The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected Iris Automation to participate in the FAA’s Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). Iris Automation is a safety avionics technology company with Detect-and-Avoid systems and other services that assist its customers in developing scalable BVLOS operations for commercial drones. The BVLOS ARC’s mission is to provide recommendations to the FAA for regulatory requirements based on unmanned aerial system (UAS or drone) performance. The requirements will assist in normalizing safe, scalable, economically-viable, and environmentally-safe UAS BVOLS operations WITHOUT positive air traffic control.

The FAA administrator, Steve Dickson, said, “This [BVLOS ARC] will consider the safety, security and environmental needs, as well as societal benefits, of these operations. Within six months, the committee will submit a recommendations report to the FAA. I think we can all agree this is a big step forward, and it will help pave the way for routine package delivery, infrastructure inspection, and other more complex drone operations beyond the visual line-of-sight of the remote pilot.”

The FAA has sought the input and expertise of the UAS industry and interested stakeholders in the past. Now, the FAA will utilize Iris Automation’s expertise to help establish safety and performance standards for BVLOS operations. This is yet another step to integrating drones into the national airspace in a safe, effective, and efficient manner.

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