����ӰԺ

New Transport ����ӰԺ drone regulations expected to start this year will literally open up new horizons for the construction industry as they will allow drone operation beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in remote areas and introduce larger payload drones.

“You can survey sparsely populated areas. That is one application,” said Ian Wills, president of B.C.’s Coastal Drone.

Drones can be sent into areas where no roads exist and used to collect information on infrastructure development, site development or even post-disaster information where physical entry is unsafe.

“To reduce risks in lower-risk BVLOS operations, pilots must operate in uncontrolled airspace and over areas with fewer than 25 people per square kilometre,” Transport ����ӰԺ said in an email, as it is hoping to have the new regulations introduced in April.

Transport ����ӰԺ has called BVLOS applications “the future of drones” and an area for potential “development of new drone technologies.”

����ӰԺ was the first nation to introduce drone regulations in 2019, but by 2023 Transport ����ӰԺ acknowledged technology was fast-pacing current rules. It worked on an upgrade to the Canadian Aviation Regulations for unmanned aviation vehicles with industry consultation in 2024.

The regulatory framework would allow operation of larger remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) or drones up to 150 kilograms in weight to be flown within line of sight and introduce a new class of rules for BVLOS drones up to 150 kilograms.

In the past operators required a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) for flights beyond sight with Transport ����ӰԺ giving approval on a case-by-case basis. A SFOC is still needed for BVLOS drones in more populated areas.

Wills said there is also the opportunity to use BVLOS drones in areas impacted by climate change related incidents where an assessment is required prior to clean-up construction crews entering an area.

His company was recently called to assist a slow-moving slide southwest of Williams Lake.

“You could hear it moving,” he said, as it was threatening a downstream river dam.

Affiliate company SKY Helicopter where Wills is operations manager, transported Spexi Geospatial drone pilot and equipment to the scene and assist with a brief aerial survey. But, if the area had been larger, Wills said, multiple pilots along the river and more planes would have been required to monitor the slide.

His drone was able to provide daily images pacing the slide. But, if the area had been larger, Wills said, multiple pilots along the river and more planes would have been required to monitor the slide.

While Transport ����ӰԺ has not finalized any set limit on how far drones can be flown BVLOS, industry estimates range from five to eight kilometres depending on the drone’s capability and the ability of the drone to transmit data back to the pilot. Where hills or objects may impede transmissions, equipment operators are looking at transmission via cell towers or even satellite.

“It is definitely an improvement,” said Mat Mathews of Alberta’s Blackhawk Aeronautics, which has worked for PCL Construction.

“The biggest thing is for the developers, who are looking at performing a survey of a large area of land,” he said, adding the technology does exist to meet the Transport ����ӰԺ requirements that BVLOS drones are equipped with collision avoidance technology.

In the past, infrared sensors where used, but are limited in low-light situations.

“The latest is LiDar laser, which will operate in all environments and can warn or stop a drone,” Mathews said.

The new regulations are “enabling a pilot to fly a drone at longer ranges with the help of a trained observer or around an obstruction without keeping it in direct line-of-sight,” Transport ����ӰԺ said. “These operations would support cases such as a building inspection or taking photos of a home for real estate.”

The larger drones will also allow for larger payloads benefitting field construction crews. Wills said the pipeline construction industry is one example.

A larger drone can ferry out a jerry can of fuel or tool to a construction crew in the field at a lesser cost than using a helicopter.

Such larger drones are also able to bring supplies or equipment parts to crew working in an area where a natural disaster has cut-off easy access.

The use of BVLOS operations are expected to impact a number of industries already using drones.

“The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers has reported that the use of drone services could benefit industries in ����ӰԺ that currently contribute over $600 billion to ����ӰԺ’s national gross domestic product,” Transport ����ӰԺ said in its proposal to expand drone use. There are approximately 107,000 pilots certified and 100,000 RPAs registered.

The new BVLOS rules also bring a new certification that pilots will be required to have with added pilot requirements, such as a medical check.

“We are currently working on building out the courses that will lead to the level one complex certification (for BVLOS),” said Wills, whose company offers both drone services but also training for pilots that want to be certified.