AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) is proud to share results from its Precision Avalanche Management System (PAMS) testing in collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Department of National Defence, Parks Canada, Transport Canada and Natural Resources Canada through the Innovative Solutions Canada program. The testing of the PAMS occurred in February and March 2026 in Jasper, Alberta, Canada.
The testing results from using a drone to support avalanche control work with dropping explosives not only demonstrated the operational benefits and potential use cases for avalanche professionals, but also the collaborative opportunities for Canadian-owned companies to commercialize their new intellectual property and technology with end users from the Government of Canada.
In February and March, AVSS traveled to Jasper National Park to conduct avalanche control with live explosives. The first set of tests demonstrated AVSS’s system and operational abilities of safely operating drones for avalanche control work. The second set of tests gathered key system and operational data to demonstrate the potential operational use cases of the technology. This avalanche control testing program also seems to be the first documented regulatory-approved use of drones for avalanche control work that involved dropping live explosives in Canada.
Testing from this program has demonstrated the potential value of drone technology and how it can be incorporated into existing avalanche control programs as a new tool to their existing safe operations. Findings from this testing included ideal drop heights, best practices for safe drone operations for avalanche control, regulatory approvals for drone avalanche control work, and validation in varying operational environments. Furthermore, use cases were explored where a drone can augment the existing operations. AVSS will be highlighting some of the lessons learned and features of the technology at the upcoming Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) conference in May in Penticton, B.C. As well, the findings from this initial testing program have provided AVSS with the ability to demonstrate a remotely controlled drop system and an automatic safe arming system, which does not arm the initiation system until the drone has reached a safe altitude from take-off, and reached a position within the drop radius of the target avalanche path.
The genesis of this technology is derived from AVSS’s guided delivery product line. However, unlike the guided parachute system, this does not include parachutes. The PAMS technology includes an aerial drop system integrated with a drone, a pull wire initiation system, and a sled housing that holds a traditional cast booster, which can be remotely dropped through the remote controller.
About ISC: Innovative Solutions Canada is an initiative designed to stimulate technology research, development, and commercialization of Canadian innovations. The program’s Challenge Stream and Testing Stream help startups and small/medium-sized businesses (SMEs) overcome technology testing and development hurdles so that they can produce globally-demanded products and services, while also improving government operations.
About AVSS: Founded in 2017, AVSS, a Canadian-owned company, started developing compliant safety products for commercial drones. These safety products are used worldwide and can be purchased from more than 70 partners. In 2020, AVSS expanded its product offerings with guided and unguided delivery systems. The delivery systems enable critical resupply when landing a drone, helicopter, or small airplane is not an option. In 2025, AVSS announced their newest innovation, the Precision Avalanche Management System (PAMS), for the proactive management and mitigation of avalanches. In 2026, AVSS introduced the Flying Beehive product line, which allows for air-launched FPV.
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AVSS has successfully completed the $1.1M contract that was rewarded in January 2022
with delivery and final demonstration completed in Ear Falls, Ontario with Transport
Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and 3 Points in Space Media in March 2022.
(New Brunswick, Canada) – AVSS, a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that develops
Parachute Recovery Systems (PRS), Flight Termination Systems (FTS), and Precision
Payload Delivery Systems (PPDS), is pleased to announce that all contract requirements for
the 100-unit PPDS order, PRS integrations, and product demonstrations were completed in
March 2022.
During the final phase of the contract, AVSS successfully demonstrated the performance of
the PRS-M300 with 100% of parachute deployments operating as intended under various
failure scenarios. For the PPDS, AVSS proved the flexibility of drop system with integration
into four different commercial drone platforms. Moreover, the PPDS landing accuracy was
demonstrated with 88.90% of all autonomous guided drops reaching within 15 meters of
the landing target.
The contract was awarded under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Canada (ISED) Testing Stream. AVSS is now pursuing the Pathway to Commercialization
stage, where other government organizations can purchase up to $8 Million of the PPDS
without procurement competition for three years.
