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Projects

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) / Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAV) for Public Safety Applications (RULETC)

UAVs/MAVs have been used in military applications for a few years; however, the cost of these devices as well as the level of complexity for operation has caused the public safety community to be excluded. While existing commercialized components exist, no inexpensive turn key solutions are currently available. For example, a well-known company, Micropilot, develops and advanced auto-pilot feature, but does not feature a surveillance component. However, the advances in technological research by engineering programs within universities have lowered the cost of these devices making it feasible for use by law enforcement and corrections.

Based upon this information, JSC, working in conjunction with both Brigham Young University (BYU – Provo, Utah) and the University of Florida (UF – Gainesville, Florida), will evaluate the applicability and potential benefit of current Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) for public safety applications. Although many universities purportedly conduct research in this area, two universities – Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Florida (UF), have consistently excelled in National Micro Aerial Vehicle Competitions over the last seven years. These annual competitions assemble teams from several universities, which compete in the areas of surveillance, endurance and technical paper development. Verbal commitments have been made by both universities on their willingness to participate in this pilot test.

For more information, visit Brigham Young University, the University of Arizona, or the University of Florida. For more JSC information, contact Ryan Baggett at 859.622.8261 or at Ryan.Baggett@eku.edu.