Feature Story
New Technology to Improve Turfgrass Management Efficiency?
The Future May Be Here! By James Horton
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oday’s turfgrass managers have seen unbelievable change in equipment, tools and technology during their careers. New innovations have allowed turfgrass managers to become more efficient with manpower and budgets. The best turfgrass managers have been trained to look for the latest innovations, however small or large, that will give them an edge in performing their jobs. We’ve all seen those new inventions that made huge, positive impacts in our daily tasks. Some seemed so simple that we wished we had thought of it first. Others we didn’t even see on the horizon, and the next one is no exception. In fact, you will have to look skyward to see it coming. Drones are here! It may seem farfetched but in the near future drones may be standard equipment for turfgrass managers across our industry. Sod producers, sports field managers, golf course superintendents, lawn care companies, institutions, etc., may very well own and use drones in conducting daily business, maintenance and sales in the years to come.
Introduction to Drones Satellites and low-altitude aircraft have been commonly used in agriculture, especially row crops, for a variety of reasons, but only minimally in turfgrass due to
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the smaller acreage. However, all types of turfgrass venues could be ideal niches for drones, or more correctly stated, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). The word drone was coined from the buzzing hum made by this small aircraft’s propellers, which is similar to that of a male honeybee known as a drone. A grading system is used to classify sUAS by use and delineates which drones are toys and which are not. The grading criteria considers the overall size of the unit (sUAS are defined as weighing 55 pounds or less, while full-scale UAS weigh more than 55 pounds), plus its capabilities such as flight endurance, method of operation and type of payload. There are three categories of sUAS; Hobbyist, Enforcement, and Commercial. The hobbyist grade has been available at almost every hobby and toy store for several years. The enforcement grade is used by military and law enforcement and are not available to the average citizen due to the array of sensors and weapons they could carry. The commercial grade is the type used for agricultural research and by serious pilots for business and profit. The use of drones by turfgrass managers would be considered commercial. The pilotless nature of these unmanned aircraft raised the concern of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) years ago since it has jurisdiction over the National Airspace through its network of air navigation facilities using Air Traffic Control centers and airports. In 2007, the FAA issued a policy that stated “no person may operate a UAS in the National Airspace System without specific authority.” In 2013, the FAA created six UAS testing sites to better understand the use and safety of UAS. The government has primarily been concerned over safety as it relates to crashes, radio frequency, insurance issues and privacy. As usual, government is trying to play catch up with technology. For now, UAS operators/pilots must comply with the FAA’s current licensing policy which has two certifications: Certification of Authorization only for public entities such as government agencies and universities; and for all others a Certification of Airworthiness is required to ensure the aircraft and its systems will not pose a public threat. Incidentally, public entities also are required to attain a Certificate of Airworthiness. Those seeking to operate a drone should first understand the regulatory process to legally pilot a sUAS. To that point, passing Part 107 FAA Drone Pilot Exam is required to pilot commercial sUAS aircraft, and this is not an easy test. In fact, there are study courses that you can pay to take that will prepare you for this test.
