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NC has been a frontrunner in advancing drone operations. Now, the NC DOT proclaims an FAA waiver to remotely launch and fly drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) to examine the agency’s construction projects.
The Department will use a drone dock, or drone-in-a-box, solution from US drone manufacturer Skydio. NC DOT will place weather proof drone stations on sight at construction projects across the state, using them to remotely monitor the sites and supply progress reports to stakeholders.
The waiver will help the agency to understand the worth of drone imagery at a greater scale, with lower costs.
“This FAA waiver allows us to observe project sites from anywhere, anytime, without the necessity for drone pilots to drive to sites and arrange drone systems to capture and stream images,” said Becca Gallas, director of the NCDOT’s Division of Aviation, which manages the agency’s use of drones. “That may save money and time and increase the protection of our employees by removing the chance related to this fieldwork.”
This latest FAA waiver follows a 2020 waiver that allowed NCDOT to turn into the nation’s first state transportation agency to examine bridges using drones beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot.
NCDOT Division of Aviation is piloting the usage of docked drones with the private firm Skydio, one among 18 partners in its BEYOND program. NCDOT is one among eight U.S. teams testing and demonstrating how drones might be safely used for business and government purposes to tell the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulation of those rapidly advancing technologies.
“It is a latest tool for our toolkit,” Gallas said. “Our pilot program will serve for example of the transformative potential of distant drone operations, ensuring the continued advancement of our state’s infrastructure projects.”
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