Amazon, which has developed an aerial delivery service called Prime Air, has said the drones will one day be as common as today’s mail trucks.The Associated Press
Transport Canada is exploring possible regulations that would permit parcel deliveries by small aerial drones.
Companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and, north of the border, Drone Delivery Canada have said they want to use delivery drones, as unmanned vehicles can be more safely controlled remotely. Amazon, which has developed an aerial delivery service called Prime Air, has said the drones will one day be as common as today's mail trucks.
The Transport Department is working with agencies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency on how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), controlled from outside the operator's view, could safely pilot airspace.
"The discussions are under way. We're doing a lot of work in terms of understanding how we would regulate beyond visual line of sight," Aaron McCrorie, a senior official with Transport Canada said, referring to drones operating outside the view of the operator.
"The work to get there is going to take a bit of time. The big challenge that we have is technological. We're looking at things like sense and avoid: What can be placed on one of these devices that would allow it to recognize, say, a manned aircraft in the same airspace, and take steps to avoid it," he said.
Test sites are in the works in Alma, Que. and Foremost, Alta., for segregated airspace, he said, where operators and manufacturers would safely run test flights beyond the operator's visual line of sight. "It would give us information we would use in terms of regulatory development," Mr. McCrorie said.
Drone Delivery Canada, a startup, this month disclosed to the federal Lobbying Commissioner that it intends to talk to the government about changes to the Aeronautics Act and the aviation regulations. The company said it is seeking "a more expansive mandate for commercial drone operations in Canada, in particular heavier payload and move to longer-range drone operations."
Other companies or groups currently registered to lobby the government on UAVs include the Helicopter Association of Canada, the Consumer Technology Association, and Fresh Air Educators, a group that offers outdoors courses. The Canadian Real Estate Association is also registered to discuss the use of drones to gather images for real estate listings.
Air transportation associations, as well as Unmanned Systems Canada, a group that advocates for unmanned vehicles, are also taking part in the department's consultations.
Drone Delivery Canada said this spring it would be conducting a pilot project with the City of Vaughan to work on introducing a fleet of delivery drones for local businesses. Last year, it said it would start providing drone delivery services for Shop.ca customers, "once all necessary government approvals have been obtained." Packages would be lowered to recipients from the UAV by a tether.
Operators seeking to fly UAVs beyond line of sight must receive a special regulatory certificate after demonstrating safe flying. The Transport Department confirmed that Amazon has conducted drone tests in Canada to support the company's research and development.
Australia's postal agency is currently testing drones for mail delivery. Other companies, such as The Sky Guys in Oakville, Ont., use drones for aerial photography, surveying and mapping.
John McKenna, head of the Air Transport Association of Canada, said privacy considerations would mean a long regulatory process for putting more drones in the skies. The industry group wants to ensure airspace is safely shared and drone operators are properly trained.
"We've got bird strikes. We don't want UAV strikes taking over now," Mr. McKenna said.
Transport Canada is also working on proposed regulations for UAVs of 25 kilograms or less flown within line of sight, commonly used by recreational users. It plans to finalize those regulations within about a year following further consultation.
Mr. McKenna said he didn't expect proposed regulations anytime soon for beyond line of sight drone flights. "We're still concerned with line of site stuff, never mind the beyond line of site stuff, which really concerns us," he said.