Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from Daytona Beach, Florida has been awarded a contract to assist in the development of curriculum and online training for small Uncrewed Aerial Systems (sUAS) operators for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Office of Aviation, reports a press release.
Founded in 1926, Embry–Riddle is a private university and today specialises in aviation and aerospace programs. Apart from Daytona, its other campus is located in Prescott, Arizona.
Dr. Scott Burgess, Associate Professor of Aviation and principal researcher on the project, commented, “The government has training standards and robust administrative policies and procedures already in place globally for everything that is crewed, but nothing that is uncrewed.”
He continued, “The intent is to globally standardise sUAS training and certification. Our job is to offer our existing sUAS professional education, thus enabling their crews to perform to a set standard, as well as assist in setting conditions that provide a level of knowledge, skills and abilities equivalent or surpassing established international sUAS crew standards.”
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Embry-Riddle is an established leader in uncrewed systems application and safety becoming the first academic institution in the world to receive the Trusted Operator Certification from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) in 2018. The University is to offer its expertise in designing and administering a standardised training program that can potentially be used by government employees, law enforcement entities and civil aviation authorities all around the world.
Burgess added, “The Worldwide Campus Department of Flight has worked hard during the past six years to raise-the-bar for UAS operational integration, training and standardisation into various commercial and governmental disciplines and why the federal government came to us. They have been very open to our ideas.”
The final aim is to design courseware in conjunction with the Office of Aviation to train students, leading to an industry certification in sUAS.
Dr. Scott Burgess
Dr. John R. Watret, FRAeS, chancellor of Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus, remarked, “As leaders in UAS education programs, we are extremely well equipped to support these operators and ensure they receive the highest level of training.”
In 2021, Embry-Riddle was given a first-of-its-kind waiver to begin training aspiring drone pilots remotely through online video streaming platforms. University researchers also continue to leverage uncrewed systems in creative ways to solve real-world problems. Examples include employing drones to accurately predict storm developments and even map ancient cities.
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