Area X.O highlights defence-related drone and robotics testing site

Area X.O highlights defence-related drone and robotics testing site

Aug 12, 2026 | Defence, Defence Industrial Strategy, InDro News, InDro Solutions, Industry News, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

Area X.O has put the spotlight on its third facility with a clear emphasis on defence-related drone and robotics testing – and it’s very much related to Canada’s new Defence Industrial Strategy.

Area X.O Killaloe is located at an airport in the Ottawa Valley, and it held a defence-capabilities demonstration called RED COBALT Uncrewed Systems Accelerator 2026 this week. It was heavily attended by senior officials from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the Department of National Defence, and Canadian Joint Forces Command. The Honourable David McGuinty, Minister of Defence, was also in attendance.

About 20 companies, nearly all of them Canadian-owned, were invited to display and demonstrate technologies that will likely one day play a role in Canada’s defence. Indro Robotics was one of those companies. It is the third Area X.O site, with the first and largest the well-known technology hub and NATO DIANA Test Centre in Ottawa (where InDro has its R&D headquarters).

“This is how we help companies grow faster. Strengthen Canada’s sovereign capabilities. Create high-value jobs. Attract investment. And build a stronger, more resilient economy,” announced Sonya Shorey, President and CEO of Invest Ottawa and Area X.O in this post. Invest Ottawa owns and operates all Area X.O facilities.

“This work directly supports Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy and our evolving strategy for Canada’s Capital Region, Ottawa and Gatineau together, as a global defence innovation hub serving our country, Forces and Allies,” she added.

The August 11/12 gathering provided an opportunity for a cross-section of the Canadian military to observe, even operate, multiple types of drones, counter-UAS systems, ground robotics, and more. The location will allow for testing larger and more complex drone systems and robotics. And, unlike the original Area X.O, is not located near a major airport.

Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy, released in February of this year, is the country’s response to a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape – and commits more than half a trillion dollars between now and 2035. Those funds have already started to flow: In July, Ottawa announced it would build a $30M military drone R&D facility in Mirabel, Quebec.

A significant portion of the DIS budget has been set aside to help accelerate Canadian-built and owned innovations – and reduce the reliance on traditional US military primes. The Ukraine conflict and even the recent US war with Iran have forever changed warfare with the heavy use of drones and other robotics on the battlefield.

“If you look at what’s happening in Ukraine, their uncrewed systems — the [updates to] coding that goes into it happen on a daily basis,” Lt.-Gen. Darcy Molstad, who heads the military’s Joint Forces Command, told CBC News.

“…This is the kind of partnerships that we have to establish.”

Below: A portion of Sonya Shorey’s post

Sonya Shorey Killaloe

INDRO AND DUAL-PURPOSE

 

Many of the products InDro manufactures have dual-purpose capabilities, meaning they can be used for commercial/industrial applications, as well as for defensive purposes. Our drones and robots, for example, are involved in a partnership with Montreal software firm CHAAC Technologies to autonomously find, map – and potentially neutralise – the pernicious PFM-1 landmine. It’s a small, air-dropped butterfly-shaped device that is intended to maim. Children often make the tragic mistake of thinking they are toys.

Technology can prove tremendously helpful for those kinds of use-cases – as well as many other defence and sovereignty-related purposes. InDro Vice-President Peter King and Law Enforcement Consultant Brian Fentiman represented InDro at the event, showing two major new innovations we are developing.

The first is Talos, the world’s longest-range vehicle. The rugged hybrid uses a combination of batteries and a highly efficient diesel generator to operate up to 7,000 km on a single, 454-litre tank of fuel. Originally developed to be driven by a human operator, InDro is in the process of turning this vehicle into a remotely tele-operated (and autonomous) robot. The Talos uses standard NATO-compliant mounting systems, and can be rapidly transformed for any use-case, from surveillance and combat in hostile environments through to transporting wounded combatants or getting medical supplies into a disaster zone.

We were also providing a glimpse of technology related to our new, long-range Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drone. It can carry multiple sensors plus an additional payload and fly in weather conditions that would ground conventional aircraft. It’s also a hybrid fixed-wing design, meaning it’s capable of extraordinarily long missions.

Below: A look at the front end of Talos (R), the vehicle InDro is transforming into the world’s longest-range ground robot.

 

Talos

INDRO’S TAKE

 

We were pleased to see the unveiling of the new facility – and to be in the company of so many Canadian companies who are pushing the envelope of technology and defence. The event was a clear indicator of the emphasis the Federal Government is putting on the DIS, and the speed at which it hopes to advance the capabilities of the Canadian Armed Forces with made-in-Canada solutions.

