Center for Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS)

Center for Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) is sponsored by National Science Foundation. Supports research on UAS technologies, including counter-UAS strategies, through industry-university collaboration.

Center for Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) Completed - Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) This center has completed their NSF IUCRC award period. Center information here is provided for reference only and is no longer being updated. The last update is from 2025.

The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) researchers investigate technical challenges that limit the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in military, civil, and commercial applications. The Center's mission is to provide innovative solutions to key technical challenges and superb training for future leaders in the UAS industry.

C-UAS develops new algorithms, architectures, and operational procedures for unmanned aircraft systems. Its main objectives are to: Work with industry partners to define and solve problems of primary importance to the UAS industry. Provide students with the world-class, cross-disciplinary training that will allow them to become the next generation of technical leaders in the UAS field.

Develop knowledge and intellectual property that will help industry members maintain their competitiveness in the global economy. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University University of Colorado, Boulder C-UAS helps advance the UAS community through research in five main areas: Advanced autonomous capabilities for UAS. Human and technology interfaces for UAS.

Multiagent cooperative control of UAS. UAS-based communication networks. UAS integration into the National Airspace System.

Phase II IUCRC Texas A&M University: Center for Unmanned Air Systems C-UAS The Texas A&M University project seeks to address the current and emerging Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) safety and use needs of industry, government, and the public through research and education that enhances workforce development.

It investigates novel fixed-wing and novel rotorcraft design, smart structures, cybersecure air vehicles, validation & verification of autonomous systems, and sensor integration and fusion.

Unique facilities are the 2,000 acre RELLIS Integrated Proving Ground of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Lone Star Test Site, and the Disaster City training and test facility used by federal and state agencies for emergency and disaster response. The goal is the creation of a strong and sustainable site that conducts projects facilitating the development of high quality engineering researchers: both faculty and students.

These researchers are responsive to conducting both basic research and applied research in Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) by advancing the state-of-the-practice, in addition to the state-of-the-technical-art.

The projects will contribute to cross-disciplinary challenges, and have strong integrated systems aspects (design, structures, intelligent payloads, sensors, and control), in addition to unique operational aspects (such as disturbance rejecting vertical flight). Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) are a transformative technology that impact research, education, and everyday life.

The investigators team directly with earth scientists, agriculture scientists, and geo scientists on research that is expected to be impactful on these important areas. The team will continue current outreach to underrepresented groups in the State of Texas, PK-12 students, and the historically strong involvement of undergraduate students on the research team.

The team has excellent federal experience with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), House and Senate aviation committees, and national academies service that has helped shape not only technology but policy and regulations.

For the duration of the project a repository will store applied research and collaborative experimental data products from C-UAS projects, consisting of flight data, video data, simulation codes and data, air vehicle design software, structural design software, autonomy and controls software, and all project reports and publications. All software will have clear instructions for installing and downloading and configuring for use.

Flight logs will be stored in spreadsheet or professional flight log electronic format and made available to the C-UAS team as well as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and university authorities. The single Center-wide repository is used. https://c-uas.

org/. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

I/UCRC: Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Phase II Site The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) addresses the issues common to the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry that limit widespread application across national security, scientific, civil, and commercial domains.

Research within the UAS industry is driven by both technical gaps existing for specific high-value applications and the current under-developed regulatory framework that is needed for integration of UAS into the national airspace.

The full value of unmanned aircraft systems, especially for a broad range of scientific and civil applications, cannot be realized without significant multidisciplinary research efforts such as those proposed here. Toward that goal, C-UAS investigates and develops new algorithms, architectures, and operational procedures for unmanned aircraft systems.

The center contributes to the advancement of the state of the art for UAS through its research at the center's universities and by training graduate students in areas supporting the advancement of UAS. The research pursued in C-UAS has potential application to unmanned aircraft of all sizes.

The primary focus of research activities, however, is on small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), which feature aircraft with wingspans in the 1 ft to 8 ft range. C-UAS university sites have distinguished themselves with their experimental flight test demonstrations on these smaller platforms.

The research interests and needs of industry in the area of UAS align well with the skills, knowledge, and background of the university participants in the center. Research focus areas for the Brigham Young University site can be described in terms of (1) technical areas and (2) application areas.

Technical topic areas in which the Brigham Young University has particular strength and interest include: (i) Aerodynamics and dynamics of UAS with multiple propellers in close proximity, (ii) Anomaly detection from airborne imagery, (iii) Target tracking algorithms utilizing visual features and dynamic models, (iv) Cooperative control for teams of heterogeneous vehicles, (v) Probabilistic programming for perceptually driven autonomous agents, and (vi) Navigation in cluttered environments with intermittent or degraded GPS.

Application topic areas in which the Brigham Young University has particular strength and interest include: (i) Autopilot innovation for small UAS, (ii) Radar-based detection and avoidance of other aircraft, (iii) Robust tracking of ground targets, and (iv) Monitoring of large-scale infrastructure and post-earthquake damage assessment.

Specific research projects proposed by Brigham Young University faculty members in these technical and application areas are selected annually by the Industry Advisory Board (IAB).

IUCRC: Phase 2: Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) addresses the issues common to the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry that limit widespread application across national security, scientific, civil, and commercial domains.

Research within the UAS industry is driven by both technical gaps existing for specific high-value applications and the current under-developed regulatory framework that is needed for integration of UAS into the national airspace.

The full value of unmanned aircraft systems, especially for a broad range of scientific and civil applications, cannot be realized without significant multidisciplinary research efforts such as those proposed here. Toward that goal, C-UAS investigates and develops new algorithms, architectures, and operational procedures for unmanned aircraft systems.

The center contributes to the advancement of the state of the art for UAS through its research at the center's universities and by training graduate students in areas supporting the advancement of UAS. The research pursued in C-UAS has potential application to unmanned aircraft of all sizes.

