The Federal Aviation Administration on Dec. 10 issued five permits to four companies to fly unmanned aircraft for commecial purposes. It remains unclear how the permits might branch out.
“It’s available to us to be subcontractors with this, but our distribution channel is our strength,” saysTodd Steiner, marketing director of geospatial imaging solutions at Trimble, which is the first fixed-wing manufacturer to get issued an exception. “Because we sell to customers as a manufacturer, it’s our expectation that there will be a way for us to leverage our exception to expedite one for our customers,” says Steiner. It seems there are plenty who would welcome the help.