Overview
ISO 23117-2:2025 - "Agricultural and forestry machinery - Unmanned aerial spraying systems - Part 2" defines standardized field test methods to measure the horizontal transverse spray distribution produced by Unmanned Agricultural Aerial Sprayers (UAAS) with downward-directed application. The standard describes how to quantify spray deposition on a horizontal plane (e.g., bare soil or uniformly dense paddy) and to determine the effective swath width of UAAS. It is not intended for three‑dimensional canopy deposition or systems that rely on canopy effects (e.g., directed spraying, electrostatic charging, very fine sprays).
Key technical topics and requirements
- Scope and purpose: Field measurements of spray deposition in the transverse direction to flight, enabling machine comparison and performance assessment.
- Test materials and requirements:
- Test site: specification of suitable field conditions and layout for transverse sampling.
- Test equipment: UASS/UAAS configuration, nozzles/atomizers and instrumentation.
- Weather conditions: limits and monitoring to ensure repeatable, representative measurements.
- Collectors: design and placement for both quantitative (volumetric) and qualitative (coverage/distribution) measurements.
- Test liquid and tracers: use of tracers and tracer dose rate definitions for deposition analysis.
- Test procedure:
- Flight planning, loading, flow-rate checks, collector disposition, and standardized spraying runs.
- Handling, storage and admissibility criteria for collected samples.
- Data handling and analysis:
- Statistical analysis, assumptions of distribution uniformity and methods to determine effective swath width.
- Reporting format: UASS/UAS data, test conditions, collector and liquid details, and expression of results.
- Informative annexes: methods for fluorimetry/spectrophotometry, calculation examples, collector designs, and swath-width determination guidance.
Practical applications and users
ISO 23117-2:2025 is practical for:
- UAAS/UASS manufacturers validating nozzle layouts, rotor/nozzle interactions and application performance.
- Test laboratories and certification bodies performing standardized performance assessments and comparative trials.
- Agricultural engineers and researchers studying spray deposition, aerodynamics and mitigation of non‑target exposure.
- Regulators and agronomists needing objective data for approval, best-practice guidance and application recommendations.
Keywords: ISO 23117-2, unmanned aerial spraying systems, UAAS, drone sprayers, spray deposition, effective swath width, spray distribution.
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