First legal authorization of mapKITE operations: application to coastal erosion monitoring in the project HYCOS
One of the major drawbacks regarding the adoption of drone technology for professional applications has been -and still is- the lack of an homogeneous regulatory framework. The result is a rather conservative operations framework, in which new, ice-breaking drone applications are lessened. So far, mapKITE has not been an exception to this rule, as it has been also questioned in relation to its fit within the upcoming regulatory framework.
Yet, a big milestone has been achieved to overcome this issue: the first authorization by a civil aviation authority has been granted for mapKITE operations, paving the way for the adoption of mapKITE by professional users in the mapping community. The Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC) granted a permission to execute mapKITE operations to Octocam, a Barcelona-based company partnering with GeoNumerics in mapKITE, given the compliance of their aerial platform and procedures with French categorization (scenario S1, category E).