CBC HIGHLIGHTS YOW DRONE DETECTION SYSTEM

CBC HIGHLIGHTS YOW DRONE DETECTION SYSTEM

By Scott Simmie

 

If you follow InDro Robotics, you’ll likely be aware that we were a co-founder and core technology partner of the YOW Drone Detection Pilot Project.

The system has been operating since the fall of 2020, and detects drone intrusions not only at the Ottawa International Airport, but as far as 40 kilometres away in the National Capital Region. Data from the project helps to inform airport protocols and is shared on a regular basis with Transport Canada and law enforcement.

Back during the “Freedom Convoy” protests in downtown Ottawa, the system got onto the mainstream radar after we published this story, which outlined the high number of unauthorised drone flights taking place in downtown Ottawa. The Ottawa Citizen covered that story here and it was also a cover story for WINGS Magazine.

Now, the system is back in the news for a different reason: The recent visit of US President Joe Biden to Ottawa.

President Biden

AIR FORCE ONE

 

Prior to the actual visit, advance teams from the Secret Service and Air Force One wanted to check out security and logistics at the Ottawa International Airport. And one of the first questions? Whether YOW had a drone detection system.

The answer, as you know, is Yes. We interviewed Michael Baudette, YOW’s VP of Security, Emergency Management and Customer Transportation. The resulting post garnered a lot of attention, including a lengthy interview by CBC Ottawa.

To view the segment on the Drone Detection Pilot project, check out the video below.

Breaking drone regulations can be expensive

Breaking drone regulations can be expensive

By Scott Simmie

 

Drone regulations exist for a reason. Actually, multiple reasons.

Probably the most important is to keep airspace safe and avoid any potential collisions or interference with crewed aircraft. That’s why altitude is limited to 400′ above ground level (AGL), and why flights in controlled airspace must be cleared through NAV Canada’s NAV Drone app. (If you’re a drone pilot and don’t have this app, you can get more details and links to download here.)

And, just as a reminder on that front, drones carrying out basic operations must be at least 5.6 kilometres (three nautical miles) from airports and 1.9 kilometres (one nautical mile) from heliports.

One of the other key reasons is to protect people and property on the ground. If you’re flying a drone weighing more than 250 grams and less than 25 kilograms, you’ll need to ensure that you’re separated horizontally from bystanders by at least 30 meters – though drones with an RPAS Safety Assurance declaration can fly closer in Advanced operations.

There are, of course, other rules. No flying over outdoor concerts, parades or other special events. Some of you may recall that a drone pilot paid a hefty price during the victory parade for the Toronto Raptors in 2019. The person in question flew over the event and was fined $2750 by Transport Canada. (We actually were at that parade and saw the pilot take off; he was flying a DJI Mavic Pro.)

Breaking drone rules can be expensive.

Below: A 360° shot taken during Raptors celebrations. The illegal drone flight took off about 15m from where this image was taken.

Drone Regulations

There’s a reason behind every rule

 

The laws that govern drones in Canada are written up in a section of the Canadian Aviation Regulations, also known as CARs. Specifically, they reside in Part IX. We recommend that everyone flying a drone in Canada – particularly drones weighing more than 250 grams – has a read through this section. It lays out the rules very clearly.

And if you break those rules? Well, there’s a price to pay. Fines for individuals include:

  • up to $1,000 for flying without a drone pilot certificate
  • up to $1,000 for flying unregistered or unmarked drones
  • up to $1,000 for flying where you are not allowed
  • up to $3,000 for putting aircraft and people at risk

So it’s worth knowing the regs, because violating them can both create risk and be very costly.

 

Forest fires

 

Wildfires in Canadian forests cause major problems every year. Significant resources are allocated to try to control and extinguish these fires – which often occur in remote locations. Aerial firefighting techniques are a big part of the equation, with water bombers and helicopters routinely deployed. (You can get a snapshot of the current wildfire situation in Canada with this interactive map. At the time this article was written, a significant Alberta fire – north of Banff and east of Lake Louise – was out of control. That fire started August 31 and has been burning for three and a half months.)

Helicopters are used to transport crews, and occasionally drop fuel retardant on small hotspots. Water bombers come in low to take on water from lakes and also drop that same water on fires from low altitudes so that targeting is accurate and there’s minimal dispersal of the fluid on the way to the ground.

And both of those scenarios? They mean these aircraft are often flying below 400′ AGL.

