On Sept. 25 and 26, more than 150 key influencers of the drone industry gathered at the UAS Centre of Excellence in Alma, Quebec, for the first ever Tech Demo annual edition.
With the objective of sharing the latest trends and capabilities of the drone industry, the trade show hosted conferences, discussion panels and drone flight demonstrations.
The attendees had a chance to learn more about data integration in the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry, UAS traffic management, the niche of excellence in UAS as part of the Accord initiative and the establishment of a pre-qualification center.
Furthermore, the event presented the latest developments by Nav Canada, Transport Canada and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).
The participants also attended presentations on sale and marketing of airborne and space systems and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s various programs.
The two-day event allowed people to attend two discussion panels during which they shared ideas about certifications and operations beyond line of sight.
People were also given the opportunity to share knowledge with other experts and watch two drone flight demonstrations on giant screens.
According to the UAS Centre of Excellence’s director general, Marc Moffatt, an event such as Tech Demo is crucial for the industry.
“The drone community needs such gathering events,” he said. “We are obviously very pleased with the first edition’s success, but what we are most proud of is the quality of the participants. Many of the key actors in setting the regulation for drones in Canada were among us to hear what the community had to teach them and to learn more about the UAS Centre of Excellence’s potential.”
Moffatt also spoke of how Tech Demo had once again proven the strategic role the UAS CE can play in the drone regulation and technology in Canada.
“People of the industry from all over the world came to our trade show,” he said.
“The UAS CE succeeded in gathering our own local influencers who understand the CE’s strategic role. In recent years, the CE and its partners have built a regional hub that will allow the drone industry to break new ground in Canada but also here in our region of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean,” he concluded.
Alain Fortin, the CE’s president, said: “Whereas the UAS CE is used to organize events with people from the drone community, Tech Demo was more technically oriented. The UAS CE invited representatives from various sectors in order to demystify the possible uses of drones and to inform participants of the rules and technical aspects of unmanned aerial systems. I’m happy to see that people came from all over the world to discuss the issues arising with the integration of drones in our lives.”
