The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently approved a company to operate its drones without direct human supervision, which brings the U.S. one step closer to commercial drone aviation. This is a pivotal decision for the industry because previous waivers and certifications required visual observers, which severely limited the value and scalability. The company, American Robotics, was approved to fly its drones below 400 feet and in rural areas with a maximum payload of 20 pounds. This makes the company the first to meet the FAA’s safety requirements. The FAA is making quick progress in this sector and has awarded Amazon, UPS and Wing, approval to operate their own drone delivery services.
· The FAA recently approved a Massachusetts-based company to operate drones without visual line of sight
· This pivotal decision opens the doors for drones to be better utilized for delivery services, and opens up opportunities
DOERING’S TAKE:
· This will have little short-term impact in the coming 12-24 months, but is an early sign of legalization and legitimization of the drone delivery business. Standby for more!
· The FAA, like the DOT/FMCSA, is evolving to adapt to the nearly-certain future of transportation that is upon us.
· More change is yet to come as it relates to building a smart infrastructure to support AV’s and level 3/4/5 autonomous systems in EV’s.
Article Source: https://www.fleetforward.com/
Link to complete source story: https://www.fleetforward.com/10134879/faa-approves-automated-commercial-drone-flights?utm_source=email&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=20210119-NL-FFW-FleetForward-BOBCD210115009&omdt=NL-FFW-FleetForward&omid=1003990182&utm_content=01&oly_enc_id=3348C7998723J6X
Photo: Photo courtesy of American Robotics Inc
Disclaimer: In the News blog posts are Doering's take on the best content and the latest news in the Fleet Management Industry. Doering did not write the original source article.
