RESEARCH LEADERSHIP IN SAFE USE OF DRONES IN DISASTERS AN IMPORTANT STEP FOR UAH Jerry Hendrix, RSESC director of Unmanned Aerial Systems Programs responsible for UAS research, is the principal investigator.
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AH’s leadership role in $1.1 million in research to provide insight into the safe integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into disaster preparedness and response is an important step in the evolution of UAS research at the university, says Dave Arterburn, director of UAH’s Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC).
aimed at continuing the safe and successful
The university received the funding as part of $3.3 million in research, education and training grants awarded to universities that comprise the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for UAS, also known as the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE).
ership among the team has been recognized,”
“This is an evolution in our growth as a leading university within the ASSURE team to meet the needs of the nation in terms of integrating UAS into the national airspace so they can be broadly used to the benefit of society,” says Arterburn, who since becoming RSESC director has developed the UAS research enterprise at the university. There are currently 1.65 million recreational and commercial drones in the active UAS fleet. That number is expected to grow to as high as 2.31 million by 2024. The ASSURE grants are 18
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integration of drones into the nation’s airspace. UAH joined the ASSURE team in May 2015 and has grown from a single project in 2015 to executing or completing over eight projects in support of the FAA UAS Center of Excellence. “We continue to submit projects and our leadArterburn says. In early 2019, Jerry Hendrix joined RSESC as the director of Unmanned Aerial Systems Programs responsible for UAS research. “Jerry Hendrix certainly fulfilled my vision of wanting to operationalize our research from the basic research tasks we have done and to continue in the areas of UAS ground and airborne collision,” Arterburn says. “ASSURE was just renewed for a second fiveyear effort for the FAA and we are excited about future projects that are planned,” Arterburn says. “UAH continues to grow our work within the greater Huntsville community and we have some exciting opportunities with our research partners outside of the FAA UAS Center of Excellence.”
