American Robotics has become the first company authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly automated drones.

The drone industry is exploding, with companies large and small looking to the craft for retail delivery, agriculture, security, inspections, search and rescue, surveying and more. A big milestone toward the growth of the industry, however, is approval for automated flights, without on-site human operators.

American Robotics is now the first company to receive that authorization. The company specializes in developing fully autonomous drones, featuring the company’s Scout System, with advanced acoustic Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) technology. As a result, the company’s drones maintain a safe distance from other aircraft.

“With these approvals, American Robotics is ushering in a new era of widespread automated drone operations,” said Reese Mozer, CEO and co-founder of American Robotics. “Decades worth of promise and projection are finally coming to fruition. We are proud to be the first company to meet the FAA’s comprehensive safety requirements, which had previously restricted the viability of drone use in the commercial sector. We are very grateful for the FAA’s willingness to work closely with American Robotics over the past four years on this precedent-setting authorization. With this set of approvals, American Robotics can begin safely operating our automated Scout platform for the benefit of the energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and security market verticals, helping unlock the projected $100 billion commercial drone market.”

During the testing period, the company’s drones showed the impact they could have on both industry and agriculture.

“Our interest in American Robotics’ technology started with the desire to have a drone imagery solution that was reliable, scalable, and executed with minimal human resources,” said Lance Ruppert, Director of Agronomy Marketing and Technology at Growmark, Inc., a leading U.S. grower cooperative. “This technology, along with the FAA approvals to operate it without humans on the ground, is key to making drones a widespread reality in our industry. This is a game changer.”

American Robotics’ approval is good news for the drone industry and is sure to be just the first of many.