More than 70 percent of the world's general aviation fleet is manufactured in Kansas, so needless to say, aviation is the state’s primary industry. 

With unmanned aircraft being the newest edition to the aviation industry, Kansas has a strong interest in making sure this technology is integrated safely into the airspace. The state is an ideal location for this technology to be tested during the UAS Integration Pilot Program over the next few years, especially considering Kansas is home to 140,000 miles of public roads — many in rural areas — and the Kansas Department of Transportation maintains 10,000 miles of highway and over 5,000 bridges. 

With so much road to maintain, and so many bridges to keep watch over (and under when it comes to inspections), the Kansas team, led by KDOT, will primarily focus on long-line linear infrastructure inspections — think the aforementioned highways and bridges, as well as railroads and energy distribution lines, to name a few — and precision agriculture, to determine how this technology can benefit these respective industries. 

“This is a terrific opportunity to explore new ways to use this technology to reduce the risks to our workers during infrastructure inspections, search and rescue and remote area assessments,” state Secretary of Transportation Richard Carlson said at the time of the announcement.

AirMap partnership

In August, the first beyond line of sight UAS flights in Kansas were flown as part of the effort. The flights were a joint effort by KDOT and more than 30 university and corporate partners. 

One of those partners was AirMap, a leading provider of UAS traffic management technology. The first partner of KDOT’s for the UAS IPP, AirMap will provide the infrastructure for more complex UAS operations during the program. 

The partnership between KDOT and AirMap “formulated in a unique way,” according to Bill Goodwin, general counsel at AirMap, who says Kansas was one of the first states to dedicate itself to becoming drone-friendly. 

With the state’s forward-thinking mindset toward UAS technology, Goodwin reached out to KDOT’s Brock and a relationship ensued from there, as the two shared a vision that matured into a partnership last year. That partnership came full circle last year when Kansas became the first state in the country to roll out statewide UTM services in partnership with AirMap. 

AirMap has long looked for partners that were looking to integrate drones into their skies, so Kansas was an ideal place for AirMap to take its technology. Shared interests ultimately made AirMap an ideal partner of KDOT’s for the UAS IPP. 

Like the rest of the industry, AirMap is trying to determine the infrastructure needed for complex UAS operations such as BVLOS flights and flights over people. AirMap’s cofounder, Greg McNeal, says there are currently thousands of flights taking place, but the infrastructure in place won’t scale to allow for the safe operation and integration of millions of drones. 

That’s where AirMap’s technology comes into play. 

“AirMap’s airspace management platform provides the real-time, dynamic, and comprehensive picture of the airspace that drone operators need,” McNeal tells Unmanned Systems via email. 

McNeal adds that AirMap’s technology currently powers more than 85 percent of the UAS economy via integrations with more than 1,500 developer partners including DJI, Kespry, and Parrot.

AirMap will be an active participant throughout the IPP. Following the initial BVLOS flights in August, AirMap’s core UTM services were used to test two use cases in conjunction with KDOT and Kansas State University Polytechnic in September. AirMap supported flight tests for precision agriculture, which uses remote sensing technology to improve farm yields, and long-line linear infrastructure inspections, to inspect pipelines, road networks, power lines, pipelines, and railroads for maintenance and repair.

The services that AirMap is providing during the IPP are just the start in a program that will be “critical in breaking open the dam of the drone economy in the U.S,” according to Goodwin. 

“Three years from now, the skies will be humming with activities from drones in ways that people probably aren’t anticipating,” Goodwin says, adding that people will have to look to see where UAS operations are actually taking place. “What will be most interesting to see about the growth of commercial drone operations is how invisible they’ll be, but still nonetheless beneficial.” 

Pulse Aerospace provides helo 

During the IPP, KDOT will obviously need UAS to conduct its operations. That’s why KDOT has partnered with Pulse Aerospace, a Kansas-based UAS manufacturer. 

Pulse Aerospace primarily focuses on developing helicopter drones with vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. The company’s series of aircraft, Vapor, ranges in size, and the UAS are adaptable to specific operations being that they can accommodate a wide range of payloads. 

As a partner of KDOT’s for the program, Pulse will be one of KDOT’s UAS suppliers. Pulse’s UAS have already been used during the program, as its aircraft were used during the first BVLOS flights. 

According to Pulse Aerospace’s Chief Technical Officer, Bill Donovan, the company’s UAS offer a lot of options for KDOT, as the UAS can be outfitted with a combination of payloads and specific equipment for BLOS operations. The aircraft will primarily be used for the infrastructure inspections that KDOT conducts throughout the IPP. 

For Donovan, this program will go a long way in showing that UAS can be used safely for BVLOS operations, but he notes that you don’t have to look to the future to see the impact that UAS will play in society.

“Things that used to be impossible are now possible with unmanned systems,” Donovan says. “… I think the UAS IPP will be a key decision point for our country to evaluate the bona fide potential for UAS. 

“I think the outcome will be two-fold,” he says. “First, there will be an opportunity for youth across the country to have a segue into high tech and science and career fields that could set pace for new career opportunities. Secondly, we can evaluate the return on investment that UAS promise, and see if the actual numbers meet our expectations or exceed them in a big way.”

Above: A UAS pilot conducts operations for KDOT during the UAS IPP. Below: Matthew Peterson, UAS flight operations manager at Progress Rail, a Caterpillar company, conducts UAS operations for KDOT. All photos: Airmap