Nevada Appeal Capitol Bureau
Sunday, March 6, 2022
The University of Nevada, Reno is taking over the state’s unmanned aircraft systems testing program.
The UAS test site was created after Nevada became one of seven states designated by the Federal Aviation Administration to develop and test unmanned autonomous vehicles — both aerial and vehicular drones.
UNR will collaborate with UNLV and the Desert Research Institute to continue and expand testing opportunities with business, industry and government agencies.
Until now, the UAS program has been within the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Kris Sanchez of GOED said housing the program at the university is a natural progression for the UAS program. From now on, it will be operated as Nevada Autonomous within the UNR Center for Applied Research.
The decision was made after NASA designated UNR as one of four teams for NASA’s University Leadership Initiative.
Blair Smith, operator of the UAS Test Site, said this created opportunities to advance autonomous vehicle operations in Nevada, including connecting Reno and Las Vegas with a corridor for aerial and vehicular testing.
