In September 2014, the FAA began awarding grants of exemption to companies looking to use unmanned aircraft systems to support their business. This process, allowed by Section 333 of the 2012 FAA Modernization and Reform Act, was the only way for businesses to circumvent the airworthiness requirement and other requirements that were established for manned aircraft. As of August 29, 2016, companies are now able to operate sUAS via a new rule - Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations. However, exemptions still remain pertinent because authorized exemption holders will continue to operate their UAS under the remaining duration of their exemption (most exemptions expire after two years).
The following webpage provides interactive graphics detailing the data provided through the exemption process. This is the best way to explore the current state of the commercial UAS industry. The data are current through August 29, 2016, detailing the first 5500+ exemptions.
Platform data are courtesy AUVSI's Unmanned Systems and Robotics Database, the most comprehensive and searchable robotics database in the industry.
Click on an industry below to learn more about how UAS are transforming the way we do business.
John Nowatzki, agricultural machine systems specialist,
North Dakota State University
Courtesy: Increasing Human Potential’s Unmanned Unplugged Series
Crop producers are increasingly providing digital data to manage
crop production on a more precise field scale. UAS crop and livestock
monitoring, and imagery collected with UAS, will provide an
additional timely dataset to increase precision management practices
for farmers and ranchers and simultaneously provide more effective
safeguards for the natural environment.
UAS will provide timely, high-resolution imagery and a real-time
eye in the sky for agricultural producers to use to more precisely
apply crop inputs, to validate past management decisions and to
adjust in-season practices.
UAS are safer, less expensive and timelier than manned aircraft
remote sensing. UAS operated in crop fields and livestock rangeland
in rural fields under existing safety guidelines provide essentially no
safety threat to people on the ground or manned aircraft. Additionally,
manned aircraft operated in close proximity to crop and livestock
operations are potentially more dangerous to the aircraft operator.
Yamaha RMAX for Crop Spraying in Napa Valley
Courtesy: Unmanned Systems magazine
Napa Valley doesn’t use manned aircraft for spraying, instead relying
on ground tractors. Spraying crops with those can take much longer
— tractors can travel only about 3 mph, while the RMAX can move
along at 12 to 15 mph.
Even if manned aircraft were used in Napa, the RMAX would
have some advantages. It can fly very low over the grapes, thereby
minimizing fertilizer waste and runoff, and it’s more nimble and able
to steer away from the houses and other structures that share the
space with the vineyards.
Film and TV
The Associated General Contractors of America, a nationwide trade
association of construction companies and related firms, has engaged its
more than 26,000 members in a discussion of UAS and their potential
benefits to the construction industry.
Project Planning and Design – UAS have the potential to reduce the cost
and improve the quality of the currently available maps of specific project
sites. Improvements in the design and planning processes will reduce the
number and degree of expensive changes that a project team has to make
in the field and will help a project stay on schedule and within budget.
Safety – Building contractors would like to use UAS to inspect the work
being done on roofs or curtain walls, or other vertical surfaces, rather than
ask their employees to get onto a lift, to climb a scaffold or to descend
from a higher elevation in a bosun’s chair. Similarly, civil contractors
would like to use UAS to inspect bridges, towers, wind turbines and
similar structures without putting their workers at risk. UAS can also
help contractors determine the safest way for work to flow throughout a
project site and to identify potentially dangerous areas that they may need
Efficiency – As noted, UAS have the potential to help contractors
monitor their jobsites, how equipment and materials are laid out,
and how the work actually flows. This would also help them plan and
supervise their site logistics.
Quality – UAS have the potential to reduce the cost of inspecting the
quality of work done at higher elevations, including the many joints in a
building’s envelope and the caulking, flashing or other work needed to
prevent water from penetrating. UAS would also make it much easier
for contractors to inspect welds and other structural connections at
whatever elevation they may be. Contractors report that small UAS
often provide a vantage point that manned aircraft simply cannot match.
Environmental Compliance – UAS would also make it much easier for
contractors to document their compliance with a host of environmental
and other requirements. Among these requirements are storm water
controls that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its
counterparts at the state level require contractors to inspect every seven
to 14 days (depending on the state) and after rain.
Other Possibilities – In the future, contractors might also find that they
can use UAS to carry tools, equipment or construction materials from
one location to another. If appropriate for such use, UAS would be far
more versatile than the cranes being used today.
