Canada’s first remotely-piloted aviation training centre

In April 2023, SAIT announced the launch of Canada’s first remotely-piloted aviation training centre, which will specifically focus on training, certification, research and development for heavy-lift and beyond-visual-line-of-sight Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

Learn more about our remotely-piloted aviation training centre

Our fleet

The CIRUS team is equipped with the most advanced Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) and airborne sensors, survey gear, data processing and modelling software. Some of our RPAS systems and airborne sensors are the only ones in North America, which has made CIRUS the most advanced RPAS R&D center in North America.

Anavia HT-100 Switzerland

See our heavy lift unmanned aircraft

DJI M600 series

See our DJI Mavic drones

Wingtra One Gen II Switzerland

See our airborne sensors

Here's what we can offer you

At CIRUS, we use our wide range of skills and experience to develop solutions for client-specific challenges both within Canada and internationally. 

Customization 

No two clients have exactly the same problem to be solved, and each job requires a unique approach. 

Whether it's a custom mounting system - such as the one we developed for NASA's OPLS methane detector - or developing optimal workflows for use in an active mine environment, CIRUS tailors solutions to address specific industry challenges.

Unmanned vehicles, sensors and related equipment 

Common uses of UAS - such as surveying and mapping - are often the starting point for longer-term industry collaborations when partnering companies see the potential for unmanned systems to impact their bottom line.

Advanced sensors, including hyperspectral imagers, allow us to monitor the health of vegetation, while ground-penetrating radar is used in subsurface mapping and geological applications.

We're developing unique applications of UAS for methane detection to carry out surveys of oil and gas installations, such as along pipelines.

Validation and integration of data 

As a new technology, unmanned systems currently lack well-defined standards and protocols. Because of this, we are setting our own rigorous standards. Data collection starts with matching the best product to the problem - giving clients information which can be readily incorporated into their workflow.

Our service includes validating data quality, and providing information our clients can rely on.

Projects

At CIRUS, we're helping to expand the role unmanned systems play in data acquisition and management and create organizational efficiencies across various sectors and regulatory environments.

Working with our partners, we're addressing challenges, create efficiencies, and developing and testing new products and applications across a variety of industries. 

CIRUS + Imperial

SAIT partnered with Imperial to help implement unmanned systems at Imperial's Kearl site in northern Alberta. 

Watch the video to see how this collaboration leads the way in how unmanned systems can be used regularly to collect photography and supporting data to inform Imperial's Geoscience team on the site's geology while improving safety, sustainability, and operational efficiencies.

Delivering medical supplies to remote communities

Researchers at the University of Calgary, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) are partnering with the Stoney Nakoda Nations (SNN) to deliver medical equipment and test kits for COVID-19 to remote areas, and to connect these communities to laboratories more quickly using these remotely piloted aircraft.

Precision Cattle Ranching 

With the use of UAV technology, thermal and RGB cameras, an RFID reader and LIDAR unit, cattle ranchers will be able to track their cattle from a remote location automatically. By identifying animals and reading their tags quickly, the data transferred is instantaneous and reduces time spent manually tracking individual animals.