UND and Northland Community and Technical College officials signed a formal agreement Monday to work closer together on unmanned aircraft system issues and, they say, improve the chances of attracting more federal funding.
“The agreement strengthens us as a region and allows us to create a ‘one-stop shop’ for UAS activities,” said Scott Fletcher, chief operating officer for aviation and UAS at Northland Tech.
With UND’s sensor application training and Northland Tech’s maintenance training programme, he said, “there’s nothing missing in our region in terms of UAS.”
“It extends our cooperation across state lines, and allows the two institutions to work together,” said Al Palmer, director of UND’s UAS center. “It will promote collaboration because we have different strengths.”
The government estimates that $94 billion will be spent on UAS in the next ten years, he said.
Differing strengths
Northland Tech offers the first UAS airframe and power plant mechanic degree programme in the United States, which it started in September at its Thief River Falls campus.
UND has received federal funding for UAS as the government explores the use of UAS in military defense and intelligence-gathering operations. North Dakota’s low population density makes it suitable for testing and operating UAS.
In addition to military uses, UAS presents potential for many civilian and commercial applications, including in the emergency services and meteorological areas, said Northland Tech President Anne Tempte. “These will probably eclipse what we’ve done in the military sphere.”
“We know, for example, that in agriculture, they’ll be using more of the kinds of sensors that are on the UAS,” she said. UAS technology could also be used in flood surveillance, search and rescue, law enforcement and firefighting, she said.
‘Unprecedented’
UND and Northland Tech have been working together for some time, but not as comprehensively as the new agreement allows.
“It is somewhat unprecedented for two institutions in two states to work together this way,” said Tempte. “I’ve been here for six years, and have been pleased by the warmth and enthusiasm that has been shown to us by UND.”
The presidents have been in talks for the past year, said UND President Robert Kelley. “It’s rare to see such cooperation among institutions with slightly different missions and entirely different states.”
Obtaining approval from both states was no small task, said Palmer. “We took it all the way to the governors’ offices. Everyone gave us a ‘thumbs up.’”
“State monies can’t cross state borders, but that doesn’t mean that federal monies can’t,” he said.
Source: Grand Forks Herald