I came across this today. Pretty bold to advertize, given the current situation, but I hope they succeed.
http://aca-net.com/services/unmanned-aerial-systems-uas/
They use riegl.
Far too fancy to not know the rules.
FWIW, this is a company that's been doing aerial mapping since the 70s, and has a sterling reputation. I wasn't trying to knock them, just surprised to see this. It's going to take companies pushing the envelope to get the FAA to change it's rules.
Possible they have global clients where the FAA can't ruin the party?
What is the possibility that this company has been granted a COA to operate the UAS commercially?
According to the FAA web site there is no possibility of that. They must have work in Central or South America or something.
Cool.
BUT I keep seeing ads for, or people thinking that UAVs are LiDAR capable. Anyone ever seen typical airborne LiDAR scanners? They are huge.
RIEGL just came out with the VUX-1 Ultra Light, it still weighs in at 8.5Lbs without a power source. Neither of those platforms shown by ACA look anywhere close to capable of carrying 10+ pounds.
HTF?
I'm steering the other direction. Gonna hire a bunch of midgets with inertial to measure pipe runs.