A Message from the Innovator
World Record Holder in Vertical & Aerial Rescue
“Innovation begins where convention ends.
Throughout my career, I have challenged established methods in vertical access, aerial rescue and emergency response — not simply to go higher, farther or faster, but to discover better ways to save lives.
As a World Record Holder in the vertical and aerial rescue field, I have spent decades working at the limits of human capability and technology. In 2003, I became the first person to work at the top of the world’s tallest freestanding structure, an experience that further shaped my approach to extreme access, safety and rescue.
But records are only milestones.
The real purpose of innovation is to transform experience into knowledge, knowledge into technology, and technology into capabilities that can be used by the next generation of rescuers.
This philosophy has guided my work from extreme vertical access and helicopter rope operations to aerial rescue, drones, communications, simulation, artificial intelligence and robotics.
I have also explored entirely new ways of approaching aerial rescue — including becoming the first person to fly with a drone as part of an aerial-rescue concept, opening a new direction in the relationship between the rescuer, the aircraft and emerging unmanned technologies.
That is the spirit behind D.R.A.W. Workshop and the broader vision that has evolved from it: creating a place where unconventional ideas can be explored, tested and transformed into practical solutions.
Today, this vision continues through the development of the Rescuer of the Future — a new generation of rescue capability in which human expertise works together with aviation, drones, AI, robotics, advanced communications, simulation and intelligent systems.
The objective is not to replace the rescuer with technology.
It is to give the rescuer better eyes, better information, better tools and new ways to reach people when conventional methods are no longer enough.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of sharing ideas with professionals, innovators, manufacturers and rescue specialists from around the world, including through Dubai Helishow in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and Intersec, one of the world’s major exhibitions for safety, security and fire protection.
Those encounters reinforced something I have believed throughout my work:
There is always another possibility to explore.
Today, I invite rescuers, engineers, researchers, aviation professionals, technology developers and innovators to contribute their knowledge, ideas and experience.
Because the future of rescue will not be created by one person, one organisation or one technology.
It will be created by people who are willing to challenge convention — and then turn new ideas into reality.
Sincerely,
Ivan Kristoff”
D.R.A.W. THE FUTURE · 2026
Drone Raw Access Workshop
From helicopter external-load operations to human–drone aerial rescue.
In 2026, D.R.A.W. evolved from the Class-D Rope Access Workshop concept into an experimental Drone Raw Access Workshop.
Using a DJI FlyCart 100, we progressed from aerial transportation of light motorized equipment to robotic and human-load testing, including experimental operations with a 115 kg human payload at significant height above the five-storey Smart Home-Office of the Rescuer of the Future.
The objective was not a demonstration of maximum capability, but an exploration of risk, operational limits, human factors and future applications of heavy-lift drones in aerial rescue.
From helicopter.
To drone.
From equipment.
To robot.
From robot.
To rescuer.
D.R.A.W. THE FUTURE — exploring the next generation of aerial access and rescue.
FROM REAL-WORLD INCIDENT TO RESCUE INNOVATION
TV News: Fire crews rescue building maintenance workers trapped on a suspended platform swinging dangerously in high winds in downtown Edmonton, Canada.
What if there were alternative ways to access and assist them?
Watch 1:14–1:50 in this video to see the proposed solutions
In 2026, we will introduce a new concept for rope access work and the Enhanced Rope Access Tech.
– Ivan Kristoff
DRAFT VERSION:
0800 – 0900 Registration & Networking
0900 – Chairman’s Opening Address
0910 – Welcome & Opening Address
0930 – Keynote Address
Session One – Specialized Helicopter and Emergency Air Rescue Training – H.E.A.R.T.
1000 – New Initiatives in the Helicopter Industry – Speaker Ivan Kristoff, Founder of HEART, Canada
1020 – 1050 Refreshment Break & Networking
1050 – Creating a Highrise Emergency and Aerial Rescue Team (H.E.A.R.T.)
1110 – Innovative Applications and Technology for Helicopter Rappelling Operations
Session Two – Training Emergency Responders
1130 – Case studies of critical situations during helicopter rappelling training sessions
1150 – Aerial video and photo monitoring – Ivan Kristoff
1210 – Preparing for worst case scenarios
1230 – Question & Answer Session
1245 – 1415 Buffet Lunch & Networking
Session Three – Emergency Aerial Response
1415 – Civil and Military Air Medical Evacuation – H.E.A.R.T. Program
1425 – Bulgaria – the Challenge & the Need for Aerial Support – Ivan Kristoff
1445 – The New Rescue Challenges – Highrise Emergency Aerial Response – Joint presentation by Ivan Kristoff and invited guest speakers
1505 – 1530 Refreshment Break & Networking
Session Four – Various Military and Police Air Wing Training Programs
1530 – The International Vertical Access Network’s Case Study Concerning Critical situations caused by participants in helicopter training exercises – Speaker Ivan Kristoff, Founder of I.V.A.N., Bulgaria
1550 – Various Police Air Wing Training Programs
Session Five – Special Air Surveillance
1630 – Defending the border of the European Union
1700 – Showcasing the use of an advanced range of dedicated mission equipment for Air Surveillance – S.A.S. Units