**Granite Construction Company**

**1900 Glendale Avenue**
**Sparks, NV 89431**

**January 14, 2016**

**U.S. Department of Transportation**
**Docket Management System**
**1200 New Jersey Ave., SE**
**Washington, DC 20590**

**Re: Amendment to Exemption 12541 issued pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and** 
**Part II of the Federal Aviation Regulations in Regu latory Docket No. FAA-2015-1644.** 

**Dear Madam, Sir,**

**Granite Construction Company currently holds an Exe mption numbered 12541 (hereinafter the**  **Exemption) issued for the purpose of performing aer ial imaging and data collection. Granite**  **Construction Company herby requests an amendment to that Exemption to include additional**  **small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) that fully c omplies with the conditions of the Exemption**  **to support client requests (public interest).**

**The requested system (to be used under the same ter ms and conditions contained in the original**  **Exemption) to be added to our existing Exemption is cited below.** 

• **senseFly - eXom**

**The eXom, weighing 3.7 pounds (Maximum Take-off Wei ght), contains a rich array of advanced**  **integrated sensors. These sensors work together to provide the user with full situational awareness**  **and support obstacle avoidance:**

• **Five “navcam” vision sensors allow the operator to see in the direction the drone is**  **moving via its flight control software, without nee ding to turn the system’s Triple View**  **camera head. This technology is unique in such a li ghtweight UAS, similar to the visual**  **parking sensors in modern cars, but brought into a 3D flight environment.** 

• **Five “ultrasonic proximity sensors work in harmony with eXom’s navcams to ensure the**  **operator always knows the drone’s distance from nea rby objects. (The drone’s shock**  **absorbent carbon fiver shrouding is also always on- hand to protect its rotors in case of**  **surface contact.)**

• **Number other sensors, including inertial measuremen t units, barometers, magnetometers,**  **GPS and magnetic encoders; maximize the drone’s sta bility and safety.** 

**The eXom offer different flight modes to suit every project: semi-automatic mode (waypoint**  **navigation) or interactive ScreenFly mode (using th e supplied joypad to navigate and orientate the**  **drone via computer screen). The ScreenFly mode incl udes flight assistance features such as cruise**  **control and distance lock. In any situation, RD-bas ed manual control always remains available as**  **a backup function.**

**The eXom is particularly safe. It was developed wit h flexible material absorbing potential shocks,** **and the senseFly R&D team developed a unique, carbo n-fiber shrouding protecting the propellers.** 

**They also programmed redundancy in the command and control system. In case something**  **happens to the primary autopilot, the eXom will swi tch automatically to the secondary autopilot.** 

**Granite Construction Company will comply with all t he conditions and limitation imposed in**  **exemption 12541 except that condition/limitation nu mber 1 will need to revised to include the**  **eXom UAS. The list of “operating documents” will al so need to be revised to include senseFly’ s**  **(operating manual and safety assessments) for the e Xom UAS, which will be provided separately**  **to the FAA. Other than these revisions, there will be no change in the conditions and reason**  **relative to public safety that were the basis for t he initial grant of exemption.** 

**Because the requested amendment would not set any p recedent or otherwise raise any novel issue,**  **and because Granite Construction Company seeks to b egin these operations without delay, we**  **respectfully request the FAA determine good cause e xists to dispense with publication of the**  **summary of this petition in the Federal Register an d grant the requested amendment expeditiously**  **by summary means.**

**Thank you,**

**Sergio Callegari**

**Construction Technology Engineer Granite Construction Company**