RE: Docket FAA-2015-1207 , Exemption No. 12499 Petition for Amendment to Exe mption

Request Skanska USA Civil recieved an FAA Exemption No. 12499 on August 18, 2015 under section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to op erate a small unmanned aircraft system (“sUAS”), the eBee, for various commercial purposes. In this present petition for an amendment to Docket FAA-2015-1207
, Skanska USA Civil seeks to operate SenseFly’s recently developed eXom sUAS for the same purposes. The eXom, weighting 3.7 pounds (Maximum Take-off Wei ght), contains a rich array of advanced integrated sensors. These sensors work toget her to provide the user with full situational awareness and support obstacle avoidance:

• Five ‘Navcam’ vision sensors allow the operator to s ee in the direction the drone is moving via its flight control software, without need ing to turn the system’s TripleView camera head. This technology is unique in such a lig htweight UAS, similar to the visual parking sensors in modern cars, but brought into a 3D flight environment.

• Five ultrasonic proximity sensors work in harmony wit h eXom’s Navcams to ensure the Operator always knows the drone’s distance from nearby objects. (The drone’s shock absorbent carbon fiber shrouding is also always on hand to protect its rotors in case of surface contact.)

• Numerous other sensors, including inertial measureme nt units, barometers, magnetometers, GPS and magnetic encoders, maximize th e drone’s stability and safety.

eXom offers different flight modes to suit every pr oject: 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 i ncludes flight assistance features such as cruise control and distance lock. In any situation, R C-based manual control always remains available as a backup function. The eXom is particularly safe. It was developed with f lexible material absorbing potential shocks, and SenseFly R&D team has developed also a uni que carbon-fiber shrouding protecting the propellers. We have added also redundancy in our command and control system. In case something happens to the primary autopilot, the eXom will switch automatically to the secondary autopilot. Skanska USA Civil will comply with all of the conditi ons and limitations imposed in Exemption No. 12499 except that condition/limitation number 1 w ill need to be revised to include the eXom UAS. The list of “operating documents” will also n eed to be revised to include senseFly’s(operating manual and safety assessment) for the eXom U AS, which will be provided separately

to the FAA. Other than these revisions, there will be no change in the conditions and reasons relative to public safety that were the basis for the initial grant of exemption request. Because the requested amendment would not set any pr ecedent or otherwise raise any novel issue, and because Skanska USA Civil seeks to begin th ese operations without delay, Skanska USA Civil respectfully requests the FAA to determin e that good cause exists to dispense with publication of the summary of this petition in the F ederal Register and grant the requested amendment expeditiously by summary means. Thank you for your consideration of this petition. Sincerely, Andrew Deveney, Survey Manager