Calgary researchers using high-tech drones to map Alberta First Nation

Researchers and students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are using sophisticated drones to digitally map Frog Lake First Nation.

The nation, about 260 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, has relied on paper and low-resolution digital maps that no longer represent the community, according to the research team. 

"Maps are incredibly dynamic. They change quite often," said Wade Hawkins, research chair with SAIT's Centre for Innovation and Research in Unmanned Systems.

"When you start to look at the quality of data that you can get and the accuracy using drone technology, it just adds a huge, huge amount of value."

To chart intricate details, researchers are using thermal cameras, which detect heat, and drones that shoot laser beams to the ground to measure elevation, said Hawkins. 

The three-year project is aimed at cataloging natural and human-made features, like buildings, forests and even underground pipelines. 

Data collected could help Frog Lake First Nation plan timber harvests, monitor environmental changes over time, and manage natural disaster risk, according to Hawkins.

"We get the height of the tree, we know the species of the tree," he said. "All that together can then help us to understand what is that wildfire risk."

SAIT has partnered with Saskatchewan Polytechnic for the project. 

The Calgary school is focused on gathering data from above, while Saskatchewan students and staff are working on data analysis.

Abdul Raouf, research chair of geospatial technologies at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, said much of the core technology used for this project isn't new, but new applications for geographic data are emerging. 

"It's becoming more accessible and more meaningful and more useful," he said. 

Nation members find new careers

Faculty from both institutions are training nation members to pilot advanced drones and analyze geographic information professionally.

Four people are now employed as drone technologists using their new skills, said Peter Quinney, Frog Lake First Nation's lands and resources manager.

"It creates, actually, not jobs, it creates a career," he said. 

Quinney said the nation has acquired thermal drones, which have already proved valuable in search and rescue operations. 

"We lost a young boy … using drone technology, we found the young man. After about 27 hours, we found him," he said.

A five-year-old boy was found alive a few kilometres from his home on Frog Lake First Nation in September 2023, after he had been missing overnight. 

The digital mapping database is expected to be complete in approximately two years.