“We are very happy with our teams’ performance to deliver the hardware units, completing
the integration tasks, and demonstrating the products in the harsh Canadian winter. We’ve
already received several integration requests and recently begun integrating this technology with key drone manufacturing partners. These partners are excited about how the PPDS can expand their drone platform’s capabilities in last-mile delivery and how it can be adapted to prevent uncontrolled parachute drift when used as a parachute recovery
system”, says Josh Boudreau, CTO of AVSS.
The PPDS is a dual-use technology that enables drones, helicopters, and small aeroplanes to deliver critical supplies to hard-to-reach destinations where landing and take-off of an aircraft is not ideal. This technology can be used for delivering medical kits for
Search and Rescue operations or Meal, Ready to Eat field rations to firefighters in wildfires.
ABOUT AVSS: AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) is a Canadian aerospace
company commercializing drone technology for Urban Air Mobility. AVSS’s current products
are ASTM F3322-18 parachute recovery systems for commercial drones, flight termination
systems, and precision payload delivery systems for last-mile delivery. AVSS’s Parachute
Recovery Systems (PRS) are distributed worldwide through their more than 50 authorized
dealer network and integrated directly to commercial drone manufacturers. The Precision
Payload Delivery System (PPDS) is an autonomous guided parachute system to deliver
mission-critical supplies to hard-to-reach locations.
AVSS is set to complete delivery and testing of the Payload Precision Delivery Systems (PPDS) and integration into four commercial drones in March 2022.
(New Brunswick, Canada) – AVSS, a Canadian aerospace manufacturer that develops parachute recovery systems, flight termination systems, and payload precision delivery systems, is pleased to announce they have been awarded a contract from the Government of Canada to test and evaluate the PPDS.
The contract was awarded under the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) Testing Stream. This program enables Canadian government organizations to test out Canadian innovations and evaluate the technology under their own operational settings. After testing, the program also features a direct sales option, Pathway to Commercialization, for other government organizations to purchase up to $8 Million of the PPDS without procurement competition for three years.
The PPDS is a dual-use technology that enables drones, helicopters, and small aeroplanes to deliver critical supplies to hard-to-reach destinations where landing and take-off of an aircraft are not ideal. The PPDS is capable of autonomously reaching within 3 meters of an
intended landing zone. This technology can be used for delivering medical kits for Search and Rescue operations or Meal, Ready to Eat field rations to firefighters in a Wildfire.
Transport Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, and 3 Points in Space Media will be testing and evaluating the PPDS for last-mile delivery in Northern Canada. The specific use case that is being evaluated is for drone delivery to a First Nation community that does not have
the expensive infrastructure for other types of drone delivery operations.
“AVSS has been developing this technology for several years and is excited to validate the system’s performance under harsh environmental conditions”, says Josh Ogden, CEO of AVSS. “When we began developing the PPDS’s autonomous guided system to prevent drone parachutes from drifting into traffic and trees, we realized that there was a major gap in the current Joint Precision Airdrop Systems (JPADS). This contract validates our assumptions and opens up a new market for our products.”
In addition to supplying 100 PPDS units in March, AVSS was also tasked with integrating the PPDS into four commercial drones. The integration into the DJI M300 RTK, DJI M600, Skyfront Perimeter 8, and Indro Wayfinder/FreeFly Systems Alta X were selected to
demonstrate the flexibility in adopting the PPDS.
For more information https://www.avss.co/
ABOUT AVSS: AVSS – Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions Inc. (AVSS) is a Canadian aerospace company commercializing drone technology for Urban Air Mobility. AVSS’s current products are ASTM F3322-18 parachute recovery systems for commercial drones, flight termination systems, and precision payload delivery systems for last-mile delivery. AVSS’s retrofit products are distributed worldwide through their more than 50 authorized dealer network and sold directly to drone manufacturers across the world.
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