“It is indeed a changing world, and Canada is investing to keep pace with that change,” says InDro Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “We congratulate Invest Ottawa and Area X.O and welcome the opportunities afforded by this facility. InDro is proud to be working on dual-use technologies we feel will be of benefit to the country, and to those who serve it.”

We look forward to testing our new innovations at the site, and will update you when that happens.

 

The InDro Evolution, Part II: Ground robotics and software

The InDro Evolution, Part II: Ground robotics and software

Aug 10, 2026 | InDro Solutions, Industry News, Innovation, Philip Reece, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

You can divide the evolution of Indro Robotics into two phases. The first focused heavily on drones, drone technology, innovative use-cases, and multiple Canadian and industry “firsts.” We wrote about that first stage, which spans 2014 to 2019, here.

We’ll now look at what’s happened since then. Specifically, the addition of ground robotics in addition to our UAV work. And once again, it’s a story filled with milestones.

Our broader robotics era really begins in 2019, when we sent a single person to work at Invest Ottawa’s Area X.O. Some of the big players, companies like Nokia and Blackberry QNX, already had offices there. But InDro came in lean, sharing office space with Nokia while working closely with the company on Area X.O’s Mobile Command Centre. That large vehicle uses a telescoping antenna to create a private cellular network, allowing secure Command and Control of drone (or ground robotics) missions in areas without networks.

Reece could see the potential of Area X.O as a full R&D headquarters: A private facility with roads dedicated to autonomous vehicles meant engineers could literally walk out the door and test new robots or drones. And so, on March 1st of 2021, InDro formally opened in its own space at Area X.O.

A key early hire was Peter King, who had broad industry expertise in successful drone and ground robotics companies. King (now VP at InDro and Founder and CEO of Cypher Robotics) assisted Reece in building the team at Area X.O.

“When the opportunity came to take lab space at Area X.O and become part of the drone and robot testing grounds, we jumped at the chance,” Philip Reece told BetaKit at the time. “We have already supplemented our team with several very talented engineers, and I am sure we will be adding more in the near future.”

That, it turns out, would be an understatement.

Below: An InDro employee at Area X.O’s ops centre soon after our move. Teleoperated drone and robotics missions can be controlled and monitored from this room. Image two: By 2023, InDro had a rapidly growing team at Area X.O

InDro Robotics

 THE ADDITION OF GROUND ROBOTICS

 

Before we get to ground robotics and autonomy, we should mention that our work on drones never slowed down. We continued to develop new models for extended range and specialised payloads, while advancing partnerships and remote operations using public and private 5G networks. We flew complex missions for clients in Saudi Arabia, built systems for a huge company in South America, and carried out multiple research initiatives in conjunction with universities like UBC and companies like Rogers and Ericsson. We hired aviation regulatory expert and crewed flight instructor Kate Klassen (who has trained more than 10,000 drone pilots online), as well as Dr. Eric Saczuk, a remote imaging expert who also leads the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s RPAS Hub and has flown some of the most complex drone missions imaginable.

But we were also pursuing a parallel pathway: Ground robotics. We knew we could leverage our drone expertise in remote teleoperation, sensor integration and custom builds. So it was really more of a transition of those skills onto ground robotic platforms, along with the steady hiring of exceptionally good engineers from multiple disciplines. For those ground platforms, we secured a distribution deal with AgileX, China’s leading multi-platform robotics company and Unitree. We were soon building custom robots for industrial, academic and R&D clients – and developing our own new proprietary products we could sell (many of which you can find on our InDro Store).

On the latter front, we initially identified remote asset inspection/surveillance and last-mile delivery as emerging markets. We designed and built our first Sentinel inspection robot (now in its third iteration), and our first ground delivery robot, ROLL-E. It was deployed in partnership with a London Drugs location in Victoria for curbside pickup during the COVID pandemic.

With a motto of Invent, Enhance, Deploy, we took on increasingly complex builds, including a multi-robot contract with one of the planet’s largest technology companies. We also designed what would become one of our signature products, InDro Commander.

It’s a platform-agnostic EDGE device that holds the ROS2 libraries and allows for the seamless integration of new sensors by simply plugging them into that powerful box. It also contains the secure, front-end software (InDro Controller) that allows missions to be intuitively planned, executed and monitored. Commander quickly became popular with universities and R&D companies who wanted to rapidly integrate their own robots and quickly proceed to research. We also developed our popular InDro Autonomy software stack.

