Good morning, and thank you for calling me to present before the committee.

My name is Hugh Liu. I'm a professor at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies. My own research expertise is in the area of aircraft systems and control. Regarding UAV-related research, I have made contributions in autonomous, unmanned systems development for formation flight and the co-operative control of a group of UAVs.

Our aim is to increase the UAV's scope, scalability, and flexibility by flying a number of UAVs together. For example, we have conducted successful research on wildfire monitoring in collaboration with Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, and we also have successfully demonstrated this through a few flight tests. We are collaborating with scientists in biology and geography for wetland inspections. As a result, we have seen great potential for UAVs in this emerging market.

In addition, I am a leading principal investigator of the collaborative research and training experience program, also called CREATE, on research and training with UAVs. This was awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, NSERC, back in 2015. As a result, I'm the director of the centre for aerial robotics research and education at the University of Toronto.

The program falls within the industrial stream and is a unique research and training opportunity, focused on UAVs, that will give our students, especially graduate students, the interdisciplinary research, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills needed to propel Canadian aerospace companies forward into a prosperous future in this field.

Our academic team of 11 faculty members from three universities, assembled for this program, brings the unique expertise of each member and collectively spans all key scientific and technological areas.

The strategic research training in UAVs will create a new interdisciplinary program that directly addresses the Canadian research priorities of information and communications technologies, as well as natural resources. We believe unmanned aerial vehicles hold great promise for applications as diverse as natural resource monitoring, infrastructure inspection, agriculture, mineral exploration, and so on. This is the most vibrant sector of the aerospace industry, and is growing very quickly.

Canada has a long history of leadership in aviation. We certainly hope, as academics, we can be a part of that and support the Canadian sectors and communities in developing a strategy for this emerging sector to keep our nation's interests and leading-edge advantage.

In terms of UAV regulations, it's important to maintain the aviation sector's rigorous policy and procedures to ensure safety and security are in place, yet keep an open mind so as to support the commercial applications of UAVs and to address the special features involving unmanned aerial vehicles.

It is important to identify different needs and requirements between commercial applications and consumer products, and establish separate and distinctive policies and guidelines accordingly.

Thank you.

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