Techno-Commercial Pre-feasibility Study on the Deployment of Drone Solutions in Mining Context
The brief
In the fall of 2020, Innovitech was tasked by the Drone Excellence Cluster to conduct a vigilance and prospective analysis study of the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) sector.
The study shed light on the essential trends, developments, opportunities, and dynamics associated with the use of drones in real and commercial environments, with a particular focus on the mining sector. Following this analysis, ARA Robotics commissioned Innovitech to continue its work by conducting a pre-feasibility study, addressing both the technical and commercial aspects of integrating drones into the mining industry.
Client
Ara Robotique
The results
Actions undertaken by Innovitech include:
- Identifying mines in Quebec and prioritizing potential use cases;
- Validating on-field current and future needs of this clientele;
- Qualifying and quantifying efforts, including necessary resources and equipment, to deploy the solution to an end user, specifically an open-pit mine;
- Analyzing and proposing recommendations regarding the commercialization aspects of the solution, encompassing various possible business models such as co-development, product/service sales, licensing, distributors, manufacturing agents, etc.;
- Synthesizing obtained information into a market penetration strategy, highlighting use cases and primary modalities.
ARA Robotics extended Innovitech’s mandate to provide support in preparing a mobilizing project dossier to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation (MEI), aiming to explore the opportunity of deploying drone solutions in the mining context.
Today, this vision is taking shape for the first time with the deployment of the ODAS® solution at ArcelorMittal’s Mont-Wright mining complex, a project delivered by our partner ARA Robotique. This achievement highlights the potential of drones to revolutionize industries as demanding as the mining sector.
Learn more about the ODAS® solution: https://www.ara-uas.com/odas-on-demand-aerial-surveys