WASHINGTON - Drones that monitor crops, control mosquito populations and deliver defibrillators are to be tested in US airspace.
Ten commercial drone projects have been selected to try out new ways for unmanned aircraft to be integrated into the skies.
They include Zipline, which currently offers a blood-delivery service in Rwanda, and Apple.
But Amazon, which wants to offer drone parcel deliveries, has not been chosen.
The Federal Aviation Authority has previously had extremely tight rules about the use of drones.
A permit is needed to fly one, with beyond line-of-sight flights and night-time flying banned.
More than one million drones and 90,000 pilots are currently registered with the FAA.
The UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Integration Pilot Program is designed to tackle some of the challenges of integrating drones into national airspace, particularly how to reduce risks to public safety.(FA)