Latest News

by Hari Viswanathan The short answer is that Amazon doesn’t “get around” Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), no one does. Amazon is subject to the same CIvil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations worldwide as everyone else. While we can’t go behind-the-scenes on what’s happening at Amazon HQ, we can explain what is public knowledge and speculate […]

The new product helps drone operators navigate multiple aviation authority regulations when applying for Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight waivers for commercial operations San Francisco (June 15, 2020) – Iris Automation today announced its new Waiver Resource Center (WRC), giving drone operators access to expertise and tools for managing the complex waiver submission process for all BVLOS operations.  The […]

A quick look at where we’re at in June 2020 by Alexander Harmsen, CEO & Cofounder Iris Automation In light of Iris Automation’s selection as a finalist for the 2020 AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards in two categories, including the top prize—XCELLENCE in Innovation, I want to share an overview of the current state of affairs and […]

Flying Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) requires special regulatory permissions by Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) around the world, such as the Part 107 waivers issued under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or Special Flight Operations Certificates (SFOC) from Transport Canada. These permissions are considered and issued on a case by case basis. Meeting the […]

by Hari Viswanathan What is Visual Line of Sight (VLOS)? Visual Line of Sight Rules (VLOS) apply to small unmanned aircraft in the same way that Visual Flight Rules (VFR) apply to manned aircraft: VFR are a set of regulations governing piloting an aircraft during weather conditions that allow for visibility. According to the FAA, VFR […]

by Hari Viswanathan What is BVLOS? BVLOS means Beyond Visual Line of Sight. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration of the United State’s) regulatory framework around safe drone flight operation relies on the concept of “see-and-avoid,” which is intended to avoid the risk of a mid-air collision between aircraft.  To begin to understand Beyond Visual Line […]

London, United Kingdom (UK), 15 April 2020 – Drone delivery service provider Skyports has announced today that it has been accepted into the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) Regulatory Sandbox to trial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights in non-segregated airspace. The Regulatory Sandbox is a programme established by the UK CAA to create an environment where innovation […]

The commercial drone industry continues to grow and evolve, with companies innovating technologies that increase flight duration, data capture, autonomy, safety, and more. But taking advantage of this innovation within national airspace is difficult. Despite government investment in programs to drive deeper integration of drones and our shared airspace, flight is still narrowly confined by […]

SAN FRANCISCO (April 6, 2020) — Iris Automation today announced the launch of Casia 360 – the first onboard detect-and-avoid (DAA) solution with a 360-degree radial field of view to enable commercial Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The Casia system allows an Unmanned Aircraft System to see and […]

The next evolution of Detect and Avoid technology is here Iris Automation pioneered the first commercial in-flight collision avoidance safety avionics system for drones. We proved that flying drones industrially beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)–not generally allowed in the U.S.–could be achieved with only an on-board system for collision avoidance and meet FAA requirements […]