The drone was employed to assess and monitor two large construction projects that are underway in the city- the Walterdale bridge and the new downtown arena.
Talking to Digital Journal, E J Burrows, co-owner and managing director of Skymatics Ltd, the Calgary- based company providing drone services said that Wednesday’s operation is a landmark event in the history of commercial drone operations in Edmonton. “The fact that we are part of a historical moment makes this even more thrilling.” he said.
“The operation was conducted to capture photo and video data for the engineers of both the construction projects, to monitor and assess them. It was a huge opportunity for our company to showcase our services. Compared to helicopter services that provide the same data, drones are much cheaper,” Burrows said, adding that the footage they have taken on Wednesday will also be used to make a promotional video for Skymatics Ltd.
The company used DJI S1000 drone for the operation.
According to him the procedure to get Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) from Transport Canada resulted in an 80-page paperwork.
“Edmonton city have restrictions on flying drones over 400 feet and above city streets.Considering the presence of construction cranes well below that range we had to maintain video and radio contact with our drone all the time, while it was in the air. We will be coming back in summer to conduct a second drone operation and do an update of both the sites,” Skymatics co-owner stated.
He said that drones are primarily used in Alberta in the oil industry for live surveillance and assessing thermal data and also in the agricultural industry to evaluate the health of plants by providing infrared imagery data.
