the FAA will be selecting in the coming months – both because of our aerospace industry in the state and because we are already researching, developing and testing all areas of the UAS industry: the vehicles (planes), the payloads/sensors (cameras, IR, weather radar, etc.), the communication/avionics/electronics/ navigation equipment, the ground station equipment, the testing resources and equipment (flight and ground), and training and education for UAS engineers, pilots, payload operators, maintenance personnel, etc. We have 14 companies in the state that are already specifically focused on the UAS industry. We are also set apart for two other major UAS resources. First, through OSU’s University Multispectral Laboratories, we have our UAS flight test facility in Lawton, where we have been flying and testing UAVs and their payloads and sensors for two years, under a unique agreement with Fort Sill to use a section of its military restricted airspace exclusively for UAS flight testing. Second, at OSU, we have the first UAS graduate program in the nation, contributing to research and development on UAVs. Finally, we are set apart because we are taking a statewide approach to developing the UAS industry in Oklahoma. In August 2011, Gov. Fallin created the Oklahoma UAS Advisory Council to help develop the UAS industry. This council is chaired by Stephen McKeever, the VP for Research at OSU, and has members from OSU, OU, state agencies and private companies. Having a statewide approach means Oklahoma can bring all our resources – public and private – to bear to effectively grow our UAS industry and be competitive to attract companies and federal agencies to test, invest and grow here in the future. In what ways do the educational and research capabilities available at OSU support the statewide UAS initiative? OSU is a critical part of the growth of the UAS industry in Oklahoma. In the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering School, students have been designing and building UAVs for years, flying
them under radio-controlled aircraft rules. Now the department has added the first graduate option in UAS in the country, enrolling the first 20 graduate students in January 2012. These graduate students and their faculty will be researching, developing and testing new UAV aircraft that will support the UAS industry in the state and make us even more competitive for selection as an FAA national UAS test range. Oklahoma was recently selected by the Department of Homeland Security as a test site for the DHS Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS) Program. What does this selection mean for the state? This was a huge plus for Oklahoma and our UAS industry. Being selected by a federal agency to test UAVs and be its single test location in the entire nation is an indication of the capability and expertise Oklahoma has in the UAS industry. It has garnered Oklahoma great publicity – as indicated by the number of other states that came by the Oklahoma booth at the North American Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Las Vegas in August 2012 to see how we are being so successful in the UAS industry and why we were selected by DHS as its test site. As you alluded to, the state is moving forward with a proposal to the Federal Aviation Administration to become an FAA-approved test range for UAS. What is this program and why is it important? Will there be an impact for OSU, if selected? The FAA has been mandated by Congress to integrate UAS into the national airspace by 2015. As part of that mandate, it is required to select six UAS test ranges nationally this year to test and validate UAS vehicles, flight regulations, and safety procedures (senseand-avoid technology, lost link procedures, etc.). The FAA is also required to consult with the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security and NASA as part of this process. This selection is important because the six test ranges will be the focus for federal
agencies and private companies to develop vehicles, sensors, payloads, etc., in preparation for the rapid expansion of the industry across the U.S. after 2015. If companies come to Oklahoma to research, test and develop UAS on our test range, they will also be more likely to locate here for future research, development and manufacturing – bringing high-tech jobs and growth to Oklahoma. There is an important role for OSU and other research universities in the state if selected. Federal agencies and private companies that come to Oklahoma to test vehicles and systems at our test range will also be looking for research partners to help them develop and improve their vehicles, systems and technology. We have already seen how major companies select expansion locations based on the potential university research collaboration that will help them develop new technology and products for their company. As an example, ASCO, a Belgian aerospace company, recently selected Stillwater as a North American expansion location, both because of our state’s expertise and support to aerospace companies, but also because of the research support and partnering that OSU could provide to them. While ASCO is not specifically a UAS company, it is an example of how aerospace growth is dependent on research university support, and in the future, aerospace growth will be strongly focused on the UAS industry.
Dave Wagie supports the state’s aerospace and defense economic development strategy by connecting universities, government and industry to expand existing Oklahoma businesses, attract new businesses to the state and support enterprise creation in aerospace and defense. In addition, he serves on Gov. Mary Fallin’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Advisory Council.
Research at Oklahoma State University • www.research.okstate.edu
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