Below: The InDro Commander module with the InDro Autonomy Stack onboard AgileX platforms. Video: Head of R&D Sales Luke Corbeth highlighting an InDro-modified Unitree humanoid robot at Area X.O’s annual GCXpo event. You’ll notice that humanoid has a “backpack.” That device is InDro Commander (with InDro Controller onboard) in a different form factor. We’ve also modified the humanoid to enable not only remote teleoperation, but VR teleoperation using handsets and a 4K resolution headset

Robot development kit

Industry 4.0 and dual-purpose innovations

 

While continuing custom builds for researchers and industrial clients, InDro has pushed the envelope substantially over the past few years. Specifically, we’ve been developing products for the world of Industry 4.0, where automated and interconnected devices result in vast efficiencies in settings ranging from warehouses to factories to long-range ground and aerial data acquisition and delivery.

Some of the many highlights include:

  • InDro Cortex, a vastly smaller version of InDro Commander, along with more powerful and intuitive iterations of InDro Controller. We’ve also integrated these into a VR humanoid.
  • Developing and deploying InDro Prowler, an exceedingly powerful wheeled quadruped for surveillance and security inspection that sets a new standard for value
  • Serving as technology incubator for Cypher Robotics, helping to develop a tethered drone/AMR system for cycle counting in large warehouses

Another absolutely key accelerator for InDro over the past few years was the launch and subsequent expansion of InDro Forge, our custom fabrication and integration facility.

It houses a full suite of tools for professional fabrication including CNC, water jet table, PCB design – and a plethora of specialized 3D printers that include bigrep ONE, capable of printing objects up to one cubic metre in size (along with all the requisite expertise). We build products for clients there, and integrate our own robots at the site, complete with custom metal and composite work. Forge has been scaling since we began, and has now evolved into a small and growing factory.

 

OUR NEXT BIG THING(S)

 

We can’t provide too many details yet, but we are currently hard at work on three highly ambitious projects. We are going to roboticize the world’s longest-range vehicle – a diesel-electric hybrid capable of 7,000km on a single tank of fuel. It has multiple use-cases, including disaster response in areas with damaged infrastructure, data acquisition and surveillance for sovereignty purposes, wildlife monitoring and protection – and much more. We are also hard at work on Obsidian, a smaller AWD hybrid for multiple use-cases in inhospitable terrain.

We are, at the same time, extensively modifying a very large, long-range drone for highly specialised missions. It can carry both sensors and other payload, and is capable of flying in extreme conditions that would ground most traditional aircraft. More on that down the road.

Below: The multi-purpose, 7,000km vehicle we’re transforming into a robot, followed by the largest drone we’ve yet to work with. InDro Founder/CEO Philip Reece is second from left in the drone photo

Fering
Terrain Drone

INDRO’S TAKE

 

So many milestones, so little time. We didn’t even mention our latest research robot, Axiom. But it’s a cost breakthrough for those doing Physical AI R&D involving humanoids, and its extendible torso allows researchers to position the robot’s arms for high reach, low reach, and everything in between.

There’s a reason we mention Axiom here, one of our most budget-friendly robots. In fact, we’ll drop a picture of it in a second. That’s because, despite the major projects we’ve carried out and are currently working on, InDro still maintains its roots: Inventing, building and testing highly useful tools that help researchers develop algorithms and use-cases that elevate the entire industry.

“It has been quite a journey so far, and an immensely satisfying one,” says InDro’s Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “From a single employee at Area X.O back in 2019, we have scaled significantly, taking on ever-more complex projects for major clients and government departments, while still providing new and affordable innovations for those in the academic and R&D worlds.

“A broader vision for InDro has helped guide the way. But none of this would have been possible without a highly dedicated and skilled team – people who have yet to encounter a problem they aren’t willing and eager to solve. We have done our best to carve a clear, ethical and forward-looking path. So from here, it’s onward: We will continue to invent, enhance, deploy – and scale.”

Below: Axiom. Highly functional, with a very low cost. We’ve included Robotics Hardware Engineering Intern Justin Luo both for scale, and because he put in a lot of hard work on this project

The InDro Evolution, Part One: Drones

The InDro Evolution, Part One: Drones

Aug 6, 2026 | InDro News, Industry News, Innovation, Philip Reece, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

It’s been quite a journey.

