO/TC 20/ SC 16专为无人飞行系统（UAS）也就是我们常说的无人机制定标准。
罗宾森是航空航天工业协会（AIA）民航基础设施部门主任，她正与专家组合作制定国际无人机标准——ISO 21384。他们的工作涵盖了通用规范、产品系统和操作流程三大部分。值得注意的是，第一部分只针对民用和商用无人机提出了一般性要求，没有考虑政府和军用无人机。
第二部分则从设计、制造以及飞行可靠性方面对所有无人机提出了要求，涵盖范围不限于无人机机身。ISO 21384-3会对操作流程进行明确。时间紧迫，该项标准将2018年发布。
对业内人士来说，国际标准发布得越早越好。罗宾森说：“无人机成本大幅下降，带来无人机爱好者群体和商用规模的爆炸式上升”。她的话显然可以在美国联邦航空局（FAA）的飞行器备案中找到佐证。“尽管我们不强制小型飞行器备案，多数爱好者还是选择加入‘未飞先知’计划，注册自己的无人机，因而我们知道无人机数量在大幅上升。2015年，美国在案的无人驾驶和有人驾驶飞行器总数约为26万；然而到今天，光是无人驾驶飞行器的数量就已突破了75万。”
Precision farming takes off
Companies created quite a buzz this year with the announcement that their plans to use drones to deliver packages are becoming a reality. As the technology continues to evolve, the number of users of, and uses for, unmanned aircraft systems has risen to new heights. The need for an International Standard is clear, but what’s the link with farming?
More than seven billion lives depend on humankind’s unique ability to scratch into the shallow surface of our planet and grow plants. And though the crops are firmly rooted in the soil, the mysterious thing that makes it all work can only be grasped by looking to the skies.
Water and carbon dioxide are transformed by plants into sugar (and water), fuelled by the power of the sun. But ask the farmers who make their living from this miracle and their take on it is probably more down to earth: while sunshine and air for photosynthesis are free, labour, fuel, sprays and fertilizers comprise a substantial cost. Often, even water comes at a price, both financially and environmentally. In order for farmers to stay in business and keep up with our burgeoning population (in fact, it has grown by about 50 people since you started reading this), we have to use these resources better, and that’s where precision agriculture comes in.
The idea has been around since the 1980s, but current technology is making this a reality in ways that most of us couldn’t have imagined back then. For the answers, we can look to the skies again. Or rather to Cortney Robinson, Secretary of technical committee ISO/TC 20’s subcommittee SC 16, which standardizes unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones as they’re more commonly known.
Robinson, Director of the Civil Aviation Infrastructure at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), is coordinating a group of experts to create an International Standard for drones – ISO 21384. The scope of their work is ambitious, with three parts covering general specifications, product systems and operational procedures, respectively. It’s worth noting that Part 1 specifies general requirements for UAS for civil and commercial operations only; it does not cover state or military use, though governments are welcome to apply them.
The general specifications of Part 2 give requirements for the design, manufacture and continued airworthiness of any UAS, which, as you’ll see later, is a term that covers more than just the drone itself. ISO 21384-3 will specify the requirements for operational procedures. The time frame is demanding, with publication currently scheduled for 2018.
For industry insiders, an International Standard can’t come soon enough. “The cost of unmanned aircraft has come down dramatically and that’s contributed to an explosion in their popularity with both hobbyists and commercial operators,” Robinson explains. This is clear to see from the register that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains for all flying vehicles. “Although voluntary for smaller drones, most enthusiasts choose to register their drone under the ‘know before you fly’ scheme, and the numbers have jumped dramatically. The total number of US-registered aircraft [manned and unmanned] surged from around 260 000 aircraft in 2015 to more than 750 000 UAS alone today.”