Drone – this word usually evokes a picture of a killing machine floating over the landscape, but this isn’t Afghanistan – it’s Milton, Ontario, where geographer Scott McTavish is using his autonomous aircraft to survey a gravel pit.
McTavish first turned to drones, officially named unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), in 2008, while working for a forestry company in B.C.
„When we started five years ago, there weren’t too many options,” he says, referring to the availability of UAVs and the scaled-down, lightweight components required to keep them aloft.
Now, McTavish is in the lead of a company, Accuas Inc., that specializes in aerial surveys and mapping using drones equipped with compact digital cameras. His fleet includes 10 drones ranging in size from small, multi-rotor helicopters to much larger wing planes and employs eight full-time staff in offices across the country. Business is booming!
It’s mind-boggling how quickly this area is growing. The applications are endless
John Fairs, aerial survey specialist
More than just eyes in the sky
While much of the debate about drones centres on their surveillance abilities or capacity to launch Hellfire missiles at suspected insurgents, there are many non-military applications, where they excel even more!
For example, the RCMP uses UAVs in search-and-rescue operations, and credits the use of a drone for helping save the life of a man who rolled his vehicle off a road near Saskatoon in May. Meanwhile, researchers at McGill University are using them to keep track of bird and bear populations. In Japan, where unmanned aircraft have been used commercially for 20 years, miniature helicopters such as Yamaha’s RMAX monitor crop growth on steep hill sides more effectively and at a lower cost than a tractor or airplane.
New legislative gives new opportunities
Current U.S. legislation forbids the use of commercial drones, but that is expected to change in 2015. That’s when the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Drones Act, which was passed last year, will require commercial jets and drones to share the same air space.
Meanwhile, Canada UAV legislation, in place since 2008 and modified in 2010, enables people like Scott McTavish to make a living by operating drones. But they still requires commercial operators to file a Special Flight Operation Certificate (SFOC) for every flight.
The last thing you want is loose regulations where anyone can go out and potentially cause damage, or infringe on privacy
Scott McTavish, Accuas Inc.
Příspěvek Commercial drones could have endless uses under Canada’s laws pochází z MENSURO