The Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center is dedicated to advancing research, safety and innovation in unmanned technologies.