For this week’s round-up of commercial drone industry news, we look at proposed drone legislation in Massachusetts, a study on the use of UAVs and AI to measure the health of corn, and expanded drone meal delivery service in Texas.

Massachusetts Considers Bills Restricting Drone Flights

A controversial set of drone-focused laws are now under consideration by the Massachusetts legislature. Dronelife reports that “a package of six bills making their way through the Massachusetts legislature could have profound negative impacts on future drone operations in the Commonwealth.” One of those bills, House Bill 3663, “would prohibit commercial drones from taking off or landing within 150 feet of a wide range of sites, including airports or helipads, aquifers, places where children congregate, military bases, and critical infrastructures facilities such as power plants, gas utilities, solar fields, wind farms or water treatment facilities.” Others would address issues such as drone flights near school zones and the sale of drones by Chinese state-owned companies. Some opponents say that “some of the proposed legislation prohibits activity already illegal under federal law and FAA regulations, while other bills would impose onerous land-use restrictions that could hobble commercial drone operations.” 

UAVs Help Researchers Measure Corn Health

Michigan Farm News reports on a study from the University of Missouri that used UAVs and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to measure the health of corn crops. For the study, the investigators “surveyed corn fields in mid-Missouri using drones equipped with special cameras to capture images and data.” With AI, the researchers analyzed the data and found that they were “able to accurately estimate chlorophyll levels—a key indicator of corn health.” They then combined drone-captured images with soil data and “used a type of AI known as machine learning to quickly predict the chlorophyll content in the corn leaves of the entire field with great accuracy.” According to the story, this approach proved more efficient than approaches using conventional handheld devices.

GoTo Foods Partners on Drone Delivery Effort

Widespread adoption of drone-delivered meals took a step forward this week as GoTo Foods announced that it has begun “testing drone delivery for the first time in June, in partnership with Alphabet-owned drone company, Wing, and DoorDash.” An article in Nation’s Restaurant News says that “the new delivery channel is now live in three Texas markets in Frisco, Fort Worth, and Plano.” Customers in those in those communities who live within a four-mile radius of a participating Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, McAlister’s Deli, or Schlotzsky’s “might receive their DoorDash order via drone, with orders typically arriving within minutes of being placed.”