Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation

As interest in drones for everything from truck driver training to search and rescue grows, groups are coming together to build standards for what promises to be a messy adoption and regulatory approval process.

The Linux Foundation has just announced an open-source software initiative called the Dronecode Project, that it hopes will provide developers with the tools and resources they need to build their flying machines more easily.

One of the biggest obstacles in drone-building isn’t just getting it to fly, but creating the software to control it. Drones need an operating system just like computers do, and currently most developers have to build one themselves at a huge cost.

Linux code is already the preferred option for many drone developers, and the new initiative is hoping to consolidate these assets under one roof. It’ll provide a common operating system for the machines to run on, as well as tools for communications and governance.

“Open-source software and collaborative development are advancing technologies in the hottest, most cutting-edge areas. The Dronecode Project is a perfect example of this,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation, in a statement. “By becoming a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project, the Dronecode community will receive the support required of a massive project right at its moment of breakthrough. The result will be a common platform for drone and robotics open source projects.”

The Dronecode initiative includes the APM UAV software platform built by 3D Robotics, plus the partner PX4 project run by the Technical University of Zurich. According to the Linux Foundation, more than 1,200 developers have joined the party, with up to 150 code commits a day on some projects. Current projects include APM, DroidPlanner, MAVLink and Mission Planner.

Dronecode is getting some traction too. Already it’s been adopted by several leading drone technology organizations, including names like 3D Robotics, Agribotics, Box, DroneDeploy, HobbyKing, Horizon Ag, PrecisionHawk, Skycatch and Walkera.