Matt Benoit
Matt Benoit has been committed to journalism throughout his college career. In addition to writing for Washington State University's student-run newspaper for several years, he's written for several professional news publications, including The Pacific Northwest Inlander and the Tri-City Herald. Matt also traveled to Cuba as a backpack journalist, photographing and writing about the country's unique culture.
Recent Posts
SAN DIEGO, U.S. —Aerial MOB is one of a growing number of aerial cinematography companies utilizing drones for filming in commercials, TV shows and feature films. It has done work for shoe companies, car companies, Ivy League universities and even MTV, but a major part of its current focus isn’t on the next high-profile client. It’s on the Federal Aviation Administration. The company, founded two years ago, is one of seven seeking an exemption to the FAA’s ban on commercial drone flights. In June, the FAA said it was considering the exemptions, which have support from the Motion Picture Association of America. In its letter to the FAA, the MPAA said drones are safer than helicopters for filmmaking and offer greater creative freedom.
SkySpecs is a company that would like to change the way wind turbines are inspected, which currently can involve workers climbing up a turbine and rappelling down.
One of the current issues with expanding drone use is that there isn’t much legal precedent. Although some Supreme Court cases have established precedents for issues that apply to UAS—aerial surveillance, for example—none of the cases are particularly recent.
In the second installment of our mini-profile series: Kaci Lemler from Field of View, a company that makes equipment enabling farmers to map their fields with drones.
For the first part of our series, we talked with a vice president of business development at the 2014 UAS Action Summit about the prospects for unmanned systems.
