A Drone So Big, You'll Notice
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is planning to fly a large drone over a stretch of highway outside Columbus as part of a pilot traffic surveillance program—and the department had to get special permission from the feds to do it, according to a report on Cleveland.com.
The permission involved an allowance to fly the aircraft out of view of its on-the-ground pilot.
Read also: Minnesota Studies Use of Drones, Sensors to Maintain Bridges
ODOT workers will pilot the 20-pound Censys Sentaero aircraft, which has a wingspan of 7.5 feet, over a portion of U.S. 33 northwest of Columbus as a supplement to traffic cameras already installed on the ground.
The website says the drone will be the first of its size in the country to be approved for that specific purpose, and only the second of its size to be approved to fly over people and traffic for any reason without an on-board parachute.
About the Author
Frank RaczonFrank Raczon
Frank Raczon has covered and influenced the equipment industry for 35 years, including 15 years as senior editor of Construction Equipment, and marketing, advertising, and public relations work with the industry's top manufacturers. In addition to authoring "Caterpillar: Modern Earthmoving Marvels" (Motorbooks, 2015), he has won numerous awards in his career, highlighted by nods from the Construction Writers Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Business Marketing Association, and BtoB magazine. Raczon has also won a number of awards from publishing peer groups such as ASBPE and TABPI.