It turns out that Utah is a pretty good place to start developing unmanned aerial systems – drones. In the future, they could be used for everything from delivering packages to looking through the smoke to fight forest fires. And the autonomous development of drones is also in our future.
These are drones that use artificial intelligence software that allows them to fly on their own without the help of a pilot on the ground.
One reason drone developers are active in Utah is the expansive landscape near the Dugway Proving Ground, which is good for flight tests. Military support is another reason drone companies are driving the technology in Utah. Utah Business Magazine reports that the military has endorsed several drone manufacturers and worked with local universities like BYU.
Shawn Milne, industry advocacy chair, Deseret UAS, says future autonomous drones in civil applications will owe much to their military predecessors. He says Utah has many advantages for drone developers, including proximity to software development and manufacturing lightweight composite structures.
According to Milne, Utah has also shown a willingness to help with complex legal and regulatory issues, such as: B. where autonomous drones are allowed to fly and how much noise they can cause.
In order for the autonomous drone industry to mature, according to Milne, drones must move away from current systems that require a single pilot on site to operate autonomously, either alone or with other drones to complete their missions.
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