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R. Madhavan et al.
3.4 Regulatory Constraints in Brazil
Regulation is a crucial aspect of UAV usage in Brazil. UAVs weighting more than
150 kg are under the same regulations of airplanes. UAVs between and 150 kg require
a Brazilian Aeronautics Register and a formally habilitated pilot in performing any
flight. UAVs with less than 25 kg need a register in the SISANT (Sistema de Aeronaves Não-Tripuladas/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles System), and also a habilitated pilot
in performing flights above 400 feet. Flights above 400 feet also need to be authorized
by ANAC (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil/National Agency for Civil Aviation).
Only UAVs under 250 g do not require anything to fly. Above that, UAVs must keep
a minimum distance of 30 m from people, the pilot must be older than 18 years, and
acquire a third-party damage insurance. In any situation, DECEA (Departamento de
Controle do Espaço Aéreo/Aerial Space Control Department) rules must be followed.
People close to the flight area must be aware and authorize the flight. Pilots of UAVs
with 25 kg or more need a CMA (Certificado Médico Aeronáutico/Aeronautical
Medical Certificate) emitted by ANAC or CMA. The use of UAVs for loads or goods
transportation is forbidden. Only electronic devices such as cameras or computers
are allowed during flight. The portage of the following documents is mandatory:
flight manual, risk assessment document, and insurance. All these requirements and
restrictions make it complicated to start applying UAVs in any field in Brazil, especially with bigger sensory payloads, which in general are more suitable for mapping
purposes.
3.5 Ongoing and Future Work
GIS-modeling capabilities for UAV images, both for ecological conservation and
disaster management, are currently being enhanced. For the Taim Ecological Station
specifically, 3D models have been built, and some other applications are under study.
The suitability of different UAVs for many management demands in Taim has been
tested. These include capybara automatic counting (for population dynamics studies),
fishing and hunting detection, nest detection, and bird identification. As mentioned
before, low-cost UAV is the most desirable one for these cases, similar to the labmade ones that have been built (Fig. 3.3). The final goal in this sense is to define and
create the most suitable “UAV family” to cover all types of technology gaps related
to monitoring.
Social networks have emerged as an obvious way to exchange information during
disasters. SMART (Simulation, Modeling, Analysis, Research, Teaching) Infrastructure Facility, part of the University of Wollongong in Australia, has used Twitter to
trigger disaster alerts. Facebook now sends automatic messages enabling the user in
a disaster area to post updates on his/her status. The next step in our work consists
of integrating UAV data into such existing frameworks, as well as providing relevant
spatial information accessible through WebGIS platforms.
R. Madhavan et al.
3.4 Regulatory Constraints in Brazil
Regulation is a crucial aspect of UAV usage in Brazil. UAVs weighting more than
150 kg are under the same regulations of airplanes. UAVs between and 150 kg require
a Brazilian Aeronautics Register and a formally habilitated pilot in performing any
flight. UAVs with less than 25 kg need a register in the SISANT (Sistema de Aeronaves Não-Tripuladas/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles System), and also a habilitated pilot
in performing flights above 400 feet. Flights above 400 feet also need to be authorized
by ANAC (Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil/National Agency for Civil Aviation).
Only UAVs under 250 g do not require anything to fly. Above that, UAVs must keep
a minimum distance of 30 m from people, the pilot must be older than 18 years, and
acquire a third-party damage insurance. In any situation, DECEA (Departamento de
Controle do Espaço Aéreo/Aerial Space Control Department) rules must be followed.
People close to the flight area must be aware and authorize the flight. Pilots of UAVs
with 25 kg or more need a CMA (Certificado Médico Aeronáutico/Aeronautical
Medical Certificate) emitted by ANAC or CMA. The use of UAVs for loads or goods
transportation is forbidden. Only electronic devices such as cameras or computers
are allowed during flight. The portage of the following documents is mandatory:
flight manual, risk assessment document, and insurance. All these requirements and
restrictions make it complicated to start applying UAVs in any field in Brazil, especially with bigger sensory payloads, which in general are more suitable for mapping
purposes.
3.5 Ongoing and Future Work
GIS-modeling capabilities for UAV images, both for ecological conservation and
disaster management, are currently being enhanced. For the Taim Ecological Station
specifically, 3D models have been built, and some other applications are under study.
The suitability of different UAVs for many management demands in Taim has been
tested. These include capybara automatic counting (for population dynamics studies),
fishing and hunting detection, nest detection, and bird identification. As mentioned
before, low-cost UAV is the most desirable one for these cases, similar to the labmade ones that have been built (Fig. 3.3). The final goal in this sense is to define and
create the most suitable “UAV family” to cover all types of technology gaps related
to monitoring.
Social networks have emerged as an obvious way to exchange information during
disasters. SMART (Simulation, Modeling, Analysis, Research, Teaching) Infrastructure Facility, part of the University of Wollongong in Australia, has used Twitter to
trigger disaster alerts. Facebook now sends automatic messages enabling the user in
a disaster area to post updates on his/her status. The next step in our work consists
of integrating UAV data into such existing frameworks, as well as providing relevant
spatial information accessible through WebGIS platforms.