COLUMBUS – The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Center has gotten approval from the federal government to fly a large drone over a portion of the U.S. 33 corridor northwest of Columbus to test the capability of using drones to help identify traffic congestion, crashes, or hazards in real-time.
The center received special permission from the Federal Aviation Administration needed to operate an unmanned aircraft beyond the operator’s sight, known as “beyond visual line of sight,” or BVLOS, operations, center director Rich Fox said.
ODOT pilots will fly a 20-pound Censys Sentaero aircraft, with a 7 1/2-foot wingspan, along four miles of U.S. 33 between U.S. 42 and Watkins Road to test the capability of drone use for traffic monitoring and incident management, Fox said.
“This is only the beginning. We’re excited to test the potential benefits and leverage this special approval to continue integrating new UAS technology into agency operations.”
The drone is the first aircraft of its size to be approved for this type of operation and the second in the United States approved for operations over people and traffic without a parachute.
Its on-board system to detect and avoid other aircraft with be supplemented with visual observers on the ground to keep eyes on the aircraft, Fox said.
Since drones have the potential to provide visual coverage in areas without one of ODOT’s 1,000 stationary cameras, they can provide real-time information to help identify congested areas, crashes, or hazards in the event of an emergency, Fox said.