There is a very good reason why experts in the drone industry have always strived to ram home the fact that aerial data collection using drone technology can only be good if a proper professional is behind the controls on that remote thingy.
Because; just being a drone pilot in and of itself is not a critical skill that the industry needs; just like having a driver’s licence is not the first quality recruiters in various industry seek in their search for talent.
A drone pilot without a proper background in photojournalism will be useless in taking usable images or videos from the air using a drone; just as they will surely struggle on which data to collect when inspecting a bridge, a cell tower or electricity pylon.
Somebody should have told this to the Canadian women’s football team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, before the July 22 cheating scandal that has seen them being docked six points and no hope of progressing to the next round of games.
To our mind, the first thing that the team needed was a proper grounding in the true Olympic Spirit, which aims "to build a peaceful and better world in the Olympic Spirit which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play – Olympic Spirit strives to inspire and motivate the youth of the world to be the best they can be through educational and entertaining interactive challenges. Olympic Spirit seeks to instil and develop the values and ideals of Olympism in those who visit and to promote tolerance and understanding in these increasingly troubled times in which we live, to make our world a more peaceful place."
Either that or – if they really, really, really had to cheat – they needed Batman himself behind the controls of the drone that was caught red handed hovering over the New Zealand counterparts’ training facilities. Sherlock Holmes. Columbo. James Bond 007. Hercule Poirot. Nancy Drew.
Anyone with a modicum of sleuthing skill. Anyone but the Joseph Lombardi guy who did himself the disgrace of getting caught working the remote control, after the French Police responded to a complaint from the New Zealand team that they could see a drone flying above them as they trained.
Not once too; but twice.
Investigations by the Canadian Olympic Committee revealed that the July 22 incident was the second time in which the drone was deployed to spy on New Zealand tactics, as the latter were set to face Canada in their opening group match in St Etienne.
Canada won the match 2-1.
So far, the scandal has had a debilitating impact on Canada’s quest to defend the Olympic crown they won at the Tokyo/Seoul games in 2021; with the team being docked 6 points and fined about $345,000 "for failing to respect the applicable FIFA regulations in connection with its failure to ensure the compliance of its participating officials of the Olympic Football Tournament with the prohibition on flying drones over any training sites".
Lombardi, an “unaccredited” analyst with Canada soccer was immediately send home, as was assistant coach Jasmine Mander, to whom Lombardi was said to have reported his ill-gotten findings.
The head coach Bev Priestman then remove herself from her post, leaving the team reeling. Which was just as well, because FIFA banned her and her two assistants from all football-related activity for at least a year anyway.
Canada Soccer has said they are exploring their options around appealing one part of FIFA's decision.
"We feel terrible for the athletes on the Canadian Women's Olympic Soccer Team who, as far as we understand, played no role in this matter," Canada Olympic Committee Chief Executive, David Shoemaker said in a statement on Sunday.
"In support of the athletes, together with Canada Soccer, we are exploring rights of appeal related to the six-point deduction at this Olympic tournament."
While Canada could successfully appeal their Paris points deduction, the bans and fines are unlikely to be overturned after reports emerged that the use of drones to spy on opponents has been occurring for years across multiple senior and youth programs, with unnamed former officials claiming they were pressured by management to participate or risk losing their jobs.