On Saturday, May 5, at the 2018 North American Governors and Premiers Summit, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed a memo of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology.
“We are excited to build and strengthen economic relations with Nevada, especially in the growing unmanned system sector. This is a new opportunity to foster economic growth, innovation and diversification. Together, we can work to tackle challenges related to the safe integration of unmanned aerial systems into our airspaces, opening up significant commercial and industrial market opportunities in key sectors like energy, forestry, agriculture, and the environment,” said Premier Notley.
Alberta companies have strong expertise in unmanned systems development, including command and control systems, remote sensing, systems integration, robotics, global positioning and navigation. Alberta is also home to one of Canada’s two Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) test ranges: the Foremost UAS Range in southeastern Alberta. This is a permanent restricted airspace for the testing, evaluation, research and development of unmanned aerial systems.
Nevada is also highly regarded as global leader in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry and is anchored by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS), and home to one of six Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated UAV test sites. Nevada has successfully partnered with organizations like NASA to develop unmanned air traffic control management structures to safely integrate manned and unmanned aviation operations.
“Combining the considerable unmanned aerial system expertise of Nevada and Alberta offers significant potential for growth and innovation across numerous industries,” Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval said. “I am confident that as this collaboration develops it will serve as a gateway to even stronger economic and cultural ties for the benefit of all Albertans and Nevadans,” said Governor Sandoval.
The unmanned systems sector represents one of the most dynamic growth areas of the aerospace industry.
Source: Press Release