AirMap Brings LAANC to Entire Drone Ecosystem

LAANC, the Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability made available for testing last year, holds great promise for the industry. Now leading airspace management platform AirMap is bringing LAANC to the market, offering it to 3rd party developers and announcing new integrations.

LAANC is an important innovation, potentially eliminating the onerous process of applying for airspace authorizations.   The current application process can take up to 90 days, prompting some operators to complain that they lose lucrative work while waiting.  LAANC provides near real-time authorization.  The technology is so important to the drone industry that the FAA petitioned the Office of Management and Budget to bring the testing program forward; AirMap was one of the program’s initial testing partners.

“AirMap, the world’s leading airspace management platform for drones, today announced a feature that makes LAANC, the Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, available to the entire drone ecosystem,” announced AirMap. “With the FAA’s LAANC initiative, drone operators can apply for digital authorization to fly in U.S. controlled airspace near select FAA facilities.”

While the LAANC program is still in its test phase – available at 6 FAA facilities and 46 airports – the FAA plans to expand the LAANC program into a national beta starting in April.  “By the end of the year, more than 500 towered airports across the country will begin offering LAANC authorization,” says AirMap.

Drone developers and manufacturers can now integrate LAANC from AirMap into their own apps through deep linking. Industry innovators 3DR, Betterview, Converge, and DroneDeploy are the first to deploy LAANC Deep Linking from AirMap, now available to all with AirMap’s developer platform.

In participating apps, drone operators with an AirMap account are able to transfer their flight plan information to the AirMap app with just a tap. Once the authorization request has been submitted, drone operators are automatically redirected to the originating app to complete their flight.

LAANC authorization with AirMap is currently available from:

• 3DR, makers of Site Scan, the complete drone data platform built for construction and engineering professionals.
• Betterview, a building and property insights platform used by insurers to capture, organize, and analyze imagery from drone inspections.
• Converge, an AI-powered app that turns drones into an essential team member working alongside humans to save businesses valuable time and money.
• DroneDeploy, a commercial drone platform that improves industry workflows through scalable image processing, data storage, and collaborative drone maps and 3D models.

The following integrations will launch in February:

• DroneBase, a scalable, affordable, and easy-to-integrate solution for enterprises to acquire drone imagery and data from its global pilot network.
• Measure, the Drone as a Service® company that provides complete solutions to acquire, process, and deliver actionable aerial data to enterprise customers.

“With the LAANC beta launching nationwide by the end of the year, AirMap’s deep linking feature will bring digital authorization to an entire community of U.S. drone operators and developers eager to reach new heights,” said Ben Marcus, CEO of AirMap. “Thanks to LAANC, more airspace is open for business, and commercial drones have more opportunities to contribute to our economy and benefit our daily lives.”

“With this integration, it’s easier than ever for our customers to fly safely and confidently in the FAA’s controlled airspaces,” said Chris Anderson, CEO of 3DR. “This is a big next step in making commercial drones an essential tool on projects across the country.”

“LAANC is a key factor in seamlessly deploying drones in the commercial world,” said Paul Quimby, CTO of Converge. “Previously, we had users waiting up to 90 days to fly in restricted airspaces. Now, with a simple tap, our users can instantly request authorization to fly in airspaces from the FAA. By incorporating AirMap’s Deep Linking into our app, Control Tower, we are taking the next step in making drones a powerful accelerator of businesses’ existing workflows.”

“AirMap’s new LAANC Deep Linking has the potential to unlock greater operational efficiency for thousands of DroneDeploy customers across the construction, agriculture, and insurance industries,” said Ian Smith, Business Development Lead at DroneDeploy. “As a key technology partner in the industry’s largest drone app market, AirMap continues to help our customers operate safely.”