Rewritten by ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
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AUSTRALIAN industries using on-site drone spotters like mining, agribusiness, utilities and emergency services may no longer be needed.
Sphere Drones’s flight operations team was granted Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Area Approval for its site near Wagga Wagga, southern NSW, by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
The BVLOS approval will help Sphere Drones accelerate commercial drone adoption by businesses Australia-wide, which is due to reach 60 million flights annually by 2043.
The company said the BVLOS Area Approval was it first and would allow them to demonstrate its BVLOS drone operations for customers as it tests and develops its HubX platform.
Sphere Drones CEO Paris Cockinos said: “We’re proud of the dedication and effort the team invested in regulatory and licensing work over the past few years, as well as their success in developing HubX to a stage where it met the requirements to gain approval.
“It’s truly a testament to our team’s focus and hard work.”
One of the most significant repercussions of the decision is that flight teams can operate across the BVLOS area without on-site spotters or trained observers as required for EVLOS/VLOS (Extended/Visual Line Of Sight) flights.
This was made possible by HubX, an off-grid enabled, self-sustaining and rugged mobile drone platform.
Industries like mining, agribusiness, utilities, emergency services, construction and more can now adopt supported BVLOS operations quickly, the company said.
This would lead to substantial efficiency gains and cost savings, it added.
Chief Remote Pilot of Sphere Drones Elliot Cummin said: “It’s a big step to obtain your first BVLOS approval which includes extensive processes and procedures to prove safety and sufficiency in your technology solutions and redundancies.
“It’s fantastic news for us as a business, our clients and the wider industry.
“We’re proud to have achieved this approval, it’s the first of many to come,” he said.
The BVLOS approval also paves the way for the extended employment of HubX including a permanent demonstration site and more testing to showcase its full capabilities.
The current BVLOS approval does not extend to Remote Operations Centre (ROC) BVLOS operations but the company said it is working towards incorporating a ROC into their BVLOS operations by the end of 2024.
To date, Sphere Drones has helped more than 11,000 clients since 2012 – including 3000 corporates – in the sale or rental of drones, parts and accessories, software, training and support for drone operations and programs.
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