DroneDeploy Gets FAA Clearance for Beyond Visual Line of Sight US Waiver

Contractors using the platform can fly drones that a pilot cannot see on large infrastructure projects

Drones flown over large data centers autonomously on a fixed route will be more easily captured in reality after FAA granted Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight approval to DroneDeploy's drone management platform.

Photo courtesy of DroneDeploy

DroneDeploy announced Jan. 28 it has been granted Federal Aviation Administration approval for a nationwide U.S. Beyond Visual Line of Sight waiver where a pilot on the ground cannot see a full view of the project site in construction of critical infrastructure such as data centers, solar energy sites or pipelines.

The vendor said 84% of its customers' top 50 projects are now focused on data center or other critical infrastructure construction and monitoring, totaling $35 billion in development. It claims its drone management software is engineered to meet evolving needs of general contractors and hyper-scale data center developers. The FAA grants Beyond Visual Line of Sight waivers to companies that have established safe operation when using onboard cameras and other drone technologies that allow for operation with minimal human oversight or even fully autonomous operation.

"As the AI boom fuels massive investment in critical infrastructure, DroneDeploy provides targeted monitoring and data analysis to help ensure these projects are delivered on time and on budget," said Mike Winn, CEO and co-founder of DroneDeploy said in a statement. "Our ... capabilities allow us to put fully autonomous drones on job sites to enable our customers to accelerate construction timelines, and enhance speed, safety and quality across large-scale data center developments," he said., noting use in development tasks from site selection to mapping underground utilities, interior systems installation and close-out.

DroneDeploy says its technology now is deployed by more than 80% of the top 50 U.S. general contractors and used by data center developers to provide detailed aerial monitoring and analysis. In 2022, the firm acquired StructionSite, gaining a suite of reality capture tools from ground-based robotic inspections for its platform.

"Our technology is designed to support the next generation of infrastructure development," said James Pipe, company chief product officer. "Every day of delay on one of these projects costs millions of dollars, so our autonomous drone capabilities ensure total accountability to meeting the project schedule."

The nationwide FAA approval was secured in partnership with ArgenTech Solutions. DroneDeploy's autonomous drone technology also enables AI-powered analysis of ongoing construction.

ENR Associate Technology, Equipment and Products Editor Jeff Yoders has been writing about design and construction innovations for 20 years. He is a five-time Jesse H. Neal award winner and multiple ASBPE winner for his tech coverage. Jeff previously wrote about construction technology for Structural Engineer, CE News and Building Design + Construction. He also wrote about materials prices, construction procurement and estimation for MetalMiner.com. He lives in Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, where the pace of innovation never leaves him without a story to chase.

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