An overhead view of everything drones
Drone fair coming to UOIT Nov. 26 and 27
Those looking to learn more about unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, can come out to the Drone Fair at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Nov. 26 and 27.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
For the experts, the uninformed, or the curious, Nov. 26 and 27 will see UOIT host an event that will include almost everything there is to know about drones.
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) industry has exploded in recent years as the technology has moved from the military realm into the zone of the recreational. And while more than 4.3 million drones valued at $1.7 billion were sold worldwide in 2015, a misconception still exists about this technology says Steve Watts, the drone fair’s co-founder.
“When we first started out, even a year ago, there were a lot of negative connotations in the media about drones,” Watts says, adding most of that was fed by the use of UAVs by the military.
“It’s true, it’s unfortunate – however, that’s such a small percentage of what drones are actually being used for and what they’re going to be used for in the future,” he says. “So we wanted to make sure that message was clear.”
The drone fair – which has had two previous events in Vancouver and Calgary, and were both “overwhelmingly successful” according to Watts – will include drone races, a workshop on building drones and talks with industry experts and vendors.
“We wanted to incorporate everything, we wanted to incorporate the commercial side and the rec side, but we definitely wanted to concentrate on the positive applications of drone technology,” Watts says.
The theme of the event is Know Before you Fly, which aims at educating drone users about Transport Canada’s regulations about where you can and can’t fly your drone.
“This is an educational event. We want to teach everybody, we want people to ask questions, we want people to talk about where we should go,” Watts says.
The event, in partnership with the ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel, will also include a university drone build challenge, which will see students at UOIT compete against counterparts from Ryerson, University of Toronto and Humber College for a $2,500 scholarship.
Taking place inside the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., those interested are encouraged to register online before hand. Tickets for the event are $20 and can be purchased at dronefair.ca