Drone Research on Campus
To check out some of the Virginia Tech drone research laboratories, click on the tabs below:
The Kentland Experimental Aerial Systems Laboratory
The Kentland Experimental Aerial Systems (KEAS) Laboratory is located at Virginia Tech’s Kentland Farm agricultural research facility, which includes about 1800 acres of university-owned farmland in a sparsely populated area southwest of the main campus. The 300 ft by 70 ft asphalt airstrip located at the center of the Kentland Farm is routinely used to support small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight operations. The airfield includes a state-of-the-art weather station to log meteorological data. A wireless network covering the area provides direct internet access. The adjacent UAV hangar provides nearly 2000 sq ft of workspace to support research, education, and outreach.
The KEAS Lab's primary purpose is to enable research collaborations involving UAVs among university faculty. However, the facility is available to others in the university community who have a research, educational, or outreach related need. To find out more, click here.
Unmanned Systems Laboratory
The Mechanical Engineering Unmanned Systems Lab at Virginia Tech offers the ideal environment for air and ground vehicle research and testing. Several graduate students and senior design groups are found at the lab. The lab has extensive experience in operating unmanned helicopters, and welcome new opportunities. If you are interested in working with a dynamic group of faculty and students equally capable in algorithm development, hardware design and fabrication, and flight test, then come check out this place. To find out more check out the Unmanned System Laboratory website here.
The Virginia Tech Laboratory for Coordination at Scale
The CAS Lab studies autonomy in large-scale systems. The lab places emphasis on agent-to-agent interaction and scalable decentralized coordination. To find out more, check out the Virginia Tech Laboratory for Coordination at Scale website here.
The Navigation laboratory for Autonomous Vehicle inTegrity
The Navigation laboratory for Autonomous Vehicle inTegrity (NAViTi) aims at improving safety in autonomy by developing advanced sensor systems. The lab designs, evaluates, and tests multisensory navigation, tracking, and mapping methods for automated air and ground vehicles.
To check out more on NAViTi, click here.
Nonlinear Systems Laboratory
The Nonlinear Sytems Laboratory (NSL) in the Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering provides a facility for research and instruction in dynamics and control of nonlinear systems, including autonomous atmospheric and ocean vehicles. Founded in 2005, the NSL is co-directed by Dr. Cornel Sultan, Dr. Mazen Farhood, and Dr. Woolsey.
To find out more about the Nonlinear Systems Laboratory, click here.
Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA)
The Center for Advanced Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA) researches to leverage science and technology to create transformative solutions to support agriculture and food systems, the environment, and communities in the Commonwealth and beyond. The SmartFarm Innovation Network is the central platform of the CAIA, creating the agricultural and communities research and communications network throughout Virginia.
To find out more, click here.
The Virginia Tech Drone Park
The easiest way to fly on campus is to use the Drone Park. The football-field-sized facility gives students, researchers, employees, and members of the community a place to explore UAS operations without the constraints of registration, certification, or specialized training.
To check out more on the Drone Park, click here.
**These are by no means all of the research labs that are at Virginia Tech.**