Drone regulations

Keep your drone clear of forest fire operations

 

With that context, you no doubt have guessed where we’re going with this. Rules in CARs Part IX prohibit flying drones near forest fire operations. In fact, you must keep drones (and other aircraft not involved with the operations) at least five nautical miles (9.3 kilometres) away from the scene. There is also a mechanism within the Canada National Parks Act that allows for the prohibition of activities – including the banning of drone flights.

Recently, a drone pilot found out just how seriously regulators take flying drones close to a wildfire. A Canadian Press story published December 9th says that Rajwinder Singh was found guilty in an Alberta provincial court of the offence and fined $10,000.

In fact, Singh was one of four people charged for flying too close to the Chetamon wildfire in September. Four drones were also seized by authories.

 

InDro’s role

 

 

InDro Robotics played a role on the technology side. The company supplied drone detection equipment capable of identifying models, location and trajectory of drones in proximity of Alberta wildfires.

InDro is also involved with the Ottawa International Airport Authority’s ongoing Drone Detection Pilot Project at the Ottawa International Airport. Early in 2021, during the convoy blockade that took place in Ottawa, that project detected a very high number of illegal drone flights taking place over sensitive areas in the capital’s downtown core.

In fact, a sister company of InDro Robotics – Bravo Zulu Secure – specializes in drone detection and mitigation systems. InDro Founder and CEO Philip Reece is the Chief Technical Officer of Bravo Zulu. Here, he explains some of the company’s proprietary systems:

InDro’s Take

 

We’ve been in this business long enough to remember the early days. The drone space was often called The Wild West, because many people were either unaware of regulations or chose to willfully ignore them. This was particularly true of rogue pilots, usually recreational operators, who would carry out reckless flights. Those flights often (and rightfully) received negative press coverage and caused regulators to take an even more cautious, incremental approach with opening up the skies. Understandable.

Since then, the drone community has done a great job of educating and even policing itself. Flights like the four that took place near that Alberta wildfire are now, fortunately, very rare.

But, as we’ve seen here, they still happen. Not only is it wise for drone operators to become fully familiar with Part IX of CARs, but also to be aware that hefty fines can and will be imposed on those who violate the law. It’s also worth remembering, regardless of location, that the technology exists to detect these flights, along with the location of the operator.

Thankfully, the vast majority of drone pilots know the regulations – and abide by them.

Spexi announces “Spexigon” – a global fly-to-earn platform

Spexi announces “Spexigon” – a global fly-to-earn platform

Vancouver-based Spexi Geospatial has some news – and it’s big.

The company has announced a plan, and a platform, to capture high-resolution aerial data of the earth with drones. Drone pilots will be able to fly to earn crypto currency – or even dollars.

The long-term goal? Well, picture crystal-clear data sets of cities, infrastructure, and even rural settings. With each individual pilot capturing data from different locations, Spexigon will assemble it over time to form a global jigsaw puzzle – and sell parts of that dataset to clients.

We’ll get into more details shortly, but Spexi’s plan has some strong backers – including InDro Robotics.

 

News release

 

News of Spexigon came in the form of an announcement. The company revealed it had secured $5.5 million USD in seed funding “to pursue our vision of collecting Earth’s most important data with drones.” The funding round was led by Blockchange Ventures, with other investing by InDro Robotics, Protocol Labs, Alliance DAO, FJ Labs, Dapper Labs, Vinny Lingham, Adam Jackson, and CyLon Ventures.

The same team that built Spexi – an easy-to use system for automated flight and data acquisition – is developing Spexigon. This brief video gives a “big picture” look at how it will work when it’s rolled out next year.

“Fly to earn”

 

A big part of what makes Spexigon’s plan so intriguing is what you might call incentivised crowd-sourcing. Anyone with a drone can download the forthcoming Spexigon app and fly an automated flight. The images will be uploaded to Spexigon to build the database – and the pilot will be rewarded.

“With our new Fly-to-Earn model, people who own consumer drones will be able to earn $SPEXI tokens and dollars while building a high resolution base layer of the earth,” reads the Spexigon announcement. “It is our hope that soon any organization or individual will be able to use the imagery collected by the Spexigon platform to make better decisions.”

 

Business model

 

You could think of this over time as like Google Earth, only with really sharp aerial imagery. Every time a pilot carries out a flight for Spexigon, that map will continue to fill in, building Spexigon’s database. Clients will purchase imagery online.

