UAS & GeosptialJohn Palatiello

Executive DirectorVirginia Association of Surveyors

Chester, VASeptember 30, 2015

Expressing the sense of the VGIN Advisory Board that imagery and geospatial data is essential to commercial and governmental activities, the collection, storage and use of which, including through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can and should be permitted and encouraged for the benefit of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia

VGIN Resolution

About Geospatial

$73 billion market Drives more than $1 trillion in economic

activity

About GeospatialMore than 500,000 American jobs are

related to the collection, storage and

dissemination of imagery and geospatial

dataAnother 5.3 million

workers utilize such data

About GeospatialAs much as 90 percent

of government information has a

geospatial information component

Up to 80 percent of the information managed by business is connected to

a specific location

About Geospatial

Identified by the Department of Labor

as 1 of just 14 high growth sectors of the

United States workforce

About Geospatial“photogrammetry” and

“remote sensing” are considered “surveying” in

Virginia, requiring performance by a licensed professional land surveyor/surveyor-photogrammetristCode of Virginia § 54.1-400 et. seq.

Aerial Imagery & Geospatial Data

E911 dispatching of police personnel, fire

trucks, emergency medical technicians,

and ambulances

Aerial Imagery & Geospatial Data

Precision agriculture

Aerial Imagery & Geospatial Data

Topographic mapping Water resources

Zoning, land use & planning

Aerial Imagery & Geospatial Data

RoutingNavigation

Engineering design

Aerial Imagery & Geospatial DataContributes to quality

of life

Provides a societal benefit

UAS

Aerial Surveying, Mapping, Imagery mentioned in FAA 2013 “Roadmap”

Geospatial firms among first to receive section 333 waiver/exemptions

Services/applications mentioned in NPRM

Technology

UAS technology will revolutionize aerial surveying and mapping like no other

Extraordinary amount of RDT&E going into aircraft, sensors, integration, and applicationsA “tool in the toolbox” to supplement manned

aircraft and satellites

NPRMExisting technology does provide a way to

resolve the “see and avoid”+ using the Master Restricted Flight Area Database and

existing wireless technologies+

Definition of “populated area” is inadequate and seems to mean “any single person within the

area of operation that is not inside a structure”.

Discussion