FAA clears first commercial flights of smart drones

The Federal Aviation Administration gave the green light to American Robotics this week to become the first company to operate intelligent drones without the need for pilots or on-site observers., the company announced Friday.

American Robotics, a Massachusetts-based industrial drone developer, will still need a human pilot overseeing the takeoff of every flight remotely, so the process isn’t technically 100% self-sufficient, as the edge Remarks. Still, the move brings the United States one step closer to implementing fully automated commercial drone flights.

And once companies are able to scaling of automated drone operations, he could “lend the efficiency of many of the industries that power our economy such as agriculture, mining, transportation ” other manufacturing sectors, the FAA said in its approval documents by the wall street journal. In an FAA statement issued at the point of sale on Friday, the agency added that “We conduct extensive safety assessments before issuing unmanned aircraft operating approvals.”

Once in the air, American Robotics’ The Scout drone works by itself. The plane in an autonomous way navigate in his predetermined flight path with the help of an acoustic detection system to alert it of obstacles such as birds or other drones to avoid accidents in flight. It is also scheduled for quickly Earth if its systems detect malfunctions and can automatically recharge according to the company’s weatherevidence drone housing and charging stations. These scout drones are mainly oriented towards farmers, security personnel and the estate owners in the market for aerial inspections and real-time analyzes to complete their property maintenance routines.

“With these approvals, American Robotics ushers in a new era of widespread automated drone operations,” American Robotics CEO and co-founder Reese Mozer said on Friday.. “With this set of approvals, American Robotics can begin to safely operate our automated Scout platform for the benefit of the energy, infrastructure, agriculture and security verticals, helping to unlock the market for commercial drones projected $ 100 billion. “

Some operating restrictions still apply. According to exemption authorized by the FAA, American Robotics can only fly its smart drones in certain rural areas of Kansas, Massachusetts and Nevada and cannot exceed altitudes of 400 feet, according to the Journal.

The FAA previously allowed exemptions beyond visual line of sight for a few companies, American Robotics included, for use autonomous drones for inspecting railways, pipelines, and other industrial sites as long as a human pilot or an observer stayed in the surroundings. But the permission marks of this week a seminal legal milestone, which paves the way for the expansion of developers in the drone industry operations for unmanned aircraft.