Since the founding of InDro Robotics by Philip Reece back in 2014, the company has followed a steady trajectory of innovation and growth, marked by multiple milestones and a number of industry “firsts.” We thought, 12 years on, it was worth looking back on that path.

The company was initially formed after CEO Reece saw an opportunity. At the time, he owned Salt Spring Air, a small floatplane company later acquired by the Harbour Air Group. A regular client would hire one of his aircraft annually for aerial data acquisition – but this year declined, saying he was going to use a drone instead. Reece began researching drone technology and quickly identified this would be a growth market where R&D could play a role – both in enabling new technologies and new use-case scenarios. 

“The economic benefits of a UAS versus traditional aircraft were immediately apparent,” he recalls. “And it was also clear there were multiple use-cases where a drone would be able to do things a crewed aircraft could not.”

And so InDro – short for Industrial Drones – was born. It was, initially, a startup operation based out of Salt Spring Island. Reece, along with a few dedicated staff, began building and testing drones (and also some uncrewed surface vehicles for aquatic work). Reece, a serial entrepreneur, had a knack for identifying novel use-cases.

“In 2014, in our very first year, we demonstrated that an Automated External Defibrillator could be delivered by drone, potentially saving lives,” he says. 

For InDro, that trial marked the beginning of a strong and steady voyage.

Above: Advanced urban wind tunnel research drone on a mission with the NRC. Below: A 2014 video (which now shows its age) where InDro demonstrated the potential for AED delivery by drone. Image: InDro Founder/CEO Philip Reece at Area X.O.

Philip Reece Area X.O

PROGRESS, COLLABORATION, MILESTONES

 

In those early days, regulators were exceedingly cautious, even fearful, of this new technology. There was legitimate concern a drone might collide with another aircraft, or cause injury to persons or property on the ground. You couldn’t simply put a drone up in the air regardless of the purpose – you needed a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) for each and every flight. It was a time-consuming process.

But Reece, a licensed pilot himself, could see the rationale and began building trust with contacts at Transport Canada. InDro also started working with a broad selection of First Responders – fire, police, Search & Rescue and more – training them how to safely use these new tools. At one of the biggest downtown fires in Victoria’s history, the fire department deployed an InDro-supplied drone with a FLIR thermal camera. It allowed the department to see through thick smoke to more strategically direct suppression efforts.

While Visual Line of Sight flights (with an SFOC) could accomplish many tasks, Reece and others in the industry knew that BVLOS flights would open up an entire new world of use-cases. In 2016, in coordination with Transport Canada and First Responders, InDro flew a BVLOS mission to assist with a major forest fire. That was within restricted airspace and a special case. But the company did fly Canada’s first BVLOS mission outside of a test range in 2017.

We also flew regularly from a moving vehicle to document the beauty and diversity of this country during an 11,000 km overland trip through Canada in the Explorer 150 project – a partnership with Maclean’s magazine, Duracell and Rogers, and one of many high-profile events to mark Canada’s 150th birthday. We even captured video of polar and grizzly bears during that trip.

Below: Two members of the Explorer 150 team

Duracell Explorer 150

OTHER FIRSTS

 

There are many. Highlights include:

  • The first “blanket” SFOC for Canada-wide flights, and the first license granted by the Canadian Transportation Agency to use drones as a means of cargo delivery
  • The first flight in Canada using 5G for Command and Control (2021)
  • The first TC BVLOS delivery of simulated blood products between hospitals (2018) and the first delivery of pharmaceutical products (2019) with privacy and other approvals. Those trials, along with further research work transporting AEDs, proved that aerial delivery was faster than emergency ground transport

InDro rapidly developed a reputation not only as a serious player in this emerging industry, but a collaborative one. In 2018, Reece worked closely with regulators and Canada Post to arrange for a demonstration of drone technology and BVLOS flights from the-then Salt Spring Island headquarters. He invited multiple companies – including AVSS, ParaZero Technologies, Avidrone Aerospace, SkyX, DJI and Iris Automation (since acquired by uAvionix) to highlight their own solutions, all observed by Transport Canada and NAV CANADA officials, as well as senior Canada Post management. Those invitations made that event  about elevating the industry, not InDro.

It was that kind of work that garnered InDro Robotics and Reece the prestigious Organisational Award from Unmanned Systems Canada (now the Aerial Evolution Association of Canada) in 2020. The award recognises a company that has made an outstanding contributions to the industry-at-large.

