The Scotland rugby team has been taking advantage of technology pioneered by club and community rugby sponsor, Scottish Hydro, and their partners at technology firm, Cyberhawk Innovations, to offer a groundbreaking perspective on preparations for this weekend’s 6 Nations opener against France at Murrayfield. The flying Cyberhawk drones, nicknamed ‘The Flying Scot’ after Scotland’s joint record try-scorer, Ian Smith, are kept stable by eight independent rotor-blades, managed by an on-board GPS. The Scotland rugby team has been taking advantage of technology pioneered by club and community rugby sponsor, Scottish Hydro, and their partners at technology firm, Cyberhawk Innovations, to offer a groundbreaking perspective on preparations for this weekend’s 6 Nations opener against France at Murrayfield. The flying Cyberhawk drones, nicknamed ‘The Flying Scot’ after Scotland’s joint record try-scorer, Ian Smith, are kept stable by eight independent rotor-blades, managed by an on-board GPS. The units are fitted with video equipment capable of relaying live action and still images to the team’s coaches and video analysts from up to 300m above the training ground, or from directly behind the players themselves, to offer a player’s view of the action. Speaking from the squad camp at St Andrews, Scotland attack coach, Gregor Townsend, said: “So far preparation for the RBS 6 Nations has gone very well, with every effort made to ensure the players have the best chance to perform in this season’s championship, which is why the opportunity to use ‘The Flying Scot’ has been so well received.” The remote controlled drones were originally used by Scottish Hydro as a safe way to inspect overhead power lines but, keen to offer every avenue to the national team, they recognised the potential for the technology to assist with RBS 6 Nations preparations. RBS 6 NATIONS – SCOTLAND V FRANCELess than 7000 tickets remain to see Scotland take on France on Sunday 7 February, at Murrayfield kick-off 3pm. Tickets can be purchased in person, from the Scottish Rugby Ticket Centre on Roseburn Street, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm; via the 24-hour hotline on 0844 335 3933 or online at www.scottishrugby.org There are no ticket sales on match day and no public car parking at Murrayfield Stadium.Scotland video analyst, Gavin Scott, added: “The Cyberhawk technology has a lot of potential so we’re delighted to have this kind of support from sponsors across the business. “Viewing the game from above is of huge benefit because it gives you both the breadth of the defensive line but also the space between the attack and defence – so we can gather an awful lot of information from just one piece of footage.”Hovering close to the action also allows us to view the players’ perspective on the action which is something you simply can’t get from a camera on the sideline.” Douglas Flowers, Sponsorship Manager at Scottish Hydro, added: “Scottish Hydro is proud to support Scottish Rugby and this is just one of the innovative ways in which we’ve been able to improve the prospects of the game in Scotland. “Everyone across Scotland will be willing the team onto RBS 6 Nations success over the coming weeks and we’re delighted that this new technology can be of assistance to Andy Robinson and his team as they aim for a successful campaign.” Douglas Walker, of Cyberhawk Innovations, agreed: “It’s amazing to see our technology being used in this way. As a proud Scot myself, I’m delighted if we can assist Andy Robinson and the boys.” Scottish Hydro is the National Sponsor of Scottish Community Rugby. Their support includes investment in the Scottish Hydro Premier, National and Regional Leagues, the Premier Cup, National Shield and Regional Bowl, the Kit for Development Scheme, The Club of the Month scheme, and the Club Facilities Fund. Cyberhawk Innovations are an inspection company specialising in aerial inspection of       overhead lines, pipelines, flare stacks and industrial plant. Scottish Hydro is part of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE), one of the UK’s leading energy companies. SSE is involved in the generation, distribution and supply of electricity and in the storage, distribution and supply of gas. It supplies energy to over nine million customers throughout the UK, is independently recognised as the best energy supplier for customer service and is the UK’s leading generator of electricity from renewable sources. SSE supplies over nine million customers through its retail brands: Southern Electric, SWALEC, Scottish Hydro Electric and Atlantic. SSE distributes electricity to over 3.5 million properties in northern Scotland and central southern England via 127,000km of overhead lines and underground cables. SSE is the UK’s largest non-nuclear electricity generator with over 11,000 megawatts of capacity from the most diverse portfolio of power stations. It is also the leading generator of electricity from renewable resources. Through Airtricity, its renewable development division, it is involved in the development of new renewable energy projects covering wind, wave, tide, and hydro electricity.