“This new base layer will enable governments and organizations of all sizes to make better decisions about real world assets like buildings, utilities, infrastructure, risk and natural resources, without requiring people on the ground,” continues the announcement.

“By using Spexigon, organizations that require high-resolution aerial imagery will no longer need to own their own drones or hire their own pilots. Instead, they’ll use our web and mobile app to search for and purchase imagery. Data buyers will then be able to use a variety of internal and external tools to put the imagery to use.”

 

For pilots

 

Spexigon says it will have online training when it launches. Pilots will learn how to use the app to carry out their flights – which, obviously, the pilots will monitor. Depending on the location, pilots can earn crypto currency or actual dollars. Some locations, obviously, will have greater value to Spexigon and its clients than others.

“The app will contain a map of the earth overlaid with hexagonal zones called ‘Spexigons’. Spexigons that are open and ready to fly will be easily visible so pilots can choose an area close to them and begin collecting imagery,” says the company.

“To ensure that imagery is captured in a safe, standardized, and repeatable way, our app controls each pilot’s drone automatically while they supervise the flight. Although our app will do the flying, pilots will always be in command and will have the ability to take back manual control at any time if need arises.”

Spexigon is now starting to build the app, and already has a small community emerging. You can join its Telegram channel here – and there’s also a Discord channel.

As for those ‘Spexigons’, the image below gives you an idea what those pieces of the puzzle might look like.

Spexi

InDro’s take

 

Since InDro Robotics is one of the backers of Spexigon, we obviously feel the plan is a good one.

It comes from the outstanding team that built Spexi from scratch into a user-friendly, automated system for capturing and crunching aerial data. We also believe drone pilots will embrace this unique “fly to earn” model – a global first.

“The Spexi team has already created an excellent and proven Software as a Solution product and clearly has the expertise in this space,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece. “I’m genuinely excited about the potential for Spexigon to become the ‘go-to’ database of high-quality aerial imagery from around the world.”

So are the rest of us.

Indro Robotics provides live drone video feed at Montreal Marathon in pilot medical project

Indro Robotics provides live drone video feed at Montreal Marathon in pilot medical project

By Scott Simmie

 

The Montreal Marathon, 2022 edition, was held over the weekend. The main event, the signature 42-kilometre run, took place early Sunday. And three InDro Robotics engineers were there.

They weren’t running, but were instead providing a live feed from drones. Those live feeds were being monitored on large video monitors by dedicated research assistants. They were assessing the quality of the feeds and their usefulness in detecting runners who might be in need of medical assistance.

Below: Team InDro, wearing safety vests, with Montreal Marathon runners on the right

Montreal Marathon

Research project

 

InDro became involved with this through Dr. Valérie Homier, an Emergency Physician at McGill University Health Centre. She has long had an interest in how drones can be used in the health care sector, and has collaborated with InDro on two previous research projects.

One of those projects evaluated whether drones or ground delivery could transport simulated blood products more efficiently to a trauma facility – the Montreal General Hospital. Drones were faster.

The second project studied whether drones could help identify swimmers in distress at an IRONMAN event in Mont-Tremblant. You can find that research here.

With the Montreal Marathon coming up, Dr. Homier knew there would likely be medical events. There generally are.

“In these long-distance sporting events there are usually some significant injuries, including cardiac events and heat strokes,” she says.

These tend to be more likely in the later phases of events like marathons, after the athlete has already been under stress for an extended time. The thinking was that perhaps drones could be a useful tool.

Dr. Homier was particularly interested in whether two drones in the air, covering two critical segments toward the end of the marathon, could provide useful data. Specifically, would the live video feed be consistent enough in quality and resolution to be a useful tool?

This pilot aimed to find out.

Below: An uphill segment near the Montreal Marathon finish line. This is was the target area for one of the Indro Robotics drones 

 

Montreal Marathon

InDro’s role

 

There was a lot of planning required for the mission to ensure the drones could provide continuous coverage and be safe for flying in an area with so many people. Project Manager Irina Saczuk (who happens to also be an RN) worked closely with Dr. Homier to help figure out the nuts and bolts of the InDro side of things.

InDro assigned three employees from the Area X.O facility to the project: Software developers Ella Hayashi and Kaiwen Xu, along with mechatronics specialist Liam Dwyer. All three hold Advanced RPAS certificates and took part in planning meetings to understand the mission and their roles. They also looked into optimising the drones’ video feeds to ensure the best quality would reach those monitoring remotely on large screens.

