Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/725667
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2016 17 YANNICK PACE THE widespread use of drones, particularly for recreational pur- poses, has prompted a number of pilot associations to voice safety concerns after a number of near misses in airports across the world. There is currently no law gov- erning the use of drones and both the government and the EU are in the process of drafting legisla- tion to regulate this sector. As the use of drones increases in popularity, a number of local pilots who spoke to this newspa- per were also keen to highlight the potential risks involved. "What concerns me is the fact that drone operators are not li- censed and so they have little knowledge of certain rules," said one commercial pilot who asked not to be named. "Meaning you can't be sure that they will stick to them." The rules say that flying a drone over or around an airport is not allowed unless permission has been granted beforehand. How- ever this is not common knowl- edge, added the commercial pilot, so it is not difficult to im- agine someone irresponsibly or inadvertently flying a drone into a prohibited area. "Having an exclusion zone is not enough," he said. "People need to have a good knowledge of the area. I would be less con- cerned by someone flying a drone over Gudja than I would be if it were over Birzebbuga because that's below one of the more fre- quently used landing paths into Malta." Another local pilot who also preferred to remain anonymous emphasised the importance of keeping drones out of restricted areas. "It's impossible to detect a drone other than by sight, mean- ing there are very few precau- tions one can take," he said. He said the biggest concern is the ease with which anyone can obtain and fly a drone. "Until recently one could be sure that anything that was flying was being manned by a trained individual and you could predict how they would react in certain situations. With a drone this is not the case." News Airline pilots uneasy about sharing skies with drones used by lecturers and students to experiment with technology as it becomes available. Silvio Mc Gurk, a lecturer spe- cialising in artificial intelligence, demonstrated the use of the chro- ma-key screen and explained that lecturers used to record brief lec- tures which can then be accessed by students. The screen and recording equip- ment is also utilised by students in the business department to get them used to being in front of a camera, being part of a panel dis- cussion or being interviewed once they get into business. Charles Theuma, founder and principal of Saint Martin's, said that the institute's computer de- partment was all about trying to link computer science to the crea- tive world. "But – because we know that we need to monetise any investment we make – we are trying to find how we can then go to market and sell these concepts," he said. The students undergoing studies in creative computing vary from young men and women just fin- ished with their post-secondary education to doctors and airline pilots. There seems to be no end in sight to how further creative comput- ing can take technology and other disciplines; many believe it will change the world as we know it. Malta, it seems, is turning out some exceptional projects and research that are leaving others in the field behind, making even professionals like Cooper wonder what else would come out of that well-equipped lab in Hamrun, where technology is harnessed and exploited, and education and instruction taken to new heights, but where it is creativity that rules supreme. Maggie Cooper, computing programmes director at the University of London's Goldsmiths College, says she is continuously amazed at the quality of Maltese students and the projects they turn in as part of their studies Drones cannot be flown over or around an airport unless permission has been granted beforehand