Our UAS Research

Full integration of UAS into the National Airspace System requires significant advancements in technologies and their uses, some of which are still emerging and require significant testing. We conduct cutting-edge research to meet the industry's needs and push the boundaries of previous limitations.

Counter UAS

Supporting North Dakota's UAS Detection and Counter UAS Task Force, the NPUASTS has assisted the development of Counter UAS Test Ranges locally and nationally. We have tested Air Domain Awareness technologies to evaluate system performance against different classes of UAS and work with UAS detection equipment such as radars, optical, acoustic, and radio frequency (RF) sensing.

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) expands UAS and UAV beyond personal transportation to include package delivery, urban operations, and short/long haul operations. We conduct and support programs that move AAM and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concepts forward, such as testing new aircraft designs for personal and cargo transportation concepts of operations.

Detect and Avoid (DAA)

A key component for BVLOS flights, Detect and Avoid (DAA) concepts and technologies consist of four main components: detect, track, evaluate, and maneuver (DTEM). We have supported research in each of these areas, from the beginning of the NPUASTS, developing processes for characterizing DAA sensors and defining test methods for DAA equipment.

Cooperative UAS Technologies

We have experience with Remote ID testing, including transmitting technologies with public service organizations and network capabilities within UAS Service Suppliers (USS) within a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) environment; Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication, and ADS-B equivalents for UAS.

Command and Control (C2)

We're testing Command and Control (C2) in both visual line of sight and beyond visual line of sight environments with point-to-point and networked solutions and different frequencies for functionality. We support the development of C2 standards through working groups.

UAS Traffic Management (UTM)

Our UTM research began in 2015 with NASA and continues to advance into an operational UTM system by working with the FAA and the Department of Defense. Through this process, we've also gained extensive experience in deploying and testing a wide variety of UAS Service Supplier (USS) functionalities, exploring ways to expand UTM concepts for commercial applications and nationwide scalability.

Talk to UAS Experts