Robohub.org
 

FAA issues waivers for real estate and agricultural UAVs


by
14 January 2015



share this:
FAA-issues-waivers_800_456_80

The FAA granted two exemptions for commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems in U.S. airspace for real estate and agricultural crop scouting. But all is not as rosy as it appears.
faa-logo_300_133_80Both exemptions require the operator to maintain line of sight with the aircraft at all times during operations using an observer and a pilot who has an FAA private Pilot certificate and a current medical certificate.

Scott Kesselman, writing for AUVSI News, and responding to my query about whether a real estate agent or farmer will want to hire a pilot/observer to abide by the line of sight and licensed pilot limitations. Or whether these waivers are ones that the ag and real estate industries can hold up and wave enthusiastically? Or are they meaningless? Kesselman responded as follows:

The way legislation is currently set up this is the company’s best action to take to operate commercially. Otherwise they wouldn’t legally be allowed to operate for profit at all.

The FAA is not currently giving waivers for beyond line of sight because they feel the technology isn’t there yet for reliable sense and avoid, flight planning, and UAS air traffic management to ensure safety.

All of the Section 333 petitions will require operations to be conducted in line of sight with an observer and that is the best they can do for now in this particular regulatory and technological environment.

With these restrictions, the FAA feels if something does go wrong, the pilot in command and observer are in a position to mitigate damages when the aircraft is in visible range.



tags: , , ,


Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.
Frank Tobe is the owner and publisher of The Robot Report, and is also a panel member for Robohub's Robotics by Invitation series.





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.

Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões

and   12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.

Interview with Amar Halilovic: Explainable AI for robotics

  10 Jun 2025
Find out about Amar's research investigating the generation of explanations for robot actions.

Robot Talk Episode 124 – Robots in the performing arts, with Amy LaViers

  06 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Amy LaViers from the Robotics, Automation, and Dance Lab about the creative relationship between humans and machines.

Robot Talk Episode 123 – Standardising robot programming, with Nick Thompson

  30 May 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Nick Thompson from BOW about software that makes robots easier to program.

Congratulations to the #AAMAS2025 best paper, best demo, and distinguished dissertation award winners

  29 May 2025
Find out who won the awards presented at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems last week.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence