Transport Canada granted approval to Percepto to fly beyond visual line of sight in January 2023, according to a report by Forbes. Percepto’s Air Max drone is now approved to monitor the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) electric power station and operate inspection drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). With BVLOS approval, the OPG can monitor their facility from any remote location within Canada, said Neta Gliksman, VP of Policy and Government Affairs at Percepto.
Gliksman noted other benefits to the waiver and regulation, including ongoing infrastructure monitoring without human intervention. “They safely inspect and monitor hard-to-access and often hazardous assets like transmission lines day in and day out, in almost any weather conditions,” said Gliksman. “Previous inspection methods range from manually climbing towers and equipment to helicopter inspections – all posing direct risks to employees.”
“Because they are AI-powered, autonomous drone platforms can also turn the data gathered in the field into immediately actionable insights on mission-critical maintenance issues,” adds Gliksman.
Gliksman says the short-term vision for BVLOS operations, both in Canada and worldwide, calls on regulators to approve safe and reliable solutions to operate BVLOS nationwide.
“Percepto solutions were recently approved by the FAA to operate BVLOS throughout the US, a testament to the solution’s field-proven reliability,” said Gliksman. “Farther down the line, we expect regulators to develop a more permanent rule governing BVLOS operations that will allow operators to operate any drone system BVLOS out of the box.”
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