Canada-based ING Robotic Aviation says it has been awarded a $170,000 Built in Canada Innovation Program (BCIP) contract to provide services with its Responder unmanned aerial system (UAS) to a Government of Canada department.
The Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada is using the Responder services to conduct a series of wildlife and habitat surveys across the country.
‘We are very pleased to be awarded a contract through the Built in Canada Innovation Program,’ said Ian Glenn, CEO of ING Robotic Aviation. ‘And we are particularly happy to be working with Environment Canada on wildlife issues. It’s a long way from our military roots, and really shows how Canadians can turn military knowledge into useful activities that support our natural world.’
ING Robotic Aviation says it has already begun performing these contracted services with Environment Canada. Completed projects include the following:
- Endangered sage grouse habitat mapping in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan;
- Woody feature mapping in agricultural landscapes in Ottawa, Ontario;
- Invasive dog-strangling vine mapping in Prince Edward Point, Ontario; and
- Polar bear surveys in Churchill, Manitoba.
The next projects will be offshore waterbird surveys in Kitimat, British Columbia, and golden-winged warbler habitat mapping in Huntingdon, Quebec.
The BCIP program was initially created by the Government of Canada to help kick start businesses to get their innovative products and services from the lab to the marketplace. For ING Robotic Aviation, the company says, this is exactly what the program is providing.
