Due in part to work being done with NC State’s NextGen Air Transportation institute, drones may soon be part of people’s everyday lives, according to Kyle Snyder, the director of NGAT.

Since the institute came to NC State’s Centennial Campus in 2012, the university has been home to the state’s only agency approved to fly unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as drones. UAVs are small aircrafts, piloted from the ground using a remote control. 

These UAVs are now being used for more than recreational purposes and can be beneficial to areas of agriculture and forestry in North Carolina.

For NC State, this technology could be applied to both agriculture and the forestry departments. 

“This technology could be used for forest and land surveying, looking at crop health, and aerial applications of crop dusting,” Snyder said.

NGAT, which was formed in 2008, has since paired itself with companies such as Trimble Navigation to create a place within North Carolina where further drone research and testing can occur. 

NGAT’s goal is to prepare North Carolina for the future of modern transportation and become more technologically advanced in the area of UAVs, according to Snyder.

Currently, NGAT is performing tests with these flight systems in order to see the possible applications of UAVs.

On January 29,  NGAT performed a flight demonstration of the UX5 fixed wing UAV at Lake Wheeler. This UAV was donated by Trimble Navigation to show the benefits of flying UAVs. 

During its flight, the lightweight UAV took aerial photographs of Lake Wheeler and the surrounding land. The flight demonstrated the functionality of this aircraft and showed how a UAV is able to be safely controlled, according to Snyder. 

Being able to send an aircraft that can be carried in hand on a surveying mission rather than a full-sized plane is much more efficient and effective, according to Snyder. 

Surveying missions are not the only uses for UAVs, however, and in the future UAVs could be used to take photographs of personal events such as weddings, Snyder said. 

“It’s probably cheaper to send a UAV up rather than a plane because of fuel and other costs. Also I think with a UAV less things could go wrong. A UAV would limit the risks involved,” said Elise Volger, a junior studying business administration.

A primary concern of NGAT is to ensure that all UAVs are flown safely and within the FAA’s regulations. Another goal is to push the field of UAVs further so that they can be flown safely, according to the FAA’s rules and regulations, across the entire state of North Carolina. 

UAV technology is still new, and as such, will require more testing in the future before it can be used on a broader scale. NGAT is spearheading this technology in North Carolina and is hopeful that in the future UAVs will be a welcome sight. 

“It is exciting to things changing this quickly in the area of UAVs,” Snyder said. “We want to continue to work with UAV technology and grow this technology within the state and at NCSU.”