University of Adelaide to offer drone piloting course

The University of Adelaide has become Australia's first university to gain accreditation to offer a course in professional drone piloting, in what has been described as a major step forward for commercial drone use in the country.

The university has announced it will offer an intensive, five-day course at a cost of 3,500 Australian dollars ($2,660), which will allow professionals to use the drones with greater freedom, opening up greater opportunities in filmmaking among other key industries, reports Xinhua news agency.

In an interview with Xinhua news agency on Tuesday, professor Lian Pin Koh from the University of Adelaide's Unmanned Research Aircraft Facility said while hobby drone pilots might not need a license to fly their machines, they are restricted in what they are allowed to do.

"For most people who want to fly a drone for recreation, they can learn to fly the aircraft themselves without needing a license," Koh said.

The professor said gaining the accreditation was a major step forward for not only the university, but the Australian drone landscape, and added that he never thought he would see the day his "frivolous" work with "toys" would become so meaningful.

The courses are set to begin in August.

--IANS

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