Sinclair Community College has rolled out a $300,000 mobile ground control station that pairs live drones flying in the air with virtual simulations making training less risky and costly.
The one-time ambulance turned control station on wheels was unveiled at the Unmanned Aerial Systems conference at the Dayton Convention Center.
The ground control station will train both Sinclair students and corporate clients, said Deborah Norris, vice president of workforce development and corporate services.
Universities and companies have shown interest in the system that puts Sinclair in a leading role nationally in drone training, she said.
Sinclair’s National UAS Training and Certification Center, Simlat Ltd. of Israel, and Unmanned Solutions Technologies collaborated to assemble the truck in Centerville, officials said.
In a milestone this month, a drone flying over the National Center for Medical Readiness in Fairborn was paired with a search and rescue crew on the ground and virtual simulations of other players, such as aircraft, in an exercise scenario. The activity is known as live virtual constructive. Participants were engaged in two locations in the Dayton region and one in Israel, those involved said.
It may have been the first time a civil operator led an LVC exercise of this kind, Norris said.
“This leap makes a big difference because then nobody is taking risks and the cost would usually drop,” said Roy Peshin, Simlat chief technology officer.
Source: Dayton Daily News