FAA announces six testing sites for commercial drone use

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reportedly announced the six states that will host sites for testing commercial use of drones.

The six states include Alaska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Texas and Virginia.

According to the BBC, the sites in these states are part of a programme to develop safety and operational rules for drones by the end of 2015.

Drones, which have been primarily used for military purposes are now being explored by everyone from real estate agents to farmers or delivery services.

Head of the FAA, Michael Huerta, said that safety would be the priority and pilots will be notified through routine announcements about where drones are being flown.

The FAA said that it made the decision following a 10-month process involving proposals from 24 states, in which the agency had considered geography, climate, location of ground infrastructure, research needs, airspace use, aviation experience and risk.

The sites chosen include a set of locations proposed by the University of Alaska in seven zones with varying climates, Griffiss International Airport in central New York state will test how to integrate drones into the congested north-east airspace, and North Dakota Department of Commerce will test the human impact of drones and also how the aircraft cope in temperate climates among others.

Commercial use of drone could allow police and other emergency services for crowd control, taking crime scene photos or for search and rescue missions, spraying crops or survey livestock for farmers.