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 Regulatory Docket No. FAA-2015-1644. 

Dear Madam, Sir, 

Granite Construction Company currently holds an Exemption numbered 12541 (hereinafter the 

Exemption) issued for the purpose of performing aerial imaging and data collection. Granite 

Construction Company herby requests an amendment to that Exemption to include additional 

small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) that fully complies with the conditions of the Exemption 

to support client requests (public interest). 

The requested system (to be used under the same terms 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 Weight), 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 needing to turn the system’s Triple View 

camera head. This technology is unique in such a lightweight 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 nearby objects. (The drone’s shockabsorbent carbon fiver shrouding is also always on-hand to protect its rotors in case of 

surface contact.) 

• Number other sensors, including inertial measurement units, barometers, magnetometers, 

GPS and magnetic encoders; maximize the drone’s stability and safety. 

The eXom offer different flight modes to suit every project: semi-automatic mode (waypoint 

navigation) or interactive ScreenFly mode (using the supplied joypad to navigate and orientate the 

drone via computer screen). The ScreenFly mode includes flight assistance features such as cruise 

control and distance lock. In any situation, RD-based manual control always remains available as 

a backup function. 

The eXom is particularly safe. It was developed with flexible material absorbing potential shocks, 
and the senseFly R&D team developed a unique, carbon-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 switch automatically to the secondary autopilot. 

Granite Construction Company will comply with all the conditions and limitation imposed in 

exemption 12541 except that condition/limitation number 1 will need to revised to include the 

eXom UAS. The list of “operating documents” will also need to be revised to include senseFly’ s 

(operating manual and safety assessments) for the eXom 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 the initial grant of exemption. 

Because the requested amendment would not set any precedent or otherwise raise any novel issue, 

and because Granite Construction Company seeks to begin these operations without delay, we 

respectfully request the FAA determine good cause exists to dispense with publication of the 

summary of this petition in the Federal Register and grant the requested amendment expeditiously 

by summary means. 

Thank you, 

Sergio Callegari 

Construction Technology Engineer 

Granite Construction Company