The company has won the FAA’s trust by testing its technology in eight states for four years – last year it flew as many as ten autonomous flights a day to record agricultural images and other data. AR’s drones can currently only fly in rural areas in Kansas, Massachusetts and Nevada. However, the company believes that this is just the beginning and that it “ushers in a new era of widespread automated drone operations.”
Reese Mozer, CEO of American Robotics, said in a statement:
“With these approvals, American Robotics ushers in a new era of widespread automated drone operations. Decades of promise and projection are finally coming to fruition. We are proud to be the first company to meet the comprehensive safety requirements of the FAA, which previously limited the viability of drone use in the commercial sector. We are very grateful for the FAA’s willingness to work closely with American Robotics on this precedent over the past four years. With this set of approvals, American Robotics can safely start managing our automated Scout platform for the benefit of the energy, infrastructure, agricultural and security market verticals, which will help unlock the projected $ 100 billion commercial drone market. ”