Below: Two use-cases we’re particularly proud of: During the peak of the COVID pandemic, InDro flew BVLOS flights for an island-based First Nations community, shuttling COVID test kits and swabs needing analysis back and forth to the mainland. We earlier flew Canada’s first BVLOS deliveries of prescription medications in a fully sanctioned trial

INDRO’S TAKE

Other firsts include working with telecoms like Rogers to carry out Canada’s first flight over 5G. We developed InDro Pilot, then InDro Controller, as a UI for command and control. We’ve collaborated with Federal departments like the National Research Council, detected landmines in partnership with Montreal’s CHAAC technologies for the Department of National Defence, and built multiple generations of R&D drones that run on the open-source ROS2. We remain the key technology provider for the ongoing Drone Detection System at YOW, which has gathered years worth of data shared with Transport Canada, NAV CANADA, the RCMP and other airport authorities. (The system was even used to ensure the airspace was free of drones for former US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ottawa.)

We’ve also helped incubate other companies, including Cypher Robotics, which has a tethered drone attached to an autonomous mobile robot that counts warehouse inventory with 99-plus per cent accuracy. Plus many projects for international clients where we are bound by NDA.

This story could be much longer – there’s a lot we’ve skipped, including the launch of the FLYY online drone training portal – but you get the drift: InDro has continuously pushed the envelope with drone technology and use-cases, collaborating whenever possible while developing custom RPAS solutions for global clients.

“In retrospect, I’m incredibly grateful that client decided to not hire a Salt Spring Air floatplane back in 2014,” says Reece. “That was where all this started, and I could not have envisioned back then how this path would unfold. Our engineering staff has grown immensely since the early days, and we’re now innovating with long-range, hybrid aircraft suitable for deliveries and reconnaissance in Arctic conditions.”

And one more very important thing before we wrap:

“None of this would have been possible without a dedicated engineering team and the support from multiple Federal and provincial programs that believed in us. As a company we are grateful for that trust – and look forward to what’s next.”

Part II of this series is coming soon: InDro and ground robotics.

Meet the New InDro Axiom Humanoid-Style Research Robot

Meet the New InDro Axiom Humanoid-Style Research Robot

Jul 23, 2026 | InDro Axiom, InDro News, InDro Solutions, Industry News, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

We’ve released a new robot – and it’s unlike anything we’ve built before.

The new InDro Axiom is a budget-friendly and flexible platform for those doing Physical AI R&D involving humanoid-style robots with arms. It’s designed to make advanced robotics more accessible to researchers, academic institutions, and industry.

Created in response to growing demand for affordable humanoid development tools, Axiom provides many of the capabilities researchers require for manipulation, simulation, and autonomy development — without the cost or complexity associated with fully bipedal humanoid systems.

“We describe Axiom less as a robot and more as a research solution with exciting industrial implications,” says Luke Corbeth, InDro’s Head of R&D Sales. “It’s a budget humanoid — an adaptable, modular approach to Physical AI. It gives researchers a way to collect data, develop skills, and build toward autonomous deployment using one flexible system.”

Below: The human-height Axiom alongside Robotics Hardware Engineering Intern Justin Luo 

TELESCOPING TORSO

 

Those doing research with humanoids – and ultimately deploying them in the real world – need a platform with arms. And those arms might need to reach something high, low, or in-between. Axiom can handle them all.

Axiom features a unique form factor that includes a telescoping torso, caster-wheel base, dual shoulder-mounted robotic arms, and a top-mounted depth camera. Users can move the platform to wherever the research or work needs to take place. The adjustable torso enables Axiom to function across a wide range of environments – from tabletop tasks to higher interactions such as cabinets, shelves, or door handles. Customers can select their own robotic arms and end effectors. If you already have robotic arms, you can purchase a base model with depth camera for $4,000 US and integrate your own hardware.

Axiom is aimed at robotics researchers exploring Physical AI — the emerging field where artificial intelligence moves beyond software and into machines that carry out tasks in the physical world.

“Physical AI is what happens when you give an intelligent system the ability to perceive and act,” says Corbeth. “Instead of generating answers like an AI chatbot, the system learns to actually perform tasks in the real world.”

 

UPGRADES AVAILABLE

 

To maximize accessibility, Axiom can operate as a standalone development platform using a researcher’s existing computer workflow. For more advanced applications, it can be equipped with InDro Cortex for onboard compute and connectivity, along with InDro Controller for visualization, simulation, remote operation, and advanced autonomy development.

The platform expands to match your needs. Axiom can be integrated onto an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) base, adding omnidirectional movement and creating a fully mobile manipulation research platform which could ultimately be deployable.

