MachineryLink

Trimble's UAV Free to Fly

Jim Patrico
By  Jim Patrico , Progressive Farmer Senior Editor
Trimble will have more latitude to use its UX5 drone now that the company has received permission from the FFA to fly it for commercial purposes. (Photo courtesy Trimble.)

Trimble scored a public relations coup December 10 when it received an exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration allowing it to fly its UX5 Aerial Imaging Solution (drone) for commercial purposes.

Specifically, the exemption is to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. The Act authorizes the FAA to grant exemptions to rules that otherwise limit commercial operation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Prior to Trimble's receiving an exemption, only a handful of other companies -- including movie and oil pipeline companies -- had scored with the FAA.

The FAA issued other exemptions the same day to VDOS Global LLC, which does inspections of offshore oil and gas operations and to Clayco, Inc. and Woolpert, two companies which do aerial surveying for construction and other industries.

By coincidence, two days after the FAA and Trimble issued press releases about the exemptions, the University of Missouri announced it had received a certificate of authorization (COA) from the FAA to fly UAS's over its Wurdack Research Farm in southern Missouri.

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A COA is different from an exemption; it applies to public (governmental) agencies not private agencies or companies. MU's COA allows the university to collaborate with St. Louis University and Missouri University of Science and Technology using a specific fixed-wing aircraft, the Maverick, on the farm property. MU plans to ask for more COA's to fly drones at its other research farms.

MU has had previous -- not so positive -- experience with FAA rules about UASs. In August 2013, the agency told the School of Journalism it could no longer conduct outdoor classes about using drones for newsgathering. They could fly indoors if they wanted.

Just another bit of evidence about the confusing nature of regulations surrounding UASs.

The Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 gave the FAA a September 2015 deadline to finalize regulations for the "introduction of civilian unmanned aircraft system into the national aerospace system." It is not often that government regulators beat deadlines. So don't count on anything solid before then.

But the recent issuance of exemptions might mean the FAA is softening its stance on the legal commercial use of drones in industries. A recent FAA document indicated that Section 333 exemptions are intended to "provide a pathway for civil operators who desire safe and legal entry" into the U.S. National Airspace System. To that end, the agency announced it already has 167 applications for such exemptions.

"We want to foster commercial uses for this exciting technology while taking a responsible approach to the safety of America's airspace," Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in the FAA news release.

Patience is the watchword.

Trimble, meanwhile, enjoys its status in an elite club. The global technology company services agriculture, mining, forestry and other industries. The key element of its UXS is a fixed wing drone with a wingspan of about 40-inches, which can zip along at 50 mph, can cover more than 500 acres in a 50-minute flight and can provide images with 2-inch resolution.

The UXS has been around for several years, having originated in Europe. But its use in the U.S. has been limited by FAA proscriptions against commercial applications for drones. In a statement to DTN/The Progressive Farmer, Todd Steiner, marketing director for Trimble's Geospatial Imaging Solutions said, "In the near term, Trimble will use this exemption to begin conducting research activities, sales demonstrations, and flight training with our partners and customers within the U.S. ... In addition, we are working to determine how this exemption might be further leveraged to help our partners and customers."

(CZ)

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