Remote ID for Drones: The Challenges and Opportunities for GIS and Surveying in the FAA’s Coming Flight Rules (Virtual Lunch & Learn)

Remote ID for Drones: The Challenges and Opportunities for GIS and Surveying in the FAA’s Coming Flight Rules

Guest Speaker: Sam Knight, Director of Product Management, Blue Marble Geographics

Moderators:  Patrick Cunningham and Judy Colby-George

Presenter abstract:

The development of Unmanned Aerial Systems technology has led to rapid changes in the use of the national airspace from recreational flyers to commercial operations spanning industries.  Over the last year, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been working with the commercial and recreational communities developing a new set of regulations, known as "Remote ID" which will have serious implications for legal UAS operation in the US once it goes into effect.  FAA regulations are known for their technical complexity and this has left many remote pilots and those who are just beginning to get familiar with drone-based data collection wondering what this means.  In this talk we will explore the new regulations in plain language and how they relate to both the current and developing uses of drones and related technology in GIS.

Presenter bio:

Sam has been at Blue Marble since 2004. In that time, he has worked in Tech Support, Training, and QA, eventually transitioning to Product manager and then Director of Product Management. Responsible for developing and leading Blue Marble’s successful applied geodesy training program, he has lead hundreds of GIS and Geodetics courses and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, trying to make tricky geodetics concepts accessible at a practical level. Sam’s other role at Blue Marble is a commercially certified drone pilot to support the company’s work in drone based 3d modeling.