MARYSVILLE — The Federal Aviation Administration has given a Marysville real estate agency the green light to use an aerial drone for commercial use.
The agency, Barnett Associates, is one of a handful of Washington businesses to receive such an exemption.
The FAA granted the exemption in late May, sixth months after Toby Barnett filed his petition with the federal agency.
As of Wednesday, the FAA had approved 548 petitions out of the thousands the agency has received. Most exemptions have been issued for aerial photography and videography.
Real estate photography is one of many possible commercial uses of drones — or unmanned aerial systems (UAS), as they are known in the aerospace industry. Commercial and civil drone markets could be worth as much as $8 billion a year over the next decade, according to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
However, federal regulations have not caught up with technology. Federal aviation authorities are working through new standards for drones, but they won’t say when they plane to have a proposed rule finished.
Dan Catchpole: 425-339-3454; dcatchpole@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @dcatchpole.
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