US National Drone Association forms to advance research and applications

The United States National Drone Association (USNDA) has announced its formation, with offices located at 1717 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. and its National Headquarters based on the campus of Full Sail University.

The non-profit will work to accelerate the US drone industrial base by advancing drone research, prototypes, and proliferation of practical applications across multiple industries with student and faculty teams via academic and technology partnerships.

The USNDA plans to establish a regional Collaborative Capstone Research Laboratory (CCRL) by 2027 on the campus of Full Sail University with a focus on experimentation in small drone, counter-drone, and drone swarming prototypes. The CCRL will be open to Central Florida’s 100,000+ students and 10-plus colleges and universities in the region for collaborative academic participation. The association will host various challenges, hackathons, concept development summits, and experimentation competitions, awarding cash grants and academic scholarships, focused both on component development (hardware, software) and field performance.

In addition to the CCRL initiative, the USNDA also announced the National Drone Conference and National Drone Games, to be hosted at Full Sail University on December 2, 2024. Student and faculty teams will have the opportunity to present prototypes and concept briefs for funding to compete in the National Drone Wars, occurring in May, 2025, at a private testing and evaluation location to be announced at a later date.

The USNDA’s formal Board of Directors will be announced in September 2024.