The primary focus of research activities, however, is on small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), which feature aircraft with wingspans in the 1 ft to 8 ft range. C-UAS university sites have distinguished themselves with their experimental flight test demonstrations on these smaller platforms.

The research interests and needs of industry in the area of UAS align well with the skills, knowledge, and background of the university participants in the center. Research focus areas for the University of Colorado Boulder site can be described in terms of (1) technical areas and (2) application areas.

Technical topic areas in which the University of Colorado has particular strength and interest include: (i) Airborne communication networks and network-enabled autonomy (e.g., methods for routing data through mobile ad-hoc networks and for accessing dispersed computing), (ii) environmental sensing (e.g., novel sensor development and planning algorithms for targeted observation of environmental phenomena), (iii) human-autonomy interaction (e.g., natural language interfaces and humans-as-sensor models for communication of spatial information), (iv) assured autonomy and user trust (e.g., measures of machine self-confidence and assessment of their impact on user trust), (v) UAS traffic management (e.g., investigating the impact of weather on small UAS operations), and (vi) guidance and control with in complex winds (e.g., implementing control algorithms for wind gust disturbance rejection or for energy harvesting).

Application topic areas in which the University of Colorado has particular strength and interest include: (i) Atmospheric science with emphasis on severe weather, (ii) Cooperative distributed sensor fusion and target tracking, and (iii) Search and rescue. Specific research projects proposed by University of Colorado faculty members in these technical and application areas are selected annually by the Industry Advisory Board (IAB).

I/UCRC: Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Phase II Site: Virginia Tech The Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) addresses the issues common to the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) industry that limit widespread application across national security, scientific, civil, and commercial domains.

Research within the UAS industry is driven by both technical gaps existing for specific high-value applications and the current under-developed regulatory framework that is needed for integration of UAS into the national airspace.

The full value of unmanned aircraft systems, especially for a broad range of scientific and civil applications, cannot be realized without significant multidisciplinary research efforts such as those proposed here. Toward that goal, C-UAS investigates and develops new algorithms, architectures, and operational procedures for unmanned aircraft systems.

The center contributes to the advancement of the state of the art for UAS through its research at the center's universities and by training graduate students in areas supporting the advancement of UAS. The research pursued in C-UAS has potential application to unmanned aircraft of all sizes.

The primary focus of research activities, however, is on small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), which feature aircraft with wingspans in the 1 ft to 8 ft range. C-UAS university sites have distinguished themselves with their experimental flight test demonstrations on these smaller platforms.

The research interests and needs of industry in the area of UAS align well with the skills, knowledge, and background of the university participants in the center. Research focus areas for the Virginia Tech site can be described in terms of (1) technical areas and (2) application areas.

Technical topic areas in which Virginia Tech has particular strength and interest include: (i) Advanced flight control (e.g., methods to construct robust, secure, and mathematically certified control algorithms), (ii) Airworthiness, cybersecurity, and reliability (e.g., reliability prediction methods that incorporate imprecise uncertainties intrinsic to small UAS), (iii) Machine vision and machine learning (e.g., software for real-time, on-board intelligent image processing), (iv) Multiphysics design optimization (e.g., aircraft design optimization tools that incorporate unsteady fluid/structure interaction), and (v) Wireless communication (e.g., the use of software defined radio and intelligent communication protocols that adapt the information flow to the environmental conditions).

Application topic areas in which Virginia Tech has particular strength and interest include: (i) Agriculture (e.g., methods to monitor plant pathogen transport), (ii) Civil infrastructure (e.g., bridge inspection), and (iii) Geographic information systems. Specific research projects proposed by Virginia Tech faculty members in these technical and application areas are selected annually by the Industry Advisory Board (IAB).

Phase II IUCRC University of Michigan: Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or "drones" have captured our attention as a means to collect aerial sensor data, carry small payloads, and motivate students through low-cost, hands-on flight experiences. Numerous research challenges related to safely operating UAS of all sizes and missions must be addressed before we can realize their full potential.

The Center for UAS (C-UAS) is an existing National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (IUCRC) supporting a wide range of UAS-centric research topics. C-UAS, led by Brigham-Young University, has successfully transitioned into Phase II.

The C-UAS I/UCRC provides a critical pathway for university and industry members to collaboratively identify and explore important basic and applied research relevant to UAS. The University of Michigan proposes to join the C-UAS team, offering new industry members and new research expertise to the existing center.

The Michigan team complements existing C-UAS strengths in autonomy, guidance, navigation, and control and offers new expertise in high altitude long endurance platforms, reduced-order aerodynamics modeling, and energy harvesting. C-UAS is pursuing two new center-wide focus areas to kick off Phase II: autonomy and counter-UAS.

For autonomy, Michigan researchers will pursue identification and infusion of new data sources to enable future UAS flight planners to quantitatively model and minimize risk to people and property on the ground. Michigan will also extend previous work in static and dynamic geofencing to assure each UAS remains within airspace it is authorized to occupy.

For counter-UAS, Michigan will pursue fundamental research to analyze and design defense strategies against aerial swarms through development of information-sharing and motion models that can be used to compute jamming and interception defensive actions. The Michigan team will also investigate two new UAS research thrusts.

High-altitude long-endurance (HALE) flight is envisioned through a flexible-wing platform that offers light-weight aerodynamically-efficient performance; the proposed research will develop a validated model of aeroelastic effects coupled with flight dynamics for very-flexible UAS with modeling, simulation, and UAS flight experiments.

A second new research effort will develop reduced-order models of the atmospheric boundary layer and vehicle aeromechanics effects that account for day/night convection in complex terrain and urban corridors with application to UAS flight planning, trajectory prediction, and control.

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