Agriculture is one of the business sectors where drone technology is expected to play a significant role.
While that is an expectation two things need to occur.
The first is the associated tech which can utilize the variety of data a drone can be utilized to collect.
And, the second of course is the development of skills required to use a drone skilfully.
In the case of the latter requirement a new certification course at Brandon University, (BU), could help in terms of learning how to use a drone.
Students and members of the public who are fascinated by the unmanned aerial vehicles can register for a university-credit course that will teach them everything they need to know to safely and legally fly the popular and useful airborne vehicles, detailed a BU release.
“Drones are really fun to fly, and a lot of hobbyists fly them for pure enjoyment,” said BU Geography professor Dr. Dion Wiseman in the release. “For geographers and for many others, they are also important tools that can capture photos and other data to provide incredibly detailed information that’s difficult or impossible to gather in any other way.”
The new course, Applied Topics in Geography: UAV Ground School, offers students a novel opportunity to learn about drones, their applications, safety considerations, how they work, and the regulations and procedures to operate them. Students will have the chance to become certified drone pilots, able to fly drones commercially or for research at the university.
It is the certification which holds out the most promise for the agriculture sector, providing a level of skill regarding the use of a drone being flown to collect farm data.
“Drones have become a vital tool for collecting aerial photography used to generate land cover maps and create 3D models of the natural terrain and built landscape. They are used extensively across a variety of traditional academic disciplines including archaeology, environmental science, biology, geography, and geology; as well as in numerous applied fields such as architecture, civil engineering, surveying, and many more,” Wiseman said. “This course, and resulting Transport Canada certification, will provide students in a variety of college and university programs with a competitive edge is today’s job market by providing them with highly marketable skills and training.”
The course will also prepare drone pilots for stiff new Transport Canada regulations. Existing rules exempt people who fly drones recreationally, while the proposed new rules will require everyone at the controls of a drone to have completed a ground school course like the one being offered at BU.
To help meet expected wide demand for the training, the course will be fully available online. The online access will be of great help for farm producers.
Calvin Daniels is Editor with Yorkton This Week.
