Consortium aiming to speed up North Sea UAV response
Sept. 12, 2019
(Courtesy FlyLogix)
The partners are developing and testing a concept for drone operations that will allow UAV operators to act within hours of an inspection request, facilitating routine beyond visual line of sight in the North Sea.
Offshore staff
FAREHAM, UK – FlyLogix is collaborating in a North Sea drone initiative with Total, NATS, (a provider of air traffic navigation services), and the Oil & Gas Technology Centre in Aberdeen.
The aims are to address challenges associated with drone inspection programs in the North Sea and to give commercial operators of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) easier access to UK-controlled airspace for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations.
The partners are developing and testing a concept for drone operations that will allow UAV operators to act within hours of an inspection request, facilitating routine BVLOS in the North Sea.
Currently, the process of obtaining approvals for UAV tasks inside UK-controlled airspace can take up to three months, with requests considered individually, resulting in the granting of single flight permissions.
This slows down planning of inspection and logistic services, FlyLogix said.
