Consulting and Collaboration

Kansas State University Aerospace and Technology Campus provides many options to collaborate around UAS technology. Partnerships with aircraft technology companies, federal and state agencies, and organizations looking to start or grow UAS operations are available.

A sample of opportunities to partner are listed. To discuss these options further or suggest other ideas, please contact Kurt Carraway, UAS Executive Director, Applied Aviation Research Center and UAS department head.

Aircraft and Technology Companies

OEMs, distributors, and other sensor and technology companies have a wide variety of ways to engage with the K-State UAS program.

As a training provider, K-State partners with OEMs to develop and/or conduct training for OEMs’ clients
K-State works with sensor technology companies to integrate their systems into UAS operations for research and operations.
K-State strives to expose students to the latest and most relevant technology. Aircraft, sensors, and other technologies can be incorporated into academic curriculum and professional training courses, providing exposure to the equipment for new pilots.

Federal and State Agencies

K-State has extensive histories with many federal and state agencies. Research collaborations, standards development and validation, and development of departmental UAS operations and standard operating procedures are examples of K-State grants and contracts.

Organizations implementing UAS Operations

Organizations in any industry that are exploring how to add UAS operations to their company, or grow their existing operations, can work with K-State for flight operations policy and procedure development, training, and technology procurement and maintenance.

Flight, Maintenance and Consulting Services

In addition to partnerships, the Kansas State University Aerospace and Technology Campus’ UAS program is available for fee for service contracts for special projects, program consultation, and unique staffing requirements. The following opportunities are available for our UAS experts to support you and your organization’s needs.

Commercial Flight Operations

Leverage our UAS subject matter expertise! Areas that we can support include, but are not limited to:

Infrastructure inspections
Disaster/Emergency response
Agriculture data collection
Volumetric data collections
Real estate
Aerial photography
Courseware/curriculum review
UAS advanced operations, to include:
- Part 107 waivers
- Beyond Visual Line of Sight operational approvals
- Safety risk management/assessment
Establishing new UAS programs to include Part 107 test prep, flight training, preparation of administrative documentation (standard operating procedures, emergency response plans, etc)
Consulting services to meet your operational goals

K-State offers UAS training for companies to conduct their own operations. To learn more about our training offerings, please visit the UAS Training page.

UAS Assembly, Component Integration, and Custom Builds

K-State UAS can provide formal consultations on purchasing of components and assembly or complete your UAS from start to finish. Specific component specializations include:

Sensors
Autopilots
Gimbals
Custom airframes

 Additional capabilities include the ability to assemble, on campus, any small UAS system including aircraft assembly and sensor integration (including the gimbal system) for the unit. In addition, the program has access to a full CNC machine lab, composites fabrication lab, and Faraday cage for radio frequency research.

Public Speaking and Engagements

K-State UAS faculty and staff are available to speak or instruct at your next event or program. Topics include:

UAS research applications
UAS regulations and policies
UAS applications in public safety (law enforcement, firefighting/HAZMAT, emergency management and disaster response)
Photogrammetry
Agronomy and agriculture applications
Engineering

Flight Operations Development

Let our team of UAS experts help you design a UAS division within your company, including setting up:

Standard operating procedures
Training materials
Part 107 waivers
44907 exemptions
Public Certificates of authorization