A Kansas drone research and development team will soon use an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to “fly a nine-mile track to evaluate technologies to inspect power lines in rural Kansas” in a first-of-its-kind drone flight, according to a recent Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) news release.
The 31-member team is a collaborative effort from the Kansas UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) bringing together personnel from KDOT, Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus (K-State Polytechnic), Westar Energy, and Iris Automation.
According to the KDOT release, the department has “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.” The release, which also notes that the operation “is the first-ever FAA authorized operation to fly without a requirement for visual observers or ground-based radar,” was headlined “Kansas approved for first Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone flight in the nation.”
(Read more: State News – Morning Sun)