Corbeth says the timing for Axiom is perfect.

“Physical AI is one of the most exciting frontiers in robotics right now,” he says. “This isn’t science fiction anymore – it’s happening today in labs around the world. Axiom is another way InDro is helping enable that future.”

Below: Axiom’s adjustable torso means the robot swiftly be set to different heights

INDRO’S TAKE

 

Axiom grew from customer demand, and three units have already shipped. A typical system with two highly capable arms runs about $19,000 USD and, when equipped with InDro Cortex and InDro Controller, about $28,000 USD.

“Researchers have told us they want to work on humanoid-style development, but a $60,000 to $100,000 system simply isn’t realistic for many teams,” says Corbeth. “Axiom creates a much more accessible pathway.”

InDro Founder and CEO Philip Reece is pleased the company can offer such an affordable platform for research.

“Physical AI is already much more than a buzzword,” he says. “Axiom now allows academic and R&D companies to affordably develop algorithms and other innovations that will fully enable the next generation of humanoid-style robots.”

For more information about InDro Axiom, contact Luke Corbeth.

SkyScoutAI: A system to predict and prevent wildfires

SkyScoutAI: A system to predict and prevent wildfires

May 5, 2026 | Industry News, Innovation, Scott Simmie, SkyScout Ai, Wildfires

By Scott Simmie

 

Wildfires are a growing threat.

You might think, based on media coverage, that we’re having more of them. That’s not always the case; in some areas the number of wildfires is down. The real problem is that wildfire outbreaks in recent decades have become more intense: Larger, hotter, and spreading more rapidly. Scientists examining data from NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites gathered over 21 years found that “the frequency of extreme events increased by 2.2-fold from 2003 to 2023, with the last seven years including the six most extreme,” says a study published by Nature.

NASA sums up the problem like this: “Extreme wildfires have become more frequent, more intense, and larger. The largest increase in extreme fire behavior was in the temperate conifer forests of the Western U.S. and the boreal forests of northern North America and Russia,” it writes. “Warmer nighttime temperatures are a major contributing factor, allowing fire activity to persist overnight.”

Traditionally, we’ve used satellite data, weather forecasts and observable conditions on the ground to try to gauge risk. But our response has generally been reactive; rushing to contain and extinguish once a wildfire is underway, or rapidly evacuating communities once a fire is approaching.

Now, Canadian tech company SkyScoutAI says it has a better way. With the tagline “Predict * Prevent * Protect”, SkyScout says its system fuses ground sensors, satellite imagery, historical data, specific terrain features, drones and a powerful AI engine to produce an evidence-based score of the real-time threat to any given area where the system is deployed.

It’s a bold claim. But, given the Chief Technology Officer’s commitment to this field – which includes nearly a decade of research into using drones and AI specifically for wildfires – it’s clear there’s a ton of science it.

Above: A fast-moving wildfire east of Kamloops, BC in 2018. Photo by Murray Foubister via Creative Commons Share Alike 2.0. Below, a screengrab from SkyScoutAI.com

SkyScoutAI Screengrab

MULTIPLE DATA POINTS AND POWERFUL AI

 

A key component of the SkyScoutAI system is the person who helped devise it. Chief Technology Office Michal Aibin holds both a PhD and is Head of the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s Master of Science Program in Applied Computing. He’s been researching the use of drones and AI for wildfires since 2017, and now has graduate students assisting in that research. For Michal, trying to find a solution to this problem isn’t simply an engineering challenge; it’s personal.

“What I really wanted to do with my research at BCIT is something that can make a change for the community, to the lives of people,” he says.

With a background in AI, he started by looking at existing methods of predicting wildfires and thinking: There must be a better way.

“We noticed there are lots of things on the detection side of things…detection of the fire, wildfire assessment, change detection – but there’s not that much on the prediction and prevention side,” he says. “So the question that came in the initial phases of research was: ‘What can we do six months or 12 months in advance to learn what the fire season will look like?’ And this is where the idea of prevention and fuel measurement and using different sensors and putting all of these into some comprehensive risk prevention management tool came into action.”

One of the things he noted early on is that wildfires “don’t just happen – they develop,” By this he’s referring to a cascade of factors or events that ultimately culminate into conditions that are a Perfect Storm for wildfires.

How dry is it? What’s the fire history in this location? How dense are the trees? Is there a water source nearby? Structures? What’s the immediate forecast and what are the historical weather patterns? Is the terrain likely to speed the spread of a wildfire?

