Aerial Photography Provides Lucrative Business Opportunity for UAVs
Published on September 10, 2010
September 10, 2010, Medicine Hat Alberta...In the pursuit to grow and expand the existing UVS cluster in southeast Alberta, a business opportunity presents itself- aerial photography for commercial use. Currently being used in Canada by governments such as the military, under the Special Flight Operation Certificate (SFOC), there is potential in markets such as: real estate, recreational facility management, agriculture, oil and gas and environment, to do the same.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, aerial photography is a UAV business that could be done right now. Regulations set by Transport Canada allow for visual line of sight flying; specifically they can fly 1 square kilometer at a time, as long as they’re under the 400ft height limit,” said Dewar Donnithorne- Tait, CEO at Canadian Centre for Unmanned Vehicles. “Newer companies, while establishing themselves, will have to apply for permission for each operation; however eventually, similar to CCUVS who has good standing in Western Canada, it’ll become a matter of giving 24 hours notice. Currently Transport Canada is working on changing the SFOC procedure, in stages, to streamline the process. “
Don Matthews, president of Crosswind Consulting, as well as founder and immediate past president of CCUVS, explained that primarily, this was seen as an opportunity in southeast Alberta because of the oil and gas and agriculture industry; due to location and being in low populated areas, unmanned aerial photography would be able to operate without the regulations, filling the needs of these sectors.
Regionally, CCUVS already has hands on experience with aerial photography through the use of a Crop Cam UAV and the Aeryon Scout- both provide images for such things as: agriculture, surveys, mapping, land management, and surveillance.
Alberta has an advantage in UAV, as it has established an aerospace strategy, is supported by the Aerospace and Aviation Association and is home to 50% of all Canadian UVS companies. Southeast Alberta specifically contains the only original equipment manufacturer in UVS-Meggitt Training Systems, is home to CCUVS, who has access to airspace and facilities for research and development at Suffield, Alberta and is supported by the Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta (EDA), who is actively working to expand the industry.
For the past two months Matthews has been assisting the EDA in developing the regional UVS industry. Primarily focused on establishing opportunities and business cases, Matthews has been working alongside companies such as CCUVS to establish opportunities for small businesses to grow their ability to participate in UVS research and development; aerial photography is one of the many ways in which this industry can grow and expand in southeast Alberta. For more information on UVS go to www.edalliance.ca.