Chief executive Ian Taylor said the drone, imported from the United States last month, would be used to provide footage for Sky's coverage of the New Zealand Open at Queenstown's The Hills next month.
But that was just the start of the company's plans for the more than 10kg drone, with research under way aimed at using it to take 3-D scans of golf courses to help with the graphics it provided for sports coverage.
''We are in all sorts of discussions over how we might do that around the world,'' Mr Taylor said.
There was an opportunity in Asia where they were unable to use aerial mapping planes to scan courses and the technology could also be used to 3-D map cities - for example, tracking progress on the Christchurch rebuild.
They would carry out research using the drone, and the 4K ultra-high-definition camera mounted on it, on Dunedin's Balmacewen golf course.
The company's entry into New Zealand's fast emerging drone industry came as other companies had already led the way, with Raglan-based Aeronavics building ''some of the best drones in the world'', he said.
Auckland production company Reel Factory, which operated the similar sized drone which provided footage for Sky's cricket coverage, was another example of a New Zealand company leading the way.
Systems manager John Jenkins, who has used a 3-D printer to build parts so the camera could be mounted on the drone, said using a drone to develop 3-D models of golf courses or other locations would be both cheaper than using a helicopter and provide more flexibility and better shots.
Third-year Otago Polytechnic bachelor of information technology student Aaron McGrouther, a former bicycle mechanic, began flying drones for Animation Research after developing an interest in them while studying for his degree.
''I wanted to get the IT degree, but I was getting bored with not having my hands dirty and I saw a couple of these drone videos and thought I would get into it,'' Mr McGrouther said.
He began working with Animation Research last August, but had also sold drone footage to people selling rural real estate.
He hoped the company's drone vision came to fruition and he was able to fly the drone at golf courses around the world.
''I could think of worse things to do,'' he said.