Beyond its core algorithmic engine, SkyScout AI uses ground sensors to capture real-time microclimate data across monitored areas. For aerial imagery, the company partners with InDro Robotics for drone operations and regulatory compliance, and with Spexi to obtain the resulting high-resolution captures. SkyScout AI then assembles and processes that imagery internally, feeding it into their wildfire prediction and risk analysis pipeline.

SkyScoutAI’s proprietary AI engine takes all that disparate data and fuses it together to produce an easy-to-understand, actionable risk score. It has a very simple User Interface which includes data points at any given location, the threat level, and the confidence the AI has in its overall prediction (see below).

SkyScoutAI Live Screengrab

PREDICT, PREVENT, PROTECT

 

While SkyScoutAI’s system handles multiple variables, it can’t predict when a human being might  accidentally (or even deliberately) cause an ignition. Nor can it say when an electrical line might arc, or where lightning might strike. But because it can predict threat levels with a high degree of confidence, decision-makers have a tool that allows them to prepare resources. Thermal-equipped drones can make regular sorties in high-threat areas and provide an early warning system is there is an ignition. That data – the precise GPS coordinates – can be relayed in real-time to First Responder partners for a pinpoint response before the fire gets out of control.

It all sounds good – great, even – on paper. But it’s another thing to prove this system in the real world. That’s precisely what’s happening right now, with SkyScoutAI deployed in multiple locations in BC. There are also discussions with contacts in the US. Once the system has proven its worth, says Michal, the hope is for the company to quickly scale.

“We are fully ready as a technology. Now we are looking for institutional adoption and government procurements,” he says. “Those are processes we obviously don’t control. But we really hope that in two or three years we’ll be talking about SkyScoutAI as a tool known not only Canada-wide, but worldwide.”

Below: Michal Aibin speaks about SkyScoutAI on a recent edition of the SoundByte micro-podcast

 

INDRO’S TAKE

 

We’re big fans of SkyScoutAI – and not simply because we’re handling the drone and regulatory end of things. We’ve seen the utter devastation wildfires can cause too many times – to communities, to our forests, and to our environment and atmosphere itself. We also believe in the power of data, and the ability of SkyScoutAI to draw on multiple data points for continuous real-time threat-levels makes a lot of sense to us,

“Wildfires cause billions of dollars in damage annually, yet we’ve never had a reliable, data-driven way to predict threat levels,” says InDro Robotics CEO Philip Reece, who is also a Member of the Board of SkyScoutAI.

“This integrated system, which continuously evaluates multiple data points to produce reliable threat scores and confidence levels, will assist decision-makers in their allocation of resources to those areas most at risk with advance warning. Wildfires will continue to happen, but SkyScoutAI now provides an early warning system that should reduce their impact.”

Seeing is believing. We encourage you to check out SkyScoutAI’s dashboard, which includes live imagery and threat detection in multiple locations where it’s deployed, right here.

 

H2CanFly works to accelerate adoption of hydrogen as fuel

H2CanFly works to accelerate adoption of hydrogen as fuel

Apr 21, 2026 | Environment, Industry News, Innovation, National Research Council, Scott Simmie

By Scott Simmie

 

Picture a world where long-haul passenger jets are powered by liquid hydrogen – modified engines burning the gas the same way they used to combust Jet A fuel. There is zero CO2 produced. With the exception of some nitrogen oxides (due to higher combustion temperatures), the only exhaust is water vapour.  For an even cleaner, zero-emission process, imagine a short-haul hybrid turboprop using fuel cells to power batteries and electric motors. You could even use hydrogen to run a generator for hybrid propulsion of long-range drones or UGVs.

Providing the hydrogen is obtained in a sustainable way, such as using wind- or solar-powered electrolysis, this chemical element could be the path toward a net-zero emission future in not only the aviation sector, but many others as well.

That’s certainly the future H2CanFly, a non-profit national R&D and commercialisation initiative with some 45 partners in industry and academia, would like to see. Its vision? “Working together to build safe sustainable, and equitable aviation solutions for a cleaner world.”

Sounds ideal. But it’s not a simple or easy path, particularly when it comes to passenger-carrying aircraft.

“Aviation is the most challenging industry to de-carbonize, and sector growth is anticipated to out-pace typical incremental efficiency improvements. Clean sheet designs take time, and the technologies that enable these designs must be advanced now to achieve our net-zero objectives by 2050,” states the H2CanFly website.

