Rosor is a near-surface geoscientific drone inspection company exploring the world to uncover the raw ingredients of tomorrow. Specializing in remotely piloted aircraft systems development and operations, they provide the tools and personnel to carry out mineral exploration projects and investigate for new potential mining sites. Rosor has an experienced team of engineers, technicians, pilots and geoscientists with a specific focus on high resolution near-surface remote systems.
Project Summary
The London International Airport (LIA) closed runway 09/27 for over six hours the morning of September 20, 2022 to allow faculty and students from the Norton Wolf School of Aviation and Aerospace Technology to conduct the first drone-based runway safety inspection at the airport.
The Challenge
Airports are required to frequently inspect runways to ensure the surface is free of cracks, potholes, debris or any other issue that could affect safety.
The project had two main goals: to provide a baseline condition assessment that can be compared to subsequent drone inspections and to demonstrate that crewed and uncrewed aircraft could operate safely in the same airspace by completing the inspection while runway 15/33 remained open to normal airport operations.
The aviation industry is still in the early stages of adopting drones to conduct these safety inspections. This is an exciting opportunity to get our students involved in an innovative practice.
The Solution
With the assistance of specialized equipment provided by Toronto-based drone inspection company, Rosor, the team methodically collected real-time, geo-referenced data from the 1.9-kilometre-long runway. Faculty and students used photogrammetry–the science of extracting 3D information from photographs–to identify and quantify any potential problems like cracks, buckled pavement or any other abnormalities.
We have keen interest in supporting the Fanshawe aviation programs, and their students, in all aspects of the aviation and aerospace industry. This will be the first time our runway will be inspected by drones using real-time data and we are eager to see the results. We expect drones to play a large role in the aviation industry in the future, in several capacities, and it is exciting to partner with Fanshawe for this unique opportunity.
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