THE FUTURE OF UNMANNED VEHICLE TESTING IS EXPECTED TO LAND IN OKALOOSA COUNTY

The word is out and the future continues to get brighter and brighter for the high tech industries surrounding Eglin AFB. In an effort to reduce military costs, military leaders are seeking to use new high tech weaponry and special operations units to defend our country.  With this new defense strategy, we seem to be in the middle of it with the move of the 7^th Special Forces Group, Special Operations Headquarters, and of course the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Training Squadron to name a few, coming to our local area. 

Looking to lead industry

Local leaders seek funds for unmanned vehicle testing

By DUSTY RICKETTS

315-4448 | @DustyRnwfdn dricketts@nwfdailynews.com  

Local economic development leaders want Okaloosa County to be at the forefront of developing and testing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and are developing the first indoor UAV test site in the region.  The Economic Development Council has completed a feasibility study for the Autonomous Vehicle Center and is working with agencies and organizations across Florida to develop a 45,000-square-foot building that will be used to test small unmanned air and ground vehicles.  Design work is being completed by the University of Florida.“We see it as an opportunity to bring together a real diverse group of players,” said Jim Breitenfeld with the EDC’s Tec MEN group. “In the grand vision, you would walk in there and you would see high school students doing their field work. You would see college undergraduate students studying. You would see research projects from grad students. You would see private sector companies partnering with each other and the universities. You would see a variety of little autonomous vehicles in various test stages. “The real value comes from the synergies and the collaboration that grow out of all of those players in the same sort of operational think tank,” Breitenfeld added. “But it’s going to have to pay its way.”The Autonomous Vehicle Center will be built on UF’s Research and Engineering Education Facility property off Lewis Turner Boulevard. The EDC is trying to secure grant funding to build the estimated $4.5 million test center.  The domed building would allow small vehicles to fly up to 50 feet in the air.  The EDC has asked UF to submit a federal Economic Development Administration grant application and has asked Space Florida to provide a match to fund construction.  Breitenfeld said the EDC is probably six months away from securing all of the financial commitments it needs to build the center. After funding is secured, he said constructing the domed building would be relatively quick and that it could be open this time next year.“As complicated as what goes on inside the facility may be, it’s not that complicated of a facility to build,” Breitenfeld said. “It’s like building a garage and putting your Ferrari in it.”EDC President Larry Sassano plans to attend a trade show in Las Vegas next week sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. While there, he will distribute information on the proposed test facility and try to attract interest from companies to lease space there to test small air and ground vehicles.  Sassano said the Autonomous Vehicle Center would be a huge draw for manufacturers.“There’s nothing like it that exists,” Sassano said. “Everything now is being tested outside. This is the first controlled airspace for testing these vehicles that we’re aware of.”  In addition to the military applications for UAVs, Sassano said there are even more commercial uses. Electrical companies, the oil industry, security firms and police and fire departments could use them for a number of tasks, such as inspecting power lines for damage and monitoring major corporate facilities.“There are more commercial applications for this than there are military applications,” Sassano said. “We see large multibillion dollar applications for UAVs in the next 10 to 15 years.”