Drone Industrial Applications Training Program (DIATP)

Overview

The Drone Pilot Industrial Applications Course is designed to provide drone pilots with the advanced drone operator knowledge, skills, and tools to work in the Drone Industry. The course has 18 modules that cover photography, photogrammetry, videography, thermography, and laser radar (LiDAR) as well as computer skills, data processing and business development skills. The students will train on both the DJI M30T as well as the DJI Matrice 300 with the L1 Lidar camera and process data using state of the art, industry standard large data processing software.

Prerequisites

Highschool diploma or older than 19 years old
Must hold a current Advanced Drone Pilot Certificate

Inclusions

The course includes the DJI Matrice 30 T (DJI M30T) which is a state-of-the-Art commercial Enterprise drone with photo, video, and thermal capabilities.

Commitment and cost

Total Program = 212 hours online study material, 42 hours of self-study, 40 hours in person flight training and 12 hours of mission preparation training for a total of = 306 Hours (equivalent to 12-15 weeks of study)
$35,000 + tax (check out our funding opportunities)

Course dates

Online Training starts 30 March 2025
In-person flight training (Minimum 5 maximum 10 students) are currently scheduled as follows:
- Red Deer 12-16 July 2025
- Winnipeg 21-25 July 2025
- Ottawa 11-15 Aug 2025
- Halifax 15-19 Sept 2025
- *Additional dates subject to student numbers

Award

Canadian Drone Industrial Applications Certificate
The following micro credentials:
- DJI Matrice 30T Certified Operators Certificate
- DJI Matrice 300 Certified Operators Certificate
- Drone LIDAR Operator Certificate
- Drone Thermal Drone Applications Certificate
- Drone Photography Certificate
- Drone Photogrammetry Certificate
- Drone Videography Certificate
- BVLOS Certificate

Express Interest

DIATP - In Detail

Phase One - Online portion

There are 16 modules in the online portion and they must be completed prior to moving on to the in-person training portion of the course. Each module ends with a 60-minute open book exam that requires a minimum of an 80% pass mark to move onto the next module. This is in line with Transport Canada examination procedures.

Module 1

Course introduction and overview (2 hour online)

Module 2

Introduction to the Commercial Drone Sector and Industrial Applications Module (7 hours)

Including Transport Canada regulations pertaining to Commercial and Industrial Drone operations. (6 hours)
End of Module Test (1 Hour)

Module 3

Computer Skills Module (17 hours of online and practical work)

Basic computer skills (4 hours)
Advanced computer skills for drone work (4 hours)
- Data storage
- Data processing
- Software systems for photogrammetry, videography and Lidar data processing
Sample exercise (4 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 4

Data Processing Module (15 hours of online and practical work)

Basic data processing and storage (2 hours)
Intro to Data processing for large photogrammetry missions (2 hours)
Intro to Data processing of infrared/thermal data (2 hours)
Intro to Data Processing for Lidar (2 hours)
Transferring of large data files to the client (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 5

Photography / Photogrammetry Module (25 hours of online and practical work)

Photography fundamentals (4 hours)
Photography with drones (4 hours)
Photography sample data collection (2 hours)
Photography / Photogrammetry processing software and applications (4 hours)
Hands on photogrammetry exercise (6 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 6

Videography Module (15 hours of online and practical work)

Videography fundamentals (2 hours)
Videography with drones (2 hours)
Videography sample data collection (2 hours)
Video processing software and applications (2 hours)
Hands on videography exercise (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 7

LiDAR Module (19 hours of online and practical work)

Basic Lidar theory (4 hours)
Lidar Data (4 hours)
Lidar processing software and applications (2 hours)
Post processing Lidar products (4 hours)
- Wind turbine inspections
- Gravel pit volume determination
- Building/Bridge inspections
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 8

Thermography Module (19 hours of online and practical work)

Basic Thermal theory (6 hours)
Thermal Data (4 hours)
Post processing Thermal products (4 hours)
- Solar panel inspections
- Building heat loss inspections
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 9

Mission Planning for Industrial Missions Module (19 hours of online and practical
work)

