{"id":5527,"date":"2012-03-28T14:42:52","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T19:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=5527"},"modified":"2012-03-29T08:38:35","modified_gmt":"2012-03-29T13:38:35","slug":"four-reasons-oklahoma-could-be-the-detroit-of-drone-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2012\/03\/28\/four-reasons-oklahoma-could-be-the-detroit-of-drone-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Reasons Oklahoma Could be the Detroit of Drone Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Provided \/ Design Intelligence Incorporated<\/p>\n

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James Grimsley designs intelligent machines that mimic nature.<\/p>

One of his projects looks like a bird. More importantly, it moves<\/em> like one. The black, winged apparatus is programmed to fly, observe, perch, wait \u2026<\/p>

\u2026 and explode.<\/p>

Drones are a booming business, and Oklahoma wants to pilot the controls.<\/p>\n

Technological innovation often starts with government research. Drones are no different.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Development of UAVs \u2014 short for unmanned aerial vehicles, the industry\u2019s less lethal-sounding term of choice \u2014 is growing in the United States and around the world.<\/p>

Part of that growth is in the vehicles themselves \u2014 the self- or remotely piloted planes, helicopters, zeppelins and crafts. But there\u2019s a lot of related business, including software, programming and communications equipment.<\/p>

While Washington, D.C. lawmakers wrestle<\/a> with reining in the U.S. defense budget, UAV research and development will likely be immune to cuts. In fact, Pentagon brass and the Obama administration have identified unmanned drones as a growing priority<\/a>.<\/p>

And drone technologies originally designed as war zone weaponry have a surprising array of non-military, civil and commercial uses, from pipeline inspection, data gathering and law enforcement to precision agriculture and storm tracking.<\/p>

For drones to be successful, civilly and commercially, they have to safely navigate skies already occupied by airplanes. And they must safely fly above cities and communities.<\/p>\n

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Joe Wertz \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n

James Grimsley, president and CEO of Design Intelligence Incorporated.<\/p>\n<\/div>

That will take a lot of testing, which is where Oklahoma fits in.<\/p>\n

1. Oklahoma is a \u2018Fly-Over State,’ and That Might be Good<\/h3>

The Federal Aviation Administration is looking for six test ranges to test UAVs and related systems.<\/p>\n

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Click here to read the FAA's proposal for six UAV test sites.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Oklahoma wants one of those test ranges to be created between the Clinton-Sherman Industrial Airpark \u2014 otherwise known as the Oklahoma Spaceport<\/a> \u2014\u00a0and Fort Sill in Lawton.<\/p>

One plus for Oklahoma is that its airspace is relatively uncluttered, says Grimsley, president and CEO of Norman\u2019s Design Intelligence Incorporated, a defense contractor. Grimsley is also one of 13 Oklahomans Gov. Mary Fallin appointed to the Unmanned Aerial Systems Council.<\/p>

Another plus, Grimsley says, is the Spaceport itself, which occupies a former Air Force base with a 13,000-foot runway,<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s an amazing asset,\u201d he says. \u201cEspecially as part of a test range.\u201d<\/p>

The FAA is in the process of gathering public comments<\/a> on the UAV test range plan, but agency spokesman Les Dorr says the timetable for picking the sites hasn\u2019t been finalized.<\/p>\n

2. Everyone is Working Together<\/h3>

Another plus for Oklahoma is the high level of cooperation between academics, businesses and the government, says Grimsley.<\/p>\n

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