We spoke in-depth with H2CanFly CEO Eric Lefebvre, and will extract some key nuggets from that conversation. But first, a brief video from H2CanFly partner Airbus that lays out in simplest terms how using green hydrogen for aircraft and vehicles might someday look (and note the blended-wing aircraft in the video).

Above: We have no plans to produce a hydrogen jet. But by the year 2050, the odds are good a blended wing like this could be in the skies – albeit with different livery.

THE HYDROGEN ADVANTAGE

 

Why use hydrogen rather than gasoline or jet fuel? The obvious answer is to reduce the carbon footprint of everything from drones to ground vehicles to large passenger aircraft. Lefebvre, and many others, believe hydrogen is the clear solution.

“Hydrogen has a bright future in terms of its scalability, cost factor, its energy density, its gravimetric density, and so forth,” he says. “There are a lot of key applications that will benefit from the use of hydrogen. But there needs to be work – and it needs to be concerted and organized in order to bring about the desired R&D outcomes.”

That’s where H2CanFly comes in. The not-for-profit organisation has several major OEM partners, including Airbus, Boeing, CAE, Ballard and more. There are multiple SMEs, including InDro Robotics onboard. Others from the aviation sector, such as Edmonton International Airport, the Ontario Aerospace Council, and the Canadian Airports Council are involved. Plus there are several partners in academia, including the University of Waterloo, Concordia University, UBC and more. With so many high-level, vested partners on board, there’s the potential for real momentum (you can find a partner list here).

In addition to being a voice of the industry, H2CanFly is very much involved with trying to shape the next steps of the hydrogen evolution in Canada. That means working directly with partners on real-world R&D projects, carrying out research at its newly announced ARCTIC (Aero Research & Clean Tech Innovation Centre) lab at Aéroports de Montréal’s YMX Innovation Centre, conversing frequently with regulators – and orchestrating multiple (and complementary) R&D efforts in a unified way to push the needle forward in Canada.

 

A CHALLENGING, BUT NECESSARY STEP

 

Integrating hydrogen as a combustible fuel on a long-range passenger aircraft is not an easy task. It would involve liquid hydrogen, which would have to be in cryogenic tanks (there’s also research underway into binding hydrogen atoms with another material to create solid hydrogen, but that’s a topic for another day).

Those cryogenic tanks are not practical for storage in the wings, so in most designs they either sit aft of passengers (which means reducing seats or extending the body), or in a newer design such as a blended-wing craft. Commuter aircraft and regional feeders would likely use fuel cells producing electricity to power electric motors. Most existing fuel cells aren’t suitable for long-range flight with larger aircraft due to their weight and power output limitations (though there are steady improvements).

But the push is on. And Canada’s National Research Council says H2CanFly is playing a critical role:

“Decarbonizing aviation is a critical component of Canada’s goal of meeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and making the sector more sustainable,” states the Council’s 2025-2026 Departmental Plan.

“The H2CanFly consortium is set to transform the aviation industry by fast-tracking the commercialization of hydrogen propulsion aircraft to reduce aviation’s climate impact and strengthen Canada’s position as a global leader in the field. This partnership network, uniting key stakeholders from industry, academia and government, will build an inclusive and accessible national hydrogen flight research platform to achieve critical environmental and economic objectives for Canada.”

There are certainly hurdles ahead. It can take many years for new aircraft designs to be certified, and – for the aerospace industry – the bottom line is always important. The cost of sustainable, “green” hydrogen will have to come down (and the consensus is it will). There are also global and regional regulations/agreements requiring aviation carriers to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2050 – and hydrogen seems to be the solution of choice.

The two videos below both provide excellent overviews of what’s ahead, with the second being longer and more in-depth. If you’re pressed for time, check out the first one (though they’re truly both worth a watch).

INDRO’S TAKE

 

InDro Robotics has long supported a sustainable future, so the widespread possibilities offered by hydrogen are of great interest to us. In fact, we’re currently working on a project with partners that involves a proof-of-concept for delivering hydrogen fuel in the field to RPAS and uncrewed ground vehicles.

“With concerns over greenhouse gases and a changing global climate, now is definitely the time to be exploring renewable propulsion systems and infrastructure for the future,” says InDro Robotics Founder and CEO Philip Reece. “We are pleased to be working with Eric Lefebrve and H2CanFLy on not only a sustainable future, but one where Canadian innovations in the hydrogen sector have an opportunity to be put to use globally.”

You can listen to our conversation with Eric, who appeared on a recent episode of our SoundByte micro-podcast, right here.