Six months after getting mandatory approval from regulators, Swiss drone delivery company RigiTech began the first regular beyond visual line of sight (BVLOSL) operations in France on Monday, providing aerial shuttles of blood and biological samples between testing labs.
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Electric utility ComEd says it is expanding its drone program to allow pilots to operate inspection drones remotely, without being present on site. The utility has secured all the necessary waivers required from the FAA to conduct operations in which the drone flies beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator. And it is currently training pilots to automate drone flights using the Skydio Dock docking and recharging station.
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A group of next-generation UK aviation tech companies and associated organizations have released a white paper urging the government and national regulators to move quickly to create rules enabling effective integration of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights by drones and other craft into the airspace, and unleashing their full potential economic contributions that risk being undermined if such activity is held back.
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Drone services and ground robotic vehicle specialist InDro Robotics has received a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAV flights in the US, a first for a Canadian company according to the Toronto-based firm.
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French drone and sensor developer Delair has revealed its UX11 craft has become the world’s first enterprise UAV to receive European Union C6 categorization, allowing it to be operated for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights without previous authorization from regulators.
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Drone automation platform VOTIX is joining forces with detect-and-avoid aviation tech specialist Iris Automation to streamline remote operations for enterprises that require flexible beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone deployments.
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The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has taken another step in its increasing use of drones as tools in inspecting and managing its vast infrastructure by obtaining a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waver for beyond visual line of sight flights (BVLOS) at its Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project, in partnership with Skydio.
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Drone services and delivery company Spright says it has obtained what it calls a “first of a kind” waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for specific beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) inspection missions.
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A new bipartisan bill has been introduced in the US Senate with the principal objective of streamlining, speeding, and broadening the process under which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorizes beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights by businesses and public agencies.
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Drone avionics tech specialist uAvionix has announced its detect and avoid systems have received the second Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights in as many weeks, this time in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO).
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Transport Canada has given its approval to Ontario Power Generation to operate inspection drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), without an onsite visual observer, at McConnell Lake Control Dam. Percepto, whose drone-in-a-box solution will make this feat possible, points out this is the first time regulators are allowing autonomous drone operations in Canada.
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Update, January 27, 2023: American Water has clarified that advanced drone flights are being made possible courtesy of its partnership with the New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), an New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) corporation which holds an FAA Part 91 Certificate of Authorization.
The earlier report from American Water follows…
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Enterprise drone automation software specialist FlytBase has announced the second edition of NestGen, a global virtual summit that puts the spotlight on the latest drone-in-a-box tech and solutions enabling drone autonomy.
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Maker of avionics tech for drones and other aircraft, uAvionix has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to perform beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights within North Dakota’s Vantis UAV network.
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Ground-breaking autonomous drone systems developer Percepto says it has attained another unprecedented Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) authorization, this time for its nested UAVs to be used at a solar power plant in Texas to perform highly automated inspections at high altitudes.
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Japan Post, the archipelago nation’s mail company, has jumped on the easing of certain drone restrictions introduced only last week to announce its plans to prepare for aerial delivery of parcels starting next year.
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Specialist public safety and first responder drone consultancy Skyfire says it successfully assisted wildfire-plagued utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to obtain a Federal Aviation Administration waiver to operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) infrastructure flights throughout the entire state of California.
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A UK consortium of companies has launched a two-year, high-intensity autonomous drone operations (HALO) project to develop and test an uncrewed aircraft traffic management system (UTM) capable of integrating around the clock UAV flights at London’s Heathrow Airport.
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Drone automation software specialist FlytBase is partnering with avionics safety expert Iris Automation so that enterprises can conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions safely at scale.
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With drones making powerline inspections safer, more efficient, and cost-effective, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a new Part 107 Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) waiver that would allow Valmont Industries to fly its drones across the United States at a moment’s notice.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted a nationwide waiver for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights to a drone-in-a-box solution provider for the first time ever.
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Swiss drone manufacturer and services company RigiTech has continued pushing the boundaries of its activities by staging a long-distance beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) aerial delivery over Lake Geneva, linking two medical labs.
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Spright, the drone division of aerial medical service provider Air Methods, is now one step closer to launching the first bidirectional American medical drone delivery network. The company has set the record for completing the longest beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flight by a commercial entity in the US.
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Drone data collection, surveying, and infrastructure inspection company Soaring Eagle Technologies has added another Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) waiver to its collection – this one permitting virtually unlimited geographic range of mission operation.
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