Review of basic mission planning skills and requirements (2 hours)
Review of NAVDRONE and other mission planning applications (2 hours)
Advanced Mission planning (2 hours)
Mission Plan for Photogrammetry (3 hours)
Mission Planning for Videography (2 hours)
Mission Planning for Lidar Missions (3 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 10

Business Module (19 hours of online and practical work)

Starting a business (4 hours)
- Sole Proprietor
- Partnership
- Incorporation
- Benefits vs risks
Tax implications (By province) (4 hours)
Website development (2 hours)
Marketing (2 Hours)
Advertising (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 11

Drone Business Specifics (17 hours of online and practical work)

SOPs (2 hours)
Crew Resource Management (2 hours)
Flight Safety (2 hours)
Insurance (2 hour)
Invoicing (2 hour)
Conflict resolution (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 12

Satellite Navigation Theory (16 hours of online and practical work)

Basic Satellite Navigation Theory (4 hours)
GPS (1 hour)
GNSS (1 hour)
GLONASS (1 hour)
BeiDou (1 hour)
Galileo (1 hour)
Impact of losing one or all the systems and continuing to operate (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 13

Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations (20 hours of online and practical
work)

Introduction to BVLOS operations (2 hour)
Operator prerequisites (2 hour)
Building the SORA (6 hours)
BVLOS Pilot in Command (2 hours)
Power Management (1 hours)
SOPs requirements (2 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Exam (1 hour)

Module 14

Introduction to the DJI M30T Drone Module (26 hours of online and practical
work)

Drone and drone assembly (3 Hour)
Batteries and Power management (3 hour)
H20T Thermal Camera (3 hours)
L1 Lidar Camera (3 hours)
Basic flight handling (5 hours)
Mission Programming (4 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 15

Introduction to the DJI Matrice 300 Drone Module (27 hours of online and
practical work)

Drone and drone assembly (3 hour)
Batteries and Power management (3 hours)
H20T Thermal Camera (3 hours)
L1 Lidar Camera (3 hours)
P1 Camera (3 hour)
Basic flight handling (3 hour)
Mission Programming (4 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (4 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Module 16

Operational Pilot Certification 2025 (8 hours)

Info to be provided by VEdTS (5 hours)
Study time and practical exercise. (2 hours)
End of Module Test (1 hour)

Phase Two - In-person training portion

Module 1 7

Industrial Applications Module – 5-day Flight Training and data processing. (40 hours in Person training plus 12 hours of mission planning time each evening for a total of 52 hours)

(40 hours in person over five 8-hour days of flying, data collection and data processing lead by

VEdTS Instructors using the DJI M30T and DJI Matrice 300 with H20T Thermal camera, L1 Lidar

Camera and P1 photography camera)

Day 1 AM – Review of DJI M30T and Matrice 300 and accessories:

oBasic flying with M30T and Matrice 300 with various cameras; and,

oMission Planning for Advanced Industrial Applications Mission.

Day 1 PM – Basic and Advanced flying with the M30T and M300.

Day 1 Evening Assignment – Review advanced mission planning and consider mission for

end of course.

Day 2 AM – Photo and Video Data collection and then data processing.

Day 2 PM – Photogrammetry Data collection and then data processing.

Day 2 Evening Assignment – Process Photo, Video and Photogrammetry data collected.

Day 3 AM – Thermography data collection and then data processing.

Day 3 PM – Lidar data collection and then data processing.

Day 3 Evening Assignment – Process Thermal and LiDAR data collected and plan a

mission with Advanced Mission Planning knowledge.

Day 4 AM – Review of mission plan.

Day 4 PM – Execute an Advanced Industrial Applications Mission.

Day 4 Evening Assignment – Process the data collected for presentation on Day 5.

Day 5 AM – Present the results of your mission including post mission processing and

report.

Day 5 PM – Industrial Drone Applications Practicum / Visit to precision agriculture, fire department or police department (4 hours subject to availability in the training locations).

Module 18

Course Certificates presentation and Course Critique

Express Interest