US Drone Pilots get new capabilities with Esri Site Scan for ArcGIS
Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today released a new integration in its Site Scan for ArcGIS flight planner with business partner Airspace Link, Inc., the leading North American provider of federal, state, and local government drone flight planning, authorization, and management solutions.
The integration makes it possible for users to have insights into critical information relevant to the areas of their drone operations such as controlled airspace, special events, and no-fly-zones. This provides drone pilots with better situational awareness when planning automated drone flights.
If a flight plan intersects with controlled airspace, users can submit a request to the FAA within the Site Scan flight planner application by leveraging Airspace Link’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) authorization capability. This technological collaboration enables the FAA and industry organizations to safely integrate small drones into the US airspace.
“We’ve worked diligently to create authoritative products that make viewing and requesting airspace access simple,” said Michael Healander, CEO and co-founder of Airspace Link. “The new Site Scan integration that Esri built in partnership with us allows their drone pilot users to receive a broader operational awareness prior to take-off.”
Airspace Link is leveraging Esri’s ArcGIS Platform, the company’s platform as a service to manage the nation’s airspace data geospatially and deliver it to users. This up-to-date information is critical for commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) users to know whether a flight requires a waiver from the FAA or is within a temporary flight restriction area.
“It is key that we provide our users with all the information necessary to fly UAS in the national airspace safely and legally,” said Richard Cooke, Esri director of imagery and remote sensing. “With this integration, they can now benefit from Site Scan’s best-in-class automated drone flight planning in controlled airspace around the US, while taking advantage of Airspace Link’s FAA-sanctioned authorization capabilities.”
This new integration is available today in the latest update of Site Scan for ArcGIS Flight Planning App available for iPads in the Apple App Store.
Learn more about Site Scan for ArcGIS here, download the latest flight planning application for iPad here, and learn about Airspace Link’s AirHub for pilots here.