“At big-scale events such as this marathon, lots of people could go down with injuries,” says InDro’s Ella Hayashi. “But it can be hard to get timely support because roads are blocked. So drones have the potential to really help with sharing the precise location and other information when a person may need help.”

Worth noting here: The InDro engineers/pilots were not to be actively ‘looking’ for people in medical distress. Their role was simply to pilot the drones at the assigned locations and maintain a video feed that offered those watching the large-screen monitors with good situational awareness. In the event of an emergency, the pilots were to follow instructions, including moving in closer to a runner in distress.

 

Sub-250 grams

 

The team took four DJI Mini 2 drones to Montreal. Though InDro has a fleet of much larger and sophisticated drones the company has built, these consumer drones were perfect for the job. That’s because the Mini 2 is a sub-250 gram drone that can be flown near and over people. In the exceedingly rare event of a failure, the small device is unlikely to cause any substantial injury to someone on the ground. They’re also capable of very good video quality.

The team also used a third-party app – Airdata – to carry the video streams. The app created secure links for each drone’s feed that could be shared with those who would be monitoring the feed. Three drones were to be used in rotation so that two drones were always in the air providing live video at any given time. A fourth drone was onsite for backup.

“We modified the parameters and were streaming in 720p,” explains Dwyer. “We selected a lower resolution because on the bigger screen it didn’t have to be crystal clear but it needed to be smooth.”

There was, initially, some concern over whether the local LTE network would be able to handle the feed due to the large number of people using cellphones to capture and stream from the finish line.

“The night before the mission, a medical person told us there were going to be 20,000 people around the stadium,” says Xu. “We were worried about network connectivity, it was possible that our video streaming would not work. But actually the network was pretty good that day.”

Below is a drone selfie of the InDro team: From left to right, Kaiwen Xu, Ella Hayashi, Liam Dwyer

 

Live Drone Video Feed

A useful exercise

 

Remember: This was simply a pilot project to determine if drones could provide a clean video stream that might be useful. The pilots were to focus on hovering the drones in two specific adjacent locations, with some overlap in their video to ensure they were not missing a spot of this critical part of the marathon.

“Our job was 100 per cent flying the drones,” says Dwyer. “Just straightforward, wide-angle shots with all runners in the field of view.”

We should mention here that InDro also took part in a simulated cardiac event prior to the marathon reaching this area. A medical dummy was placed in a location and one of the drone pilots was instructed to get closer for a better look. A small electric vehicle – think a large golf cart adapted for First Responder use – was dispatched. Chest compressions were performed on the dummy, which was then loaded into the vehicle. A drone followed as the vehicle drove to a nearby stadium and the victim was transported inside to the treatment area. The feed gave others on the Medi-Drone team an opportunity to see, in real-time, the progress of the patient’s arrival.

“The drone response really gave them an active timeline of when they should expect to receive this patient,” says Dwyer.

So the drones proved useful during a simulation. But how would they perform with runners during the actual marathon?

Below: The downhill segment monitored by InDro Robotics

Montreal Marathon Drone Video

From simulation to real-world

 

As the lead runners came in, the field wasn’t crowded. But, of course, it would become more congested.

When athletes are moving together en masse like this, Dr. Homier says there’s a certain flow that can be observed from the drone. Because that flow is consistent and smooth, a runner in distress literally pops up as looking out of place.

And it happened. Those watching the live feed spotted someone who appeared to be in distress. They had stopped, were hanging on to a railing on the side of the course. Then they fell over the railing, dropping to the grass. A drone pilot was asked to move in for a closer look. It was clear this runner needed help.

In fact, while the pilots were intended to simply hover their drones, Dr. Homier had anticipated such a scenario, and built it into the protocol for the pilot project. Suddenly, an InDro pilot had become part of a First Responder team, providing much-needed situational awareness.

“It was embedded in the research protocol, that eyes on the event becomes what is required,” she explains. “It was called into dispatch and pilots were able to provide eyes on the incident. That was amazing; dispatch came down after and brought us a radio.”

 

Lessons learned

 

For Dr. Homier, there’s still work ahead and a lot of data to be analyzed.

“There’s a lot to learn from this project, and there’s a way forward for multiple surveillance methods,” she says.  “And the drones are way up there. The view from above when monitoring moving crowds is just incomparable.”