Courtesy: Mission Critical magazine
A pulse-quickening sequence in a 2012 James Bond movie, “Skyfall,”
which was shot in Istanbul, Turkey, is one often-cited example of
effective aerial cinematography using a small UAS. Daniel Craig as 007
is shown from above and many other angles as he rides a motorcycle
in a wild chase on the roofs of buildings, battles with a bad guy atop a
speeding train, plunges off a cliff and is swept over a roaring waterfall.
“While we have already seen movies filmed with SUAS from overseas
productions — take for example the roof sequence of ‘Skyfall’ —
the sky is literally the limit in imagining what new angles and views
filmmakers will thrill us with next,” says Lauren Reamy, director of
government affairs for the Motion Picture Association of America.
“Every day, moviemakers are increasingly leveraging the latest
technologies to advance their craft. Using SUAS is an example of that,
one in which audiences will continue to see scenes and shots we could
only have imagined a few years ago.”
“Small unmanned aircraft systems are a safer, more efficient and a
more flexible alternative in many cases,” says Reamy. “For example,
SUAS run on electricity, while manned helicopters require thousands
of gallons of gasoline.
Independent filmmakers and other producers whose budgets don’t allow
for manned helicopters could save money and broaden their creative
possibilities by using drones, says Richard Crudo, president of the
American Society of Cinematographers. “The independents will embrace
the cheapness of it, and the studios will embrace the trendiness of it.”
“I find, as a cinematographer, where the shots are most interesting and
most dynamic is down low,” says David Wagreich, CEO and pilot for
Astraeus Aerial Cinema Systems. “Typically, with full-scale helicopters,
you’re always asking to go lower. To be high and wide and looking down
on something isn’t as exciting as being down in the action. Typically, our
best shots are at 50, 30 feet or below.”
Previously, he says, for movies like “Spiderman,” crews had to spend
days — and tens of thousands of dollars — rigging cable cameras and
programing their movements.
“There are a lot of production economies,” Wagreich notes. “In
comparison with full-scale helicopters, which can cost upwards of
$30,000 a day to operate ... you can fly a UAS for [about] half the price.”
The demand for unmanned aerial cinematography has been “very
strong,” says Treggon Owens, cofounder of Aerial Mob, but the time
needed to gain clearance makes it a challenge to meet the demand.
“The demand for the use of it is definitely outstripping our ability to
get through the regulatory hurdles, but [FAA officials] are working
on that very hard.”
“What I really like about the drone is that it frees up your creativity,” he
says. “You are providing the filmmaker a whole new way to tell a story.”
Advantages of UAS over manned helicopters for moviemaking include
greater safety. Most fatalities of film crew members have involved
manned helicopter accidents.
“The technology, from our perspective, is game changing,” Astraeus Aerial’s
Wagreich says. “You can create shots that you could never achieve before.”
With drones, he says, “you can show up and fly it in real time,” saving
time and money and allowing greater creativity. “I think what’s going to
happen now is directors of photography are going to start conceiving
shots around UAS.”
A number of insurance companies and UAS operators have recognized
the potential value of UAS to property/casualty insurance and
have obtained Section 333 exemptions from the Federal Aviation
Administration to explore and develop such insurance operations. The
primary business cases for property/casualty insurance use of UAS are
for routine property assessment and disaster management.
In the normal course of its business, a property/casualty insurance
company will assess the condition of a potential policyholder’s
property to gauge the appropriate risk and coverage for the property.
In many cases, the property may include spaces where access is
restricted or dangerous to examine, such as a pitched roof. Rather
than subject its personnel to undue risk, an insurance company can use
a UAS to examine areas that are limited in access. This can provide data
more quickly and with fewer hazards to company employees.
Similarly, when damage or loss occurs at policyholder locations,
properly accessing the actual damage can subject insurance company
personnel to physical danger and bodily risk. In many cases, a UAS
can provide the needed access and assessment remotely, limiting the
danger to insurance company personnel.
Insurance companies responding to disaster situations have a
heightened need and responsibility for property assessments and
claims adjudication. In situations with severe and widespread damage,
the need for insurance companies to respond quickly and adequately
can increase exponentially. Insurance companies are now exploring
the use of UAS in claims appraisals in major disasters like Hurricane
Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, where the extent of the damage may
exceed the number of available inspectors and be inaccessible.
