What: a new publication from the its4land project on the current state of UAV regulations around the world.

Where: Remote Sens. 2017, 9, 459; http://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/9/5/459

When: May 2017

Who: Claudia Stöcker, Rohan Bennett, Markus Gerke, Francesco Nex, Jaap Zevenbergen.

Why: UAVs—unmanned aerial vehicles—facilitate data acquisition at temporal and spatial scales that still remain unachievable for traditional remote sensing platforms. However, current legal frameworks that regulate UAVs present significant barriers to research and development. To highlight the importance, impact, and diversity of UAV regulations, the paper provides an exploratory investigation of UAV regulations on the global scale.