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Figures from data visualization firm Silk.co indicate the FAA granted 1,307 exemptions for commercial drones between April and August, up from just 60 between September 2014 and March 2015. Nearly half of all approvals in the history of the FAA's program (as of August) were in July and August.
- The trigger: The FAA's March decision to allow commercial drone users to obtain blanket authorizations to fly drones below 200 feet (during daylight hours, and outside of restricted airspace) through the Section 333 exemption process. Final rules for commercial drone use that could enable a wider set of applications (including drone delivery services such as Amazon's Prime Air) are expected by mid-2016.
- Silk's data suggests a variety of industries have applied for exemptions: 28.1% of the exemptions were related to drone use for photo/video purposes, 18.4% for real estate, 14% for utilities/energy/infrastructure, and 10.6% apiece for agriculture and construction.
- AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV), which has been developing commercial UAVs to go with its core military offerings, is a potential beneficiary. As is video processor developer Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA), which received over 10% of its revenue from the drone market for the first time during the July quarter.
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Update: Some other drone-related news: NBC News reports the government (on edge over recent close calls between drones and other aircraft) plans to require all purchased drones to be registered with the DOT.