OSU signs international MOU focused on unmanned aerial systems

Monday, October 8, 2012

Oklahoma State University has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Unmanned Aerial System Center of Excellence in Alma, Quebec, Canada. Through this agreement, both parties have expressed their intent to collaborate in the development of unmanned vehicle systems and most specifically in the integration of unmanned aerial systems in the North American and international airspace.

The UAS development efforts will be led by the not-for-profit University Multispectral Laboratories, a nationally regarded research and development institution operated by Triton Scientific, LLC on behalf of Oklahoma State University. The parties will cooperate and conduct technical, engineering, scientific, testing and evaluation activities using the independently owned and operated facilities. They will mutually develop processes and methodologies to understand and meet the needs of future UAS technologies. The parties also will work together to defend and advocate for UAS sector issues and interests with government authorities in each province/state, the federal government and their agencies/ministries and departments.

"This agreement will expose OSU students to international collaborations in the UAS sector and will continue to prepare them to succeed in an industry that has not just national but international reach," said Dr. Stephen McKeever, OSU's vice president for research and technology transfer and executive director of the OSU-UML. "UAS has quickly emerged as one of the fastest growing industries not just in Oklahoma but around the globe, and this agreement serves as further evidence of OSU and Oklahoma's position as a leader in this area."

The agreement complements the latest efforts between the American and Canadian governments as described under the United-States – Canada Regulatory Cooperation Council – Joint Action Plan, released in December 2011. In this plan, both countries have agreed to establish a mechanism to share experiences on regulations related to UAS with a view to align regulatory approaches.

OSU has the first (and currently only) UAS degree option at the graduate level in the nation. The option provides students with a recognized emphasis in instruction and research and supplies them with hands-on analysis, design, construction and flight testing of UAS platforms. The program is currently the only recognized one in the world that focuses on engineering at the advanced level.