FAA UAS Integration Pilot Program partners Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus and Westar Energy solely leverage Iris Automation to limit the risk of airborne collisions while flying BVLOS
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) received permission to conduct the first ever beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operation in the nation leveraging only onboard detect-and-avoid systems. This is the first-ever FAA authorized operation to fly without a requirement for visual observers or ground-based radar and is the result of the 31-member Kansas UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) team efforts to advance drone technologies.
In a collaborative effort between Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus (K-State Polytechnic), Westar Energy, Iris Automation and KDOT, the Kansas IPP team will fly a nine-mile track to evaluate technologies to inspect power lines in rural Kansas. This approval is the first of its kind for long line linear infrastructure and is the first step to enable routine commercial infrastructure inspection across the state.
“The UAS industry has worked over 10 years to demonstrate the most significant commercial benefit of drone operations within the United States,” said Bob Brock, KDOT Director of Aviation. “We are proud of the joint state, university and industry team that made this landmark decision possible.”
“The ability to fly BVLOS missions without ground-based radar or visual observers is a significant advancement, and Westar Energy views this as an opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future of UAS operations within the utility industry,” said Mike Kelly, Westar Energy Senior UAS Coordinator. “Being able to operate under this waiver allows the Kansas IPP team the ability to research and develop truly scalable BVLOS UAS operations for the automated inspection of linear infrastructure.”
The Applied Aviation Research Center on the K-State Polytechnic Campus, which assisted in development of the safety case that ultimately led to FAA approval, will be responsible for the training and flight operations with a cross-functional team from the KDOT IPP. Flights will take place over the next few months, providing the FAA with much-needed data on true BVLOS activity.
“We look forward to leveraging this waiver to integrate UAS technology into the transmission line inspection process,” said Kurt Carraway, UAS Executive Director of the K-State Polytechnic Applied Aviation Research Center. “We are certain that utilities will be able to quickly realize a return on investment while mitigating safety to their maintenance personnel and increasing the reliability of their infrastructure to the general public.”
This is the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight in history to leverage onboard sense and avoid systems alone for collision avoidance. It also marks the first required automated avoidance action. Historically, all FAA-issued Part 107 BVLOS waivers have required visual observers or ground-based radar. These mitigations limit the possibility of true BVLOS flights, as they are typically prohibitively expensive and limit operations to pre-defined corridor areas with radar coverage.
This important milestone is facilitated by Kansas UAS IPP partner Iris Automation’s Casia onboard collision avoidance system.
“Flying rural missions like these without a human pilot onboard or costly radar on the ground is exponentially safer and more cost effective,” said Iris Automation CEO and Co-Founder Alexander Harmsen. “The FAA is trusting us to pave the way for a safer, scalable future together with this precedent-setting second approval of our system.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation selected Kansas Department of Transportation as one of nine participants in the FAA UAS IPP. This program allows state, local and tribal governments to conduct advanced UAS operations to gather data to assist the rulemaking process that will set the boundaries for UAS operations in the United States. www.ippkansas.org
About Iris Automation
Iris Automation is building an AI-based collision avoidance system that helps drones see the world how pilots do. By enabling Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to fly Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS), Iris is the critical missing piece that takes commercial drone operations from theoretical to functional. The company is based in San Francisco and is led by a team with experience at NASA, Boeing, and Nvidia, including PhDs in computer vision. Iris is a key partner on multiple FAA UAS Integration Pilot Programs, a participant of NASA’s Unmanned Traffic Management program and a participant of Transport Canada’s BVLOS Technology Demonstration Program. www.irisonboard.com
About Kansas State University’s Polytechnic Campus
Kansas State University’s Polytechnic Campus in Salina, Kan. is one of four campuses in the K-State system. The Applied Aviation Research Center on the K-State Polytechnic Campus specializes in unmanned aircraft systems, specifically research, training and consulting. www.ksu-uas.com or http://polytechnicexperience.com/droneexperts
About KCP&L and Westar Energy:
Serving approximately 1.6 million customers in Kansas and Missouri, Kansas City Power & Light Company (KCP&L), KCP&L Greater Missouri Operations Company and Westar Energy are the electric utilities of Evergy, Inc. (NYSE: EVRG). Together we generate nearly half the power we provide to homes and businesses with emission-free sources. We support our local communities where we live and work, and strive to meet the needs of customers through energy savings and innovative solutions. https://www.westarenergy.com/