But the insurance use of UAS is not just limited to responding to major
disasters. They can also play a key role after regional natural events
or disasters that may not cause widespread damage but still affect the
property of hundreds of policyholders. In the wake of more localized
events such as tornadoes or hailstorms damaging small towns, UAS
can provide a more rapid response to assess damage, leading to faster
payment of claims.
Oil and Gas
ArrowData is an innovative aerospace and data services company
headquartered in Las Vegas. that specializes in persistent data
collection, transmission, analytics and distribution services. It was the
first company to receive a Section 333 exemption for newsgathering
and the only company among the first 500 to focus solely on these
ArrowData recently flew a CineStar 8 HL unmanned aircraft
for ABC7 (KGO) in San Francisco on July 9, 2015, and both
ArrowData and the TV station cannot be happier with the
combined effort. The company integrated live unmanned aerial
vehicle shots with numerous “hits” throughout the evening
“We provided live shots of the demolition of historic Candlestick
Park that is being transformed into a housing and office space
development called Candlestick Point,” says ArrowData. “This was
the first time a newscast in the Bay Area had used live UAV video
to supplement its newscast. We also took numerous weather shots
live from the UAV. KGO developed a specific website for this
effort allowing viewers to see the video from our aircraft at all
times during the broadcast.
“This debut of ‘aerojournalism’ was weeks in the making. After
receiving a Section 333 exemption, we worked extensively with
local authorities from the FAA in the Bay Area to ensure safe
operations. We keep in regular contact with the FAA so they are
familiar and comfortable with our operations.
“It is clear to us that TV news organizations want to use UAVs to
cover TV news. They are more economical than helicopters and
in many cases can provide better video. We are hopeful that as we
continue to prove safe operations to the FAA, regulations will be
relaxed involving flying over people and near airports. This will
make using UAVs more effective when covering breaking news.”
Flying with Flare
Courtesy: Mission Critical magazine
Flare stacks play a key role in oil and natural gas production by burning
off unusable gas at drilling rigs and refineries, but inspecting the flametipped
towers for damage has traditionally been dangerous and difficult.
Advocates of unmanned aircraft systems say the technology could make
such inspections far safer and easier.
Flare stacks can stand several hundred feet tall and emit 2,000-degreeFahrenheit
heat. Having inspectors climb flare stacks or nearby
structures or elevating them with a sky lift is risky, and using manned
helicopters can be cost-prohibitive.
Small UAS offer a better option, according to operators and
manufacturers. The unmanned vehicles keep people out of harm’s way
and are relatively inexpensive and simple to operate. Their agility and
compact size allow them to easily fly above and around flare stacks,
potentially providing better views than other means. And flare stacks do
not have to be shut down for UAS inspections.
“Drone technology improves safety, reduces liability, increases accuracy,
and saves time and money for our customers while allowing them to
continue work as usual during the inspection process,” says Houstonbased
Total Safety U.S. Inc., one of several companies that plan to
participate in the American UAS flare stack inspection market.
“The risk to an onboard pilot and crew during an incident or accident is
eliminated with the use of a UA [unmanned aircraft] for the inspection
operation,” the FAA wrote in its approval document for Total Safety. “In
addition, utilizing UAS to conduct flare stack inspections will reduce the
need for inspection personnel to perform this hazardous activity.”
“There are potentially 3,500 potential inspection sites just in the Gulf of
Mexico,” says Brian Whiteside, founder and president of VDOS Global,
the first company approved for flare stack inspections. “There are
something like 60,000 cell phone towers throughout the U.S., one-third
of which have to be inspected every year. All the refineries throughout
the U.S.” are inspection candidates, as are the pipelines and windmills.
Technological advances have made it cost effective to take pictures and
videos from drones, aka Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Real estate
professionals are interested in using this new technology to take videos
and pictures to create dynamic marketing pieces for property listings,
among other purposes.
Real estate professionals working with residential, commercial and land
parcels can all benefit from the images and information obtained from
using UAV technology. This imagery is an incredible tool for potential
homeowners moving to a different city, buying a second home or trying
to streamline the research process necessary to buy a new home. Many
commercial properties or large parcels of land do not lend themselves
well to traditional photography. Capturing the entirety of the plot will
give a better representation of the property at hand.
Being able to easily view the information obtained through the use of
UAV technology will help better inform the consumer. Just as digital
photography made it easier to create high-quality, affordable images,
real estate practitioners look forward to using UAV technology to
take their listings into the next level in technical creativity and quality.