Plus, says Dr. Homier, the project sparked a tremendous amount of interest from other healthcare professionals on site.

“The interest was incredible, coming from the drone pilots, the students, the medical directors, the medical staff – they all thought it was so cool,” she says.

“We’re talking about 250 people involved in the medical team. Many came to see the viewing station, so in terms of letting people know about this new use of the technology – that was also a great success.”

Below: Mission accomplished! Team InDro is joined by key members of the marathon’s medical response team for this post-race drone selfie

Montreal Marathon

InDro’s take

 

We’re proud to be involved with this project – just as we’re proud to have collaborated previously with Dr. Valérie Homier on other research projects involving drones. In fact, we find this kind of research particularly meaningful.

“For us, using drones for good is much more than a catchy hashtag,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece. “Aerial and ground robots can perform so many useful tasks. We’ve helped securely deliver prescriptions to remote locations, COVID test supplies, and more. But playing a role in helping to ensure that someone in medical distress receives timely assistance is up near the top of the list. We look forward to the next project with Dr. Homier.”

And nice job, Ella, Kaiwen and Liam.

PS: We’ve issued a news release about this project. You can read it here.

 

 

Meet InDro Pilot: A powerful 5G hardware and software suite for Enterprise drones

Meet InDro Pilot: A powerful 5G hardware and software suite for Enterprise drones

By Scott Simmie

 

Nothing turns our crank quite like developing something brand new; something that’s never been done before. That’s really the heart and soul of R&D.

And that’s also why we’re so excited about InDro Pilot – a new hardware/software solution created by InDro Robotics that will give Enterprise drones and their operators the equivalent of superpowers.

Okay, perhaps there’s some slight hyperbole in that statement. But there’s no question that InDro Pilot will dramatically expand the capabilities of drones using the Pixhawk flight controller, the standard in many Open-Source drones.

InDro Pilot enables operations over 4G and 5G, meaning you could pilot a drone from across the country (providing you have a visual observer with eyes on the flight or a Beyond Visual Line of Sight Special Flight Operations Certificate). It also enables the secure transmission of even highly dense data (such as 4K streaming video) directly to the ground or the cloud with minimal latency. No more pulling out MicroSD cards and waiting for uploads. Realtime data, while you’re flying the mission, sent where it’s required.

Needless to say, this didn’t happen overnight. Getting here required an immense amount of effort from our Area X.O R&D facility. And, in particular, the project’s lead engineer Ahmad Tamimi – seen here on the right. When this photo was taken in the fall of 2021, Ahmad was in the thick of developing the 4K streaming component of the system and integrating it on our Wayfinder drone (foreground).

 

Canada Robotics

There’s a backstory here…

 

The catalyst for InDro Pilot was a technology challenge. The Ontario Centre for Innovation, in conjunction with Ericsson and the ENCQOR 5G testbed, put out a call to Canadian technology companies to enable drone flights over 5G. What’s more, the challenge required the successful transmission of uncompressed 4K video – which will help enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight flights because it provides the pilot with greater situational awareness. There were other bits and pieces, which we’ll explore at a later date. Point is, being the successful applicant in this technology challenge is what started us down the InDro Pilot road.

As we explain what InDro Pilot is all about, we’re going to get into a few names of various components. But big picture? It’s a combination of hardware and software that collectively brings about both enhanced capabilities for the drone itself (ie 4G, 5G, dense data realtime uploads etc.) as well as enhanced options for the drone operator to further customize drone sensors and peripherals for any given missions via dashboard. 

Ahmad Tamimi pulled together this nifty graphic, which provides a high-level view of the system:

Drones Canada

The basics

 

In this post, we’re going to focus on InDro Captain and InDro Capsule.

Let’s start with the latter.

InDro Capsule is hardware, integrated into a capsule. Think of it as a box that can be easily attached to any Enterprise drone using a Pixhawk flight controller, because that’s what it is. That hardware includes:

  • A high-speed Quectel modem for transmitting even dense data to the ground and the cloud in real-time
  • A Jetson-based Edge processor
  • Specialized antennae for both data transmission and Command and Control
  • More IP-protected secret sauce we’ll unveil soon, which has significant implications for Detect and Avoid scenarios

InDro Captain, meanwhile, is the onboard software. It enables communication with the InDro Base (our ground station), secure data transmission to the ground or cloud, and can easily integrate peripherals like a winch or additional sensors.

