A researcher at the University of Memphis has landed a drone testing facility contract from the U.S. Navy.
U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen announced on Aug. 20 that the university is in line to receive Navy funding of $21.18 million spread out over four years to develop the state-of-the-art Unmanned Systems Degraded Environment Facility to test drones in more extreme conditions. The project is being sponsored by the Navy's Office of Naval Research and the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Carderock Division.
“As the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation, I have long supported the University of Memphis’ headlong leap into the unmanned aerial technologies of the future,” Cohen said in a news release. “This Navy contract will demonstrate the university’s critical national role in developing and testing these technologies, while helping create the cutting-edge aviation workforce of the mid- and late-21st century.”
The U of M announced in its own news release that it was awarded $9.2 million of that contract earmarked to design and construct the facility.
Eddie Jacobs, Ph.D., is set to lead the drone testing facility project. He is a U of M professor of electrical and computer engineering and is a senior researcher with the U of M's Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER).
Jacobs was recently awarded $3.4 million by the U.S. Army Research Office for drone research. In 2022, he was awarded a total of $3.2 million in research awards, mainly from the U.S. Army.
The facility will be located on Presidents Island at the William B. Morgan Large Cavitation Channel (LCC). According to the Port of Memphis, the LCC is "one of the world’s largest and most technically advanced water tunnel facilities."
“The William Morgan Large Cavitation Channel is already a unique facility for testing ship and submarine components,” Jacobs said in the U of M release. “We have the incredible opportunity to help build another unique facility for testing unmanned aerial systems [drones] in this space, greatly expanding the Navy’s ability to develop and test these systems.”
While still in early planning stages, the facility is geared to develop and test drones that can operate in extreme weather conditions like strong winds and heavy rain.
The drone project is a collaboration between the U of M and researchers at the University of Arizona, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Jacobs sees military and civilian applications as resulting from the new facility.
“When flying drones, we are often restricted to days that have calm winds and no rain. We will be able to accurately control the wind and generate rain in this new facility,” Jacobs said in the U of M release. “This will help us design and test drones that can operate under more challenging conditions.”
Sign up for the Business Journal’s free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting the Memphis metro area. Download the free Memphis Business Journal app for breaking news alerts on your phone.
