Aug. 8—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks-based iSight Drone Services is the first commercial drone operator to regularly conduct flights outside pilots' line of sight, a significant milestone for unmanned flight in the U.S.
"This is another first for Grand Forks in the world of UAS," said U.S. Sen. John Hoeven at a Thursday press event at the Olive Ann Hotel. "We've had so many and we're going to have so many more."
iSight CEO Tommy Kenville announced at the same time the company had finalized an agreement with Altru Health System to research using their drones to transport medical supplies and records between the Grand Forks clinic and satellite campuses.
The commercial operator received a Federal Aviation Administration waiver under the Near-Term Approval Process in June.
Using Vantis, the statewide system of sensors and radar supporting unmanned, the company will be able to fly beyond pilots' sight without needing to seek the FAA's approval each time.
"We can fly wherever the radar — Vantis — is," Kenville told the Herald.
The waiver is expected to considerably expand the capabilities of the company, which uses its drones for aerial inspections of power lines, wind turbines and other infrastructure. Flights will no longer require a ground observer or chase plane.
The Vantis program, which is jointly operated by the Northern Plains UAS Test Site and private partner Thales, became the first service provider to receive federal authorization to operate the NTAP program in May.
"This is not just one company getting a waiver," said Vantis Director of Operations Erin Roesler. "This is setting a precedent for how BVLOS can be used on the national scale."
The FAA had previously approved uAvionix to fly unrestricted BVLOS flights using Vantis in order to test the radar system's capability, Roesler said.
Hoeven, R- North Dakota, who has been involved in efforts to expand commercial unmanned aerial systems operations since he was governor, said it took years of work in Congress and with the FAA to reach the point of issuing a commercial waiver.
NTAP was first signed into law under the FAA's reauthorization bill in 2018.
"The tough one to get is the first one," he told the Herald. "We had to build a track record with the FAA in order to do this."
Roesler said Vantis' operators are working with a handful of other commercial operators to obtain waivers, a process that can now take a matter of months as opposed to the years it took to get approval for uAvionix.
Speakers at Thursday's event, which included Kenville, Roesler, Hoeven and Frank Matus from Thales, dished out thanks to state legislators, UND, and Gov. Doug Burgum for their support of the program.
Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorichak, the GOP nominee for the state's sole U.S. House seat, made a surprise appearance to compliment the expanded role drones could now play in monitoring the state's energy infrastructure.
Kenville also stood in front of audience members to sign an agreement with Altru for a three-year research project exploring the feasibility of the hospital system using the company's drones for transit.
That project is still in its infancy, but would mark another first for Grand Forks' UAS ecosystem.
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