And what does it look like? Well, the magic is contained within that hexagonal dome – and we’re currently making that dome smaller and lighter. Check out those wild antennae, chosen after a detailed calculations and simulations. And that white one with the InDro logo? We can’t wait to tell you what that one does.

Canada Drones

Another look

 

These pix were taken during the R&D phase of InDro Pilot, so they’re just quick phone grabs. But we have a feeling you’ll probably like to see at least one more:

Canada Drones

By the way, that’s a high-end mirrorless camera on that gimbal. With InDro Pilot on board, transmitting its uncompressed 4K output at minimal latency is a breeze.

When flying over 5G, the feed from this sensor (or any other) can be captured on the ground and simultaneously uploaded to the cloud. Our new InDro Link software (more on that later), securely integrates with third-party cloud services such as AWS, Azure, Google and more.

As 5G networks expand across North America and globally, this has significant implications for not only remote teleoperations and missions on private 5G networks, but also for realtime capturing of dense data. Providing there’s a 5G network at each end of the mission, a drone equipped with InDro Pilot can be controlled from across the country – with the pilot (and others) watching the data acquisition and all other aspects of any given mission in real-time.

 

Interface

 

InDro Pilot is an entire ecosystem for 4G and 5G drone operations, including complex missions involving LiDAR, thermal sensors – even winches. The user interface reflects that, with “modules” (ie winch, etc.) that can be added to customize for each mission. Here’s a look at just one of many modules, offering granular control and at-a-glance monitoring.

Canada Drones

“The InDro Pilot system is going to truly expand the capabilities of many Enterprise drones,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece. “Just as our InDro Commander module has made ground robots more powerful and customizable, InDro Pilot will do the same for UAVs.”

InDro Robotics has already delivered Wayfinder drones equipped with the InDro Pilot system to clients from the regulatory world. Commercial sales will commence shortly.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to contact Peter King.

InDro’s Take

 

As we said at the outset, nothing gets us revved up quite like creating new solutions. InDro Pilot has a myriad of powerful capabilities not outlined in this story – including some features that will definitely contribute to the safety of Beyond Visual Line of Sight flights though a proprietary system that will alert nearby private aircraft to the drone’s proximity during missions. So we’re excited about this product, much in the same way we were excited when we released InDro Commander for ground robots.

And while all Indro Robotics developments are team efforts, there’s often an individual who really takes the lead and owns the project. In this case, Ahmad Tamimi truly took charge, often working on it alone during those dark and early days of the global pandemic. InDro Pilot is a huge accomplishment, and we applaud Ahmad and the rest of the InDro team.

CONTACT

INDRO ROBOTICS
305, 31 Bastion Square,
Victoria, BC, V8W 1T9

P: 1-844-GOINDRO
(1-844-464-6376)

E: Info@InDroRobotics.com

copyright 2022 © InDro Robotics all rights reserved

#CANSEC2022 – a wrap on the biggest security and defence show in Canada

#CANSEC2022 – a wrap on the biggest security and defence show in Canada

By Scott Simmie, InDro Robotics

 

The biggest annual security and defence conference in Canada – CANSEC – is a wrap. Put on by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, the trade show is like a Who’s Who of the vast supply chain necessary to keep Canada’s armed forces equipped.

That means everything from the pointy end of the stick (weaponry) through to advanced SCUBA gear, survival suits, radar units, flight simulators and more. Major companies like Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, QINETIQ, Google, Microsoft and others were among the 306 defence and security exhibitors that filled some 150,000 square feet on the trade floor.

It was clear (if it wasn’t before) that digital technologies play a huge role on the modern battlefield. Plus, there was a lot of hardware like this:

 

 CANSEC

There was also this guy, who spent his time in icy-cold water intended to show off the capabilities of the company’s survival suit. See that glove on the right? People attending the show were invited to plunge their hands in that frigid water with and without the glove on.

Trust us on this, it’s more comfortable with the glove.

CANSEC

Weaponized drone

 

On the drone front, there was a significant development. Norwegian drone maker GRIFF Aviation, known for its heavy-lift Enterprise drones, was displaying a variant of one of its models. In conjunction with Norwegian munitions manufacturer and defence firm Nammo, the two companies have outfitted the GRIFF 135 (payload capacity 30kg) to fire anti-tank rockets. This was the first time this machine has been publicly displayed.

CANSEC

And here’s a look at the business end of things:

CANSEC

Ukraine influence?

