A Comparison of Regulations for Agricultural Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Thailand and Foreign Countries

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare rules and regulations for agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles in Thailand and foreign countries. The research was conducted by studying the criteria, laws, rules and regulations of Japan, the United States of America, Australia and Thailand including the manual for technical operation on the permission for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for aerial spraying of Japan. This study was a qualitative research. The data from the documents were analyzed with content analysis and comparative analysis. The results of the research revealed that there were 3 aspects of rules and regulations for agricultural unmanned aerial vehicles, which were (1) the application for permission to use agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle, which included the needs to consider the airworthiness of the aircraft, the flying altitude and the spraying area, the format of flying, the permission license for the pilot, the certification for the chemical, and the emergency plan; (2) the flight operation, which included the needs to consider operational guidelines both before and during the flight, such as the dress code of the pilot, the readiness inspection of the aircraft, the inspection of the flying area, the weather condition, the instruction on chemical spraying method, the flying speed and the flying altitude; and (3) the qualifications of the pilot, which included the pilot having passed the examination on both the appropriate theoretical and practical knowledges and skills to fly the unmanned aerial vehicle, such as the knowledge of the rules and regulations, the controlling skills, the use of the chemical, the safety skills, the aircraft maintenance, and the solving of emergency problems.