UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

UND research and North Dakota: Autonomous systems

A research leader in a burgeoning industry, UND is looking to grow North Dakotans’ opportunities statewide

John Mihelich (L), UND’s vice president for research and economic development, stands with Mark Askelson, executive director of UND’s Research Institute for Autonomous Systems, by the trailer as UND accepts delivery of a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or Humvee in September 2020. UND will use the vehicle as a platform for developing an augmented-reality system for Humvees. UND archive photo.

Editor’s note: In this special issue, UND Today is highlighting the statewide impact of UND researchers and research. We’re doing this by publishing roundups on five key North Dakota topics, including Rural Health, Energy and Environmental Sustainability, and Western North Dakota. Then in each roundup, we’re listing and linking to recent UND Today pieces that show how the University’s work is affecting that topic. 

This roundup: Autonomous systems 

To succeed in the stock market, don’t kick yourself for missing Google at its initial offering in 2004, when every dollar invested would be worth $30 today. Instead, look for the industries of this era that seem likely to be the Googles of tomorrow. 

That same formula also can work in economic development, UND leaders and researchers believe. And when the University looks at industries that seem poised to play ever more important roles in human life, autonomous systems are among the most promising that come to mind. 

As a result, autonomous systems are a UND Grand Challengea focal point for research because of the systems’ potential to grow North Dakota’s economy and improve the quality of life. UND already is a national leader in unmanned aircraft systems education and research, and has pioneered UAS use in agricultureenergy, construction and law enforcement, among other fields. (More about those development below.) 

Now, the University is expanding its reach to both space-based and surface-based systems. One of the most exciting developments was announced in December: a Department of Defense contract to develop an augmented reality system for Humvees, the iconic tactical vehicle widely used by the U.S. military. 

As the UND Today story UND to develop augmented reality system for Humvees explains, “the project’s goal is to enable soldiers operating or riding in Humvees … to view a broad range of battlefield data visually represented as an AR heads-up display on the windshield.” 

Says Jeremiah Neubert, professor of mechanical engineering at UND and principal investigator on the Humvee project, the work is going to position UND “right at the cutting edge of Heads-Up Display technology. 

Moreover, projects such as this one act as catalysts, enabling UND to grow its augmented-reality capabilities, pursue other projects and make important connections that otherwise would not be possible, Neubert continues. 

Here’s another exciting development in augmented reality: an Air Force contract to develop new technologies for use in the service’s “flying car.”

Matt Chasen, LIFT Aircraft chief executive officer, pilots the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Hexa over Camp Mabry, Texas, on Aug. 20. The demonstration was part of Agility Prime, the Air Force’s “flying car” project that UND also is participating in. Air National Guard photo.

UND awarded Air Force ‘Agility Prime’ contracts has the story. “The Agility Prime projects are directly aligned with our current expertise, and they’ll help UND move forward with our research related to Autonomy and national security,” said John Mihelich, vice president for research and development at UND. 

“Plus, the projects showcase not only our expertise in Autonomy R&D, but also our collaborative strengths and capacity to solve problems in the ground, air and space domains.” 

As mentioned above, UND has a long history of specializing in unmanned aircraft systems education and research. A November story in UND Today, How UND blazed the trail for UASdescribes this history in detail. As Mark Askelson, executive director of the UND Research Institute for Autonomous Systems and Associate Dean of Research in the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, explains in the story, UND’s UAS research dates back to around 2007, and the University has pioneered in the industry ever since. 

Most recently, that led to the announcement that NorthDakota will be the home of Vantis, America’s first statewide UAS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) network.   

“Vantis will enable UAS applications known now and yet to be conceived – from package and medical delivery to utility inspections, search and rescue operations, and agricultural uses,” the story reports. “It’s a major development on the world’s path to unmanned air taxis and even more futuristic uses of UAS. 

“And in talking about Vantis, Nick Flom, executive director for Vantis’ managing entity, the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, gives great credit to UND.” 

Another years-long focal point for UND’s UAS research has been integrating unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. As the story UND leads in UAS integration innovation reports, the FAA awarded University researchers nearly $800,000 to study safe and effective incorporation of drones into national airspace. 

UND was among only eight universities to get funding under the program. And “this work is on the cutting edge,” says Paul Snyder, director of UND Aerospace’s UAS Program, in the story. “Expertise here at UND is being leveraged to solve real-world problems that will improve safety and accessibility to the National Airspace System, as well as lay the framework for more jobs for our students.” 

Meanwhile, UND has been improving and expanding its UAS fleet to meet growing student and market demand. The aerospace school “now has five Boeing Insitu ScanEagle aircraft at its disposal after acquiring three earlier this year from Insitu, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing,” reports UND’s UAS fleet gets an upgrade, published in October. 

With 21 total UAS in its fleet – including the five ScanEagle systems – UND continues to set itself apart from its peer institutions, says Paul Snyder in the story. 

UND Aerospace has a longstanding relationship with the FAA as a member of its Collegiate Training Initiative in Air Traffic Control, which has ensured that jobs would be waiting for UND students upon graduation. Now, UND Aerospace officials look forward to the same scenarios playing out as a member of the FAA’s new CTI for UAS. UND archival image.

All of the above adds up to autonomous-systems research, coursework and programming that are second to none. But don’t take UND Today’s word for it. As the story UND achieves rare air – again reported in August, “UND Aerospace was just selected to be among the first institutions in the nation for the ‘FAA’s new Collegiate Training Initiative for UAS,’” the FAA had announced.  

The FAA awarded the designation because the federal agency has confidence in UND’s resources and skills, Paul Snyder says in the story. Furthermore, “the CTI distinction reflects our attitude of wanting to continuously improve UND’s UAS program,” Snyder continues. 

“As this industry develops, we’re not waiting to see what happens. We’re stepping in to be part of its rapid growth.” 

Interest in autonomous systems also has expanded to other areas of campus. For instance, in Bridging disciplines for safer commutesUND Civil Engineering Assistant Professor Sattar Dorafshan describes the technology he’s researching that can inspect infrastructure from above. Dorafshan uses unmanned aircraft to capture images of bridges, and machine learning algorithms to analyze the resulting data.

The statewide impact of this work is clear, said Dorafshan’s North Dakota Department of Transportation collaborator, T.J. Murphy, in the story.

“UAS are great for investigating structures and pavements,” Murphy said. “They have the ability to collect similar and more extensive data without risking staff on the road, and any safety benefit is a worthwhile endeavor for the NDDOT.”