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Second FAA BVLOS drone operations waiver for Iris Automation

The FAA has granted Iris Automation a second waiver for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) autonomous drone operations on behalf of the City of Reno. But while the previous waiver required the use of Iris Automation’s advanced detect and avoid solution Casia X, this one utilizes the company’s Casia G ground-based solution (pictured above).

The City of Reno is a participant in the FAA’s BEYOND program that seeks to advance more complex drone integration in the National Airspace System (NAS).

The fresh waiver allows an operator to fly without the need for visual observers or the Remote Pilot in Command to maintain visual contact with the drone. Casia G uses Iris Automation’s patented detect and avoid technology to create a stationary perimeter of sanitized, monitored airspace, enabling drones to complete missions safely. The system also provides awareness of intruder-piloted aircraft to maneuver drones to safe zones.

Since Casia G does not require integration onto the aircraft, the payload stays preserved for sensors or packages. Its ground-based placement comes with the flexibility of establishing sanitized air space permanently. And by providing a sanitized “bubble” of airspace, it could even support an operator flying multiple drones in the times to come.

As Gabrielle Wain, VP of Global Policy and Government Affairs at Iris Automation, puts it:

Casia technology provides a critical safety layer, helping to enable the integration of uncrewed aircraft into our national airspace. This latest approval to fly BVLOS using Casia G gives operators looking to perform remote and one-to-many operations a solution to mitigate the risk of mid-air collisions, without having to use human visual observers. This is a critical step for the economical scaling of small UAS BVLOS missions.

Read more: Autel expands Dragonfish range in US with Lite, Pro drone models

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Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.


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