Drone-based Infrastructure Inspection Company Helios Visions (https://www.heliosvisions.com) recently became the first company in Chicago to receive a Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) Waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This waiver, known as a Part 107.31 Waiver, allows approved companies the proper authority to safely operate drones Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) of the pilot operating the drone. In the case of Helios Visions, the Part 107.31 BVLOS Waiver is specifically assigned for bridge sites. “Helios Visions has received increased customer requests for infrastructure inspection, particularly bridges, viaducts, and skyways. With this BVLOS waiver, we can meet customer demand to inspect bridge infrastructure safely, accurately and efficiently. We expect additional requests for bridge inspections using drones with the new Federal Infrastructure Bill,”said Helios Visions’ Co-Founder and CMO, Ted Parisot. The FAA’s approval of Helios Visions Part 107.31 Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight waiver makes the drone services organization the 55th company in the United States and one of approximately 38 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) service providers to receive this highly-coveted waiver designation.
Helios Visions’ efficient and accurate inspection of bridges using the Part 107.31 waiver is made possible through the use of American-made Skydio Drones; in-particular the Skydio Autonomy™ Enterprise Foundation which unlocks advanced Artificial Intelligence pilot assistance for complex inspections and situational awareness.
“We are thrilled to see our autonomous flight technology being used for safe and efficient inspection of critical infrastructure. As more and more teams adopt autonomous flight, we are excited to partner with our forward-thinking customers to keep unlocking the airspace from the ground up.” – Jenn Player, Director of Regulatory Affairs at Skydio.
“We are excited to add the BVLOS waiver to our roster of other waivers including: Part 107.39 (flying over people) and Part 107.29 waiver (the ability to operate a drone at night), so we can continue to expand our offerings of safe, innovative, and efficient infrastructure inspection capabilities for clients and partners such as T2D2, an Ai-based damage detection SaaS platform affiliated with Thornton Tomasetti,” said Calvin Gin, Co-Found and CFO of Helios Visions.
Prior to the use of drones, bridge inspections required people to make dangerous climbs of the sides of bridges or expensive snooper trucks. With the impending passage of the new Federal Infrastructure Bill, Helios Visions is well-positioned to offer drone bridge inspection services to clients throughout the United States in a safe and cost-effective manner.
