ALMA, Quebec - Following the announcement of the project earlier in 2019, the construction of Qualia, Canada's first-ever Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), is well underway.
The Mayor of Alma, Marc Asselin, accompanied by the President of the UAS Centre of Excellence (CED), Alain Fortin, began the start of construction with a symbolic shovelful of earth at the Alma construction site in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (Quebec, Canada). "The RPAS industry is in constant evolution, with new companies being created every day. Regulations are constantly changing, and it is a challenge for most of them to stay abreast of current standards and regulations, hence the importance of a site like Qualia," explains CED's president, Alain Fortin.
Qualia, which will be operational in the spring of 2021, will be structured in three parts: a test site for R&D, a UAV academy offering training programs in sectors related to drones, such as maintenance, manufacturing, image and data analysis, operators of embedded systems, pilot training, systems engineers, etc., as well as a qualification center offering companies the possibility of obtaining a seal confirming their compliance with requirements in various sectors such as public safety, civil security, agriculture, forestry and mining; the oil and gas industry and hydroelectricity.
This project, valued at $2.4 million, will enable companies in the civil and commercial RPAS sector to validate, in real-life situations, their products and services as well as the results of R&D activities associated with the design of UAV systems.
"This reconstruction of various infrastructures, whose specifications and parameters were established in collaboration with the various industries, will allow companies to test their platforms, train their personnel and qualify their company in their field of expertise through 20 realistic scenarios," explains Mr. Fortin.
