Dominion Virginia Power uses drones to inspect its transmission lines and one day hopes they can aid in storm reconnaissance.
supplies around hospitals. Government agencies are exploring ways to use the technology for chasing storms and to aid in search and rescue missions. For everyday consumers, the industry could bring driverless cars and package delivery by drone.
The birth of an industry Unmanned aerial systems made a
big leap this year with the introduction of the Part 107 rules, providing official guidelines for how companies can use drones. The new rules could have a major
economic impact. A report by Goldman Sachs predicted that the Part 107 rules on drones could generate $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 jobs in the next 10 years. Previously, companies interested in
flying drones had to apply for permits to operate them. “[Part 107] is the begin- ning of the commercial drone industry in a formal sense,” says Sean Windle, a lead analyst for IBISWorld, an industry research firm based in Los Angeles. “Prior to the FAA’s ruling, the market operated on a permit-by-permit basis. And obviously, because of that, you had a flood of different businesses that were petitioning or applying for permits, and there was a huge backlog.”
Photo courtesy Dominion Virginia Power The rules, however, still maintain a
certain number of restrictions, including a drone weight limit of 55 pounds and a maximum flight height of 400 feet above ground. The rules also prohibit night- time operations and flying over people not participating in the commercial activ- ity. Companies may apply for waivers from these restrictions. The rules also require operators to
keep their drones in their line of sight — a restriction that will limit the full- scale use of drones in the marketplace. For example, package delivery by drone wouldn’t be feasible. “There are still a substantial amount of regulations that basically still means there are some road- blocks to full commercial drone integra- tion, but [Part 107] is definitely a major step forward,” says Windle.
Key player in research Virginia has become a key player
in drone research. Much of the research today is focused on how these aerial systems could be flown safely if the FAA lifts these restrictions or changes its regulations. Dominion Virginia Power, for
example, has received FAA approval to fly drones beyond line of site for some test scenarios. The power company conducted a test with Virginia Tech’s
www.VirginiaBusiness.com VIRGINIA BUSINESS 21
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