Many real estate professionals want to hire a professional who offers
UAV photography services, while some others are getting the FAA
waivers and using the machines themselves.
Many industries that support real estate can also use UAV technology
to enhance their businesses. Property appraisals, facility management,
roof inspection, insurance evaluation and thermal imaging evaluations
are all tasks that can be done expeditiously using UAV technology.
Insurance companies can use UAV technology to quickly evaluate
property damage in an area after a storm or other destructive event.
That would expedite the information-gathering process for property
owners and businesses to get back up and running.
Unmanned aircraft systems provide SDG&E another way to manage our
electric and gas operations. The versatile technology helps us complete
aerial inspections in remote areas that are otherwise difficult to access
and locate the cause of power outages faster.
Initial operations used a UAS measuring 16 inches in diameter and
weighing less than a pound. These small devices use a camera to inspect
utility equipment and relay live images back to the controller. A UAS
can access sections of our system that are difficult for our crews to reach
and alert them if repairs are needed. They can also improve day-to-day
operations and quicken our response time during emergency situations.
BENEFITS OF UAS TECHNOLOGY
- Inspections – Improved ability for SDG&E to complete aerial
inspections of power lines in remote areas. Currently, linemen have to
climb transmission towers to complete an inspection in these remote
areas. A UAS allows us to see the tops of poles and cross arms where
damage is hard to see from the ground.
- Restoration – Allows us to respond to power outages in remote areas
quicker. This can help shorten power outages since crews can complete
inspections and troubleshoot affected areas quickly.
- Situational awareness – Improves clarity for ground crews and system
operators, especially during emergency situations and extreme weather
- Environmental protection – Achieves noise reductions and helps us
avoid the use of helicopters and other heavy machinery on roads.
Although the data herein currently covers the first 5,521 exemptions, it only looks at the 5,267 unique companies who received these exemptions. Many companies received multiple exemptions, with seven being the most received by Indiana-based Sydor Aerial Photography, LLC. These instances of multiple exemptions for a single company are likely because the scope of their operations varied enough that each use case required its own exemptions. Otherwise, adding a platform or new operational location to an exemption would only require an amendment to the original exemption. There have been over 600 amendments to exemptions thus far.
To read AUVSI's complete 20-page, first 1,000 exemptions report, click here.
INDUSTRY/TYPE OF OPERATION
The nature of the language in each exemption can be vague and leaves open to interpretation the industry or operation each entity will support. For instance, a petition may request “aerial acquisitions and research” or “aerial acquisitions within the National Airspace System.” This phrasing can cover most operations currently conceived with UAS and does not give a precise account of the type of operation that will be supported.
Some petitions take up to half a page to list all of the potential uses, with the phrasing, “including but not limited to,” similarly obscuring the actual operations that will take place. Reasons stated for doing so by the petitioners are to take advantage of servicing multiple markets that require similar operational profiles and to cover commercial work for any new market opportunities that may arise.
This analysis only takes into account key operations that are either 1) explicitly cited in the petition or 2) a main service provided by a company as noted on their website. We have also grouped general photography services into the category “Aerial Photography.” The areas of “Aerial Surveying” and “Aerial Inspection” follow suit for general survey and inspection operations that are not explicitly described. A distinction between survey and inspection applications is defined by the scope of the operation. Whereas survey involves large scope aerial data collection, inspection relies on more nuanced aerial data.
The “Environmental” category includes activities supporting forestry, geological mapping and studies, land management and planning, and even mosquito control, among others. “Emergency Management” covers all first responder or disaster relief activities that are not specifically “Search and Rescue.”
The platform data used in this report were taken from AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems and Robotics Database, which is the world’s largest database of air, ground and maritime unmanned platforms.
The data collected on platforms referenced in the first 5,500+ Section 333 approvals include ~850 platforms with publicly available specifications. These platforms total about 14,600 requests in the first 5,500 exemptions, an average of 2.65 per exemption. The platform data only include those platforms referenced in the exemptions, not necessarily those that are currently registered and operational.
Averages for takeoff weight (MGTOW) and flight time (endurance) only account for averages across each unique platform used for any given category of application. This means that these figures do not take into account that platforms are more popular than others.
For industry-specific analysis, remember that as many petitions may include more than one industry and more than one platform, there is no precise way to measure which of these platforms might be used for which industry application.