As beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UAS operations are primed to open a range of possibilities in the drone industry, fixed-wing drone solutions provider senseFly has established itself as an early leader in safely and successfully performing these operations.

Having already participated in several landmark BVLOS flights, senseFly is quickly becoming an expert in how to properly pull off these operations, from both a technical and non-technical standpoint. According to Pierre-Alain Marchand, regulatory compliance manager, senseFly, the technical requirements needed for these operations include a reliable command and control (C2) link, a safe and reliable aircraft, an automatic behavior capability, and a detect and avoid function. All of these requirements help ensure that operations are conducted safely, and provide safeguards in case things don’t go according to plan. 

Before these technical requirements can even be implemented, though, a healthy relationship with the National Aviation Authority (NAA) in the country where the BVLOS operations will take place is essential. 

“I think it’s really important to have a good relationship with your aviation authority,” Marchand tells AUVSI.

Having a healthy relationship with a country's NAA is important for several reasons, Marchand explains. NAAs are not only the ones that provide a company with BVLOS authorizations, but they are also the go to entities for questions that may arise regarding specific requirements that need to be met and fulfilled before take off. Marchand says that senseFly has an open and ongoing dialogue with the NAAs in the countries it is operating in, as well as some of the ones it hasn’t yet.

A knowledge of a country’s regulations is also important. Marchand notes that most of senseFly’s clients are located in North America, South America, or Europe, so senseFly is extremely knowledgeable about what’s needed to conduct BVLOS operations in these specific countries. In countries that senseFly isn’t as familiar with the regulations for BVLOS flights, the company checks to see what’s necessary to conduct these operations, either via the internet, or by reaching out to that country’s NAA.

senseFly makes BVLOS history in several countries

In just the last few years, senseFly has participated in several groundbreaking BVLOS operations.

In 2017, the company conducted one of its first BVLOS flights when it inspected a gas line in Switzerland. The flight went “really well,” Marchand says.

In 2018, senseFly, in collaboration with In-Flight Data, conducted North America’s first urban BVLOS UAS project in a major city. Conducted in Calgary, Alberta, the project’s goal was to collect mapping data to support the development of a new graveyard site, which would be the first new cemetery in the city since 1940.

Using a senseFly eBee Plus fixed-wing UAS, the In-Flight Data team mapped the area by conducting a total of 257 miles’ worth of BVLOS operations at an average distance of 1.46 miles from the pilot.

Data collected during the project was delivered to the city of Calgary and was expected to support construction management as the development of the graveyard began. According to the companies, the findings from the project not only provided valuable inventory data, which allowed city officials to identify the real estate available at the site, but they were also going to be shared with the citizens of Calgary to follow the progress of the site construction.

“The success of this project indicates that the potential for BVLOS operations in urban, city environments is huge,” In-Flight Data owner Chris Healy said at the time.

“When correctly planned and executed, including ongoing communication with local air traffic control, and live air traffic monitoring within the drone’s flight software, BVLOS operations are an incredibly efficient, safe and cost-effective tool for mapping cities. With fewer personnel and operational requirements, BVLOS drone flights are key in facilitating and reducing the costs of urban UAS operations, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for BVLOS in other urban applications.”

In 2019, senseFly followed up that historic project by once again making history when it collaborated with AL Drones and Santiago & Cintra to get approval to conduct BVLOS flights in Brazil for the first time in the country’s history, using UAS technology from senseFly.

With this approval, senseFly’s UAS became the first and only in the country permitted to fly 400 feet in height with a five-kilometer radius from a licensed pilot or observer. VLOS operations restrict the current use of UAS to a 500-meter radius.

SenseFly pointed out at the time that one of the major benefits of this authorization was that UAS operators could now navigate and map larger and more remote areas, which would expand the professional use of UAS in a diverse range of sectors.

Another important BVLOS mission that senseFly participated in came in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence’s destructive impact on North Carolina in Sept. 2018, when the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) used senseFly's fixed-wing drone technology with BVLOS capabilities to evaluate the damage and help the community rebuild as quickly as possible.

SenseFly’s eBee drones were deployed to fly at 200 feet above ground level (AGL) over North Carolina’s flooded I-40 highway. The UAS flew for an hour on a single battery, capturing 2,050 photos with senseFly’s Aeria X photogrammetry camera. In less than 24 hours, senseFly flew the requested area, processed the flight data and generated a deliverable for NCDOT. The hour-long flight produced accurate, useful information to fully understand the extent of damage and flooding of I-40.

“It’s really great to see the drones used for such important and useful uses,” Marchand says.
 
BVLOS’ potential to make operations for companies cheaper, safer and easier

For Marchand, the importance of BVLOS capabilities cannot be understated. Right now, most drone flights are conducted within the visual line of sight (VLOS) of a pilot, which of course has its limitations. But BVLOS capabilities are expected to make operations for companies cheaper, safer and easier, as demonstrated by missions and projects that senseFly has completed in recent years.

NAAs across the world already recognize that senseFly’s drones are reliable and being used for a lot of VLOS missions. As the company continues to prove itself mission by mission, senseFly is optimistic that routine BVLOS operations is the next step in the maturation of the drone industry. 

“Once BVLOS is allowed, I’m pretty sure that we will see a lot of drones in the sky,” Marchand says.