Breaking Regulatory Barriers for Bridge Inspection: NCDOT and Skydio Secure the First True BVLOS Waiver Under Part 107
By: Brendan Groves
Tags: Technology, Tech, Autonomous Vehicles, Regulation, Drones

Today, just a few months after the announcement of the nationwide Tactical BVLOS waiver, we are celebrating another first-of-a-kind regulatory achievement that allows the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to fly Skydio drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) to inspect bridges with unparalleled safety and efficiency. This waiver marks a new era in unmanned flight. Until now, the FAA had required the use of visual observers (VOs) for operations beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). The FAA also traditionally required the use of expensive solutions — such as radar — designed to detect manned aircraft, even in areas manned aircraft were unlikely to fly. The waiver announced today breaks both of those barriers. NCDOT received permission to conduct BVLOS operations using Skydio’s autonomous drones — without VOs or expensive surveillance technology.

This achievement follows months of collaboration between Skydio, NCDOT, and the FAA. Going forward, NCDOT’s inspectors — who face the daunting task of inspecting more than 13,500 bridges on a regular basis — can send drones below bridges instead of dangerous rappels or expensive and invasive snooper trucks. Although today’s waiver focuses on NCDOT, it signals the FAA’s willingness to permit advanced BVLOS operations within procedural parameters that account for lower levels of airspace risk near structures, a concept known as infrastructure masking.

This blog explores the partnership between NCDOT and Skydio that made this achievement possible; explains the nature of the operation; and examines the technology, training and tools designed to make this new authority work for your inspection program.

Honoring the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Leadership

We first want to applaud the FAA for enabling NCDOT’s inspection crews to benefit from these unique and forward-leaning operations. We also want to acknowledge the operators who made this possible. In the annals of aviation, North Carolina will forever be known as the state “first in flight.” North Carolina has devoted that same pioneering spirit to advancing the future of unmanned aviation. The North Carolina Integration Pilot Program (IPP) has been a catalyst for next-generation drone operations from inspection to delivery. We have been thrilled to partner with teams across the state, especially NCDOT.

NCDOT was an early adopter of Skydio 2, purchasing it shortly after it hit the market. NCDOT quickly realized the value of autonomy for bridge inspection, which my colleague Guillaume Delepine recently outlined in a must-read blog. Skydio 2’s obstacle avoidance and visual navigation technologies enable faster and safer inspections by pilots of all skill levels that need to navigate the complex truss structures below bridges. The results are exciting, and the benefits to augmenting the outdated methods that previously have dominated bridge inspection are manifold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eYSzmjT6HI

To help NCDOT inspect bridges more efficiently than ever before, our Head of Regulatory and Policy Affairs, Brendan Groves, and Director of Solutions Engineering, Kabe Termes, worked closely with NCDOT’s experienced team to craft a ground-breaking waiver application. We were honored to partner with NCDOT in pioneering the safety case for Below Bridge BVLOS flights, and thrilled to see the FAA grant a waiver to our partners after months of effort.

Understanding Below Bridge BVLOS Operations

America boasts more than 600,000 bridges, each one of which must be inspected regularly under federal and state laws. Few jobs are more important — or more demanding — than inspecting bridges. In order to inspect the critical infrastructure below the deck of the bridge, highly trained inspectors conduct daring feats — repelling over the edge or dangling below in the bucket of a snooper truck. It is dangerous work. Some bridge inspectors have been killed and injured. Traditional methods of bridge inspection are profoundly expensive, requiring large crews and costly equipment. Traditional methods also impose high costs on travelers in the form of lengthy road closures and delays.

Bridge inspectors have long understood the potential for drones to improve the status quo. But the use of drones was not without problems. The first problem involved technology. The vast majority of drones on the marketplace require GPS to operate and are subject to electromagnetic interference (EMI) — which effectively prevents operations beneath a bridge, where GPS lock is unlikely and EMI is likely. Making matters worse, the lackluster “obstacle avoidance” features on most drones are incapable of navigating complex spaces like bridge trusses. Skydio’s autonomous drones break through these barriers. Skydio drones do not need GPS, are not subject to EMI, and are fully capable of navigating confined spaces without human intervention — allowing even novice pilots to fly in the most demanding environments.

Skydio drones confidently fly where others cannot — even in environments where GPS lock is unlikely, and electromagnetic interference is likely.

The second problem involved FAA regulations. Flying below the deck of a bridge required securing permission to operate beyond visual line of sight. Traditionally, the FAA has required the use of VOs and expensive surveillance equipment (such as radar) in order to receive a waiver to conduct BVLOS operations. Almost every FAA waiver was also limited to specific sites. Those requirements were largely incompatible with the nature of bridge inspection. When flying beneath a bridge, VOs are often out of the question — a VO standing on a bridge deck has no more ability to see the drone than the pilot. The same is true for radar and other surveillance technology. Even small radar installations often cost $100,000 or more and must be tuned to work well at specific sites. Finally, waivers that only applied to a handful of bridges would vastly limit the utility of drones. North Carolina, for example, has more than 13,500 bridges — every one of which must be inspected.

Over the last six months, Skydio and NCDOT worked with the FAA to break down these barriers. The waiver announced today permits BVLOS operations without the three traditional features of past BVLOS waivers. First, NCDOT may conduct BVLOS operations below the deck of bridges without VOs, provided the drone remains within 50 feet of the bridge itself and within 1,500 of the remote pilot. Second, there is no requirement to leverage expensive surveillance technology because the FAA (correctly) recognized that manned aircraft are unlikely to transit the confined airspace in and around a bridge. Third, the waiver is not limited to select bridges. The waiver adopts a performance-based approach that allows NCDOT to conduct BVLOS operations at any bridge meeting the criteria outlined in the waiver.

Summary of the key features of the waiver