EBC Innovative Technology Program: Unmanned Aircraft Use in the Environmental and Energy Industry

Now established as a critical military technology, unmanned aircraft have emerged as a useful technology for commercial applications. Rapid advancements in “drone” technology have made this tool easily accessible for commercial use, particularly in the environmental and energy sectors. Surprisingly, nearly everyone who provides commercial unmanned aircraft services is doing it illegally and most of them don’t know it. This EBC program will provide a review of the status of Federal Aviation Administration regulatory concerns and an introductory look at ways this technology can be legally implemented in the environmental and energy industry until official regulations are in place.

The possible applications for unmanned aircraft/”drones” are limitless. Some examples:

• Water resource mapping
• Environmental Incident response
• Erosion control monitoring
• Solid waste management
• Landfill monitoring
• Air quality monitoring
• Pipeline infrastructure monitoring
• Photogrammetry and 3D modeling
• Geologic resource evaluation, including cut/fill volume estimation
• Land use monitoring
• Thermography and building envelope evaluation
• Agrochemical fate and transport

Continuing Education Certificates are awarded by the EBC for this program (3.5 training contact hours). Please select this option during registration if you wish to receive a certificate.

Articles of interest:

• UAV and GIS—An Emerging Dynamic Duo – esri.com
• Myth vs. Reality: Taking Project Photographs to New Heights – Terracon
• Drones’ Next Job: Construction Work – Wall Street Journal

Program Chair:

• James R. Gaynor, PG, GISP, GIS Manager, Terracon Consultants, Inc.

Speakers:

• Muriel Robinette, Senior Principal, Terracon Consultants, Inc.
• Jason Wise, GIS Technical Lead, Terracon Consultants, Inc.
• Christopher Poreda, FAA Regional Counsel, New England Region
• Frank Serna, President, New England Chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) & Board Member, Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR)
• Kristen Helsel, Vice President for Commercial Systems, CyPhy Works
• Cameron Shilling, Director & Chair of the Privacy and Data Security Group, McLane Law Firm