Braintree company looks to capitalize on FAA rules for drones

The FAA’s initial attempt, a 624-page rule book, allows drones up to 55 pounds to fly 400 feet in the air during day light and 400 feet of a taller building.“Part 107 is a document that's been in works for years since 2012, I would guess,” said Ryan Anschutz, owner of Hysight Technologies. “It’s refreshing to see FAA embrace the tech with the release of this because they realize the financial impact on the U.S. economy."That’s a big thing that Hysight is a part of — the Northern Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Association. We want to bring back the Rust Belt through drones.”Industry estimates suggest the rule could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next decade. According to the rulebook, the person flying the drone must be at least 16 and own a remote pilot certificate. A remote pilot certificate can be obtained through an online course.“It opens up our employee base," Anschutz said of the 16-year-old baseline. “They don't have to conform to a sport recreation pilot, just put through the drone certification test. They’re ready to go which is great because now you're ushering in a generation who is used to playing videogames. They have great hand-eye coordination."So as a company, when we looked to hire people pre-107, we were looking at older, retired pilots that aren't necessarily good with electronics or our generation of video games. The video game generation has amazing hand-eye coordination. That is a huge benefit for the workforce that isn't really being taken advantage of."The new rules affect commercial users only; businesses such as Hysight Technologies, Amazon and other companies who use their drones to make money."We can take someone who’s played video games, and the learning curve for them on a drone is much shorter time," Anschutz said. "The same dexterity you need for your thumbs and index fingers is the same. It’s awesome and its exciting."Anshutz said the difference between hobbyist and commercial drone operators is hobbyists are categorized as individuals who enjoy flying their drone for their own pleasure. Hobbyists don't take pictures of something and then sell it to someone else.“I compare us to professional cleaning companies,” he said. “Anyone can clean their businesses if they wanted to, right? Or disaster cleanup. But to have it done right you bring in the professionals, right? That’s why they exist."Anyone can fly a drone. Anyone can buy a drone. But to have it done professionally without having to worry about maintenance of craft, having to worry about extra insurance liabilities, having to worry about the other regulations… why not have the professionals do it for maybe a little bit more than doing it for yourself without the headache?”This is the first draft of rules for the FAA, and Anschutz said he thinks amendments will come as technology advances.“The biggest hurdle is beyond line of sight. We have technology that exists right now that you know these crafts are capable of going beyond line of sight,” he said. “Power line inspections and long distance inspections are one example where you can have fixed wing UAV do 20 miles. That’s beyond line of sight, but we can’t do that at this point."I think those are the futuristic steps that you’re going to see, is bringing more acceptance to autonomy and relying more on the machine than the operator. As long as it conforms to those guidelines.”Overall, Anschutz said he is excited by the rules and he thinks the rulings show how driven the FAA is to accepting drones as the latest greatest tool to help businesses.“I’m excited as a business owner to see how our company will grow," he noted. “Its an exciting time in aviation.”

Braintree company looks to capitalize on FAA rules for drones
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