Transport Canada has announced the approval of Quebec´s drone operator MVT Geo-solutions for the first unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flight beyond visual line of sight, the agency said.
The UAV uses onboard detect-and-avoid sensors, a development bringing long-range commercial drone flights one step closer to reality.
The regulatory agency granted the beyond-visual-line-of-sight Special Flight Operations Certificate to drone operator MVT Geo-solutions of Quebec, which offers aerial lidar, photogrammetry and thermography land mapping services.
The Transport Canada waiver permits flights within a test range in Alma, Quebec, a town about 161mi (270km) north of Quebec City, Quebec. The flight would be conducted without ground-based observers or radar, relying instead on the UAV´s detect-and-avoid technology.
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