VANCOUVER, British Columbia — February 11, 2020 — Draganfly Inc. — an award-winning manufacturer within the commercial Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), and unmanned vehicle sectors — today announced it has opened a new U.S. office on North Carolina State University’s (NC State) Centennial Campus.
Centennial Campus, in the heart of North Carolina’s research capital, is a unique part of NC State dedicated to the convergence of industry, research and academia. The campus works with more than 70 corporate, government and non-profit partners, in addition to housing more than 75 NC State research centers, institutes, laboratories and department units.
Draganfly, through its opening of its U.S. office on Centennial Campus, joins other prestigious industry and government collaborators who see the value in housing operations at NC State including Eastman, Merck, LexisNexis, IBM, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
From “bookBot”, a giant robotic book delivery system at the futuristic Hunt Library that can store up to 2 million items and deliver any of them within minutes of an online catalog request, to CASSI (Connected Autonomous Shuttle Supporting Innovation), a Level-4 autonomous driverless vehicle that uses cameras, radar, global positioning systems and electronic sensors to transport up to 12 people along its one-mile loop, the pioneering spirit at Centennial Campus can be seen everywhere.
Draganfly, the longest running manufacturer of multi-rotor helicopters in the world, is itself a pioneer and respected leader in the unmanned aerial systems industry. Draganfly has created an impressive portfolio of intellectual property and know-how over 21 years, enabling it to continually solve difficult problems for enterprise, government, and consumer clients around the world.
Draganfly’s innovative technological firsts include being the first company to commercialize a quadcopter, the first to create six and eight bladed drones, and the first to add commercial sensors to drones. In addition to its multi-rotor solutions the company offers ground robots, secure controllers, fixed wing aerial vehicles capable of beyond visual line of sight operations and delivery, and hybrid vertical take off and landing systems well suited for large area data collection and austere environments.
Draganfly’s pioneering achievements are not only commercial. A Draganflyer X-4 ES, the first unmanned aerial helicopter responsible for saving a human life, is on display in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. This special honor reflects the deep commitment the company has to supporting public safety and emergency response worldwide.
“Expanding our operations to NC State’s Centennial Campus gives us an incredible strategic advantage over our competitors,” said Patrick Imbasciani, Draganfly COO. “As we scale our secure government and public safety offerings alongside our commercial solutions for agriculture, environment, energy, telecommunications, insurance and other sectors, access to the latest research and development in the application of emerging technologies such as 5G, edge computing, and new composites, shortens our learning curve and accelerates our delivery cycles to market. Incorporating talented student innovators into our operations through internships and co-op, as we programmatically engage leading faculty through research agreements and technology transfer, should be a win-win for Draganfly and NC State University.”
“NC State is excited to welcome Draganfly, Inc. to the campus community. Draganfly’s commitment to innovation is well-aligned with the university’s mission to “think and do”. We look forward to the opportunities that this engagement will bring,” said Dennis Kekas, associate vice chancellor – Office of Partnerships and Economic Development.
Draganfly officially opened its U.S. office at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina on February 1, 2020. Situated on NC STATE’s Wolfline bus line yet hidden in plain sight among the collaborative professional community of HQ Raleigh, the location in the Partners I building on Centennial Campus affords equal proximity to the United States Federal Aviation Administration approved test fields and NC STATE’s historic main campus. Draganfly anticipates the space will meet its commercial and operational needs as it grows and scales its business and operations.
Posted February 13, 2020
Source: Draganfly Inc.
