Use of unmanned air systems examined
Posted: June 10, 2015 3:30 p.m.
(L-R) U of R Electronic Systems Engineering graduate students Faheem Irfan, Seang Cau and Shehryr Kushid demonstrating an unmanned air system at the workshop on June 9. U of R Photography
|
The use of unmanned air systems is being examined at a series of workshops at the University of Regina.
Experts from across the country are coming together to examine the use and capabilities of unmanned air systems in public safety and emergency management in Canada.
The workshops are being hosted this week by the University of Regina’s Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety.
"From a U of R perspective it is an important opportunity for us to showcase the role that the Collaborative Centre for Justice and Safety (CCJS) has in working with the responder community, industry and academics to discuss issues of importance and collaborate to work towards improvements in a broad area including governance, policy and technology," says Steve Palmer, a Professional Engineer and Executive Director of CCJS.
Unmanned air systems are used for traffic accident investigation, search and rescue, assessing dangerous situations (chemical spills etc), inspecting critical infrastructure, providing images of crime scenes, real time imaging including using infra red cameras to detect fire hot spots in grass and forest fires, providing real time situational awareness in flood zones and many other activities. The unmanned air systems have also been used in Nepal following the recent earthquake.
One can see the benefits but also the concerns that arise from such unmanned air systems.
"Concerns include the potential to invade privacy, whether used by responders or the general public. Public safety users must identify where they are flying and why as part of their licence obligations to retain their Special Flight Operations Certificate," says Palmer. "Other concerns include unsafe use of UAV's near aircraft or people by the general public. There have also been recent examples of UAVs being used for malicious purposes, delivering drugs and potentially hazardous materials."
Such scenarios, good or bad, are on the table and being discussed at the workshops.
A supporter of increased awareness of this new technology is The Canadian Interoperability Technology Interest Group, a non-profit organization operated by the Canadian Associate of Chiefs of Police, Fire and Paramedics.
The group is also one of the organizers of the U of R workshop along with CCJS, Unmanned Systems Canada (a not-for-profit association representing the unmanned vehicle systems community in Canada) and the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (the largest high-tech association in Canada.
The workshops run until June 12 at the U of R.
For more information on the workshop please visit here.