Grand Forks Hosts Nation’s Largest UAS Innovation CenteR

By Bruce Gjovig

The University of North Dakota Center for Innovation Foundation’s technology incubator is home to 26 unmanned aerial systems-related companies, mostly entrepreneurs or international companies working to establish themselves in the emerging marketplace as national airspace opens up for UAS operations. This new industry cluster will diversify and grow the state’s economy.

The UAS technology incubator is larger than any other accelerator, incubator or entrepreneur center in the nation. There certainly will be more UAS entrepreneurs as the state becomes a growing national hotspot for UAS entrepreneur activity, especially in conjunction with the nation’s first drone business park, Grand Sky, the Federal Aviation Administration Test Site, and the critical talent provided by the UAS majors at UND.

The state’s first Small Business Administration Accelerator Growth grant was secured by the Center of Innovation Foundation to launch the Autonomous Alley initiative. The initiative helps UAS entrepreneurs access capital and venture development assistance, network with UAS industry experts and secure customers. Dan Daffinrud, chief financial officer for SkySkopes, leads the initiative.

SkySkopes is a UAS flight service startup located in the tech incubator. It was the first North Dakota startup approved by the FAA to fly unmanned aircraft for business purposes, and has grown to more than 16 certified pilots from the UAS program at UND. It flies its fleet of 24 aircraft for industrial inspection, security, precision agriculture, training certification and other uses. It has flown over 300 successful missions in 2016, more than any other company in North Dakota.

A year ago, Tero Heinonen, founder and CEO of Sharper Shape, decided to make Grand Forks his North American headquarters after looking at several locations. Heinonen is a serial entrepreneurial and experienced startup executive with a successful track record from co-founding five technology companies in Finland.

Sharper Shape is a global leader in drone-based automated inspection and maintenance planning services for the energy industry. Its Sharper A6 is the world’s most advanced drone for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) asset inspections. Using its Sharperscope 5.0 multi-sensor system and proprietary automated analysis software, the company provides asset inspection services that drastically reduce maintenance costs for high-value assets such as power lines, pipelines and railways.

Sharper Shape teamed up with the Edison Electric Institute to conduct several demonstrations of commercial inspection services based on long-distance

Bruce Gjovig CEO AND ENTREPRENEUR COACH UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA CENTER FOR INNOVATION FOUNDATION GRAND FORKS 701.777.3132 BRUCE@INNOVATORS.NET

drone flights. With one of the first BVLOS waiver requests, Sharper Shape and SkySkopes are working with Xcel Energy, Montana-Dakota Utilities, Minnkota Power Cooperative, Houston Engineering, Northern Plains Railroad, UND and the Edison Electric Institute to conduct test flights.

Another international UAS firm chose to locate at the tech incubator last summer. Founded in 2008, Robot Aviation manufactures fixed-wing unmanned aircraft and unmanned helicopters primarily for the civilian markets. The product most likely to spur collaboration with other UAS and sensor companies is an autopilot computer program, which can be adapted to numerous aircraft systems. The founders of Robot Aviation have been at the forefront of commercial drone technology in Norway with nearly 20 years of experience in developing and operating advanced UAS for defense, government and the private sectors.

Bjorn Forsdal, president of Robot Aviation USA, cited the expertise of other UAS-focused companies, abundance of UAS pilots, the UAS test site and open airspace as attributes that make the state an attractive place to set up a North American headquarters. Robot Aviation is partnering with SkySkopes to collect thermal and infrared data in a series of test flights around the country.

Tommy Kenville, founder of Unmanned Applications Institute International, operates the longest operating UAS startup in the state, which was launched in 2010 as the first institute for research, testing and consulting in the UAS industry. The North Dakota Airspace Integration Team was Kenville’s idea. The group acts as the interface between the state and the FAA on UAS integration into the National Aerospace System. Kenville developed the list of industry experts to participate on the team and created the “one voice” concept, which led to North Dakota having the nation’s first designated FAA UAS test site. He remains optimistic for significant growth in the UAS industry in North Dakota led by UAS entrepreneurs. PB