 

There has been a huge demand for drones since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But that conflict played no role in the development of this machine.

“This is not something we came up with because of Ukraine,” says Geir Furø, GRIFF Aviation’s VP of Sales and Business Development.

“It’s been in the planning for the last four or five years. Only in the last year has it been coming together. So this will have a live-fire test later this fall. We hope to be manufacturing by early next year.”

 While InDro Robotics does not weaponize its drones or robots, we can certainly see the business case for GRIFF Aviation. What we found most interesting about this development is that drone manufacturers have typically followed either an Enterprise/Consumer track, or else a military one. In general, companies that are defence contractors (such as Aerovironment) don’t produce Enterprise/Consumer drones, and vice-versa. 

Furø said there had been a lot of interest in the product. It will be interesting to see whether this crossover leads other Enterprise manufacturers to consider adapting their products for a combat setting.

Submersibles

A couple of other displays caught our eye, as well. In the case we’re about to explore, Canadian companies that build submersible devices. These are tethered systems that, in general, send back high-quality real-time video and other data to the surface (they can be equipped with multiple sensors). Use-case scenarios include hull inspection, sediment sampling, and even retrieval of objects on the ocean bed. First Responders also use these devices when attempting to locate human remains following drownings, boat sinkings etc., keeping divers out of harm’s way.

Two different Canadian companies had displays at the CANSEC show, both offering submersible solutions.

MarineNav

 

Established in 2005, the company is based in Prince Edward Island – which has some obvious advantages when it comes to R&D and testing its products. It builds underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), marine-grade computers, displays etc. Its Oceanus series has been deployed in use-cases ranging from border security and environmental assessment through to scientific research. MarineNav ROVs are built on-site, using rugged plastics and marine-grade anodized aluminum.

Its three models use thrust vectoring for positioning and can carry out unlimited mission times, since power is supplied via tether.

OceanUS

Range

 

The Oceanus Pro, seen above, has a depth rating of 305m (1000′). It’s controlled from the surface using a joystick and touch-sensitive topside monitor. That monitor has 1600 nits of brightness, meaning it’s easy to view even in bright daylight. The company’s Oceanus Ultimate has the same depth rating, but with an optional upgrade can descend to 500m (1640′).

We had the opportunity to chat with MarineNav staff and were impressed with both their commitment to quality, as well as the fact their line is manufactured from the ground-up, in-house.

 

Deep Trekker

 

The other company that caught our attention was Deep Trekker, based in Kitchener, Ontario. Deep Trekker has been around for a decade, and produces not only submersibles but also waterproof crawlers, designed for pipe inspections – even a vacuum robot that can clean sediment and sludge from the bottoms of reservoirs and tanks.

When we were recently at the AUVSI conference, we had an opportunity to operate its DTG3, a highly maneuverable and affordable ROV rated for up to 200m. Impressive, and just one of many machines for specific use-case scenarios.

Deep Trekker

In fact, Deep Trekker offers not only a broad range of products, but – not unlike drones – the option for additional sensors suitable to tasks such as Side Scan Sonar, water sampling, and even Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) tools.

 

InDro on the floor

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that InDro Robotics also had a presence at the show. That’s our own Peter King on the right, taking part in a demonstration with partners Microsoft Canada.

Peter was remotely operating our Sentinel robot, equipped with the InDro Commander system, over a 5G network. This was on day two of the conference (you’ll see Sentinel below). The previous day, we piloted a drone from the CANSEC show, with the drone many kilometres away at our Area X.O R&D hub.

InDro is a leader in teleoperating drones and robots over 4G and 5G networks, allowing for remote operations from around the block or across the country.

The operator monitors the mission via a web-based browser, seeing data in real-time as the mission unfolds.

Peter is a pro at this, as well as understanding the many use-cases that can benefit from such technology. For example, InDro Robotics can remotely inspect a solar farm to see if there are any malfunctioning panels. Having a human inspect those panels can literally take days, while generally a single drone flight of less than 30 minutes can usually detect any anomalies.

Interested? You can always reach Peter here.

CANSEC
CANSEC

InDro’s Take

 

Conferences are a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of a particular sector, as well as a chance to see what other companies are up to in that space.

We had conversations with many companies at CANSEC and were particularly impressed with several Canadian SMEs. Deep Trekker and MarineNav have both developed very impressive products, and – as a fellow R&D company – we applaud Canadian success stories that push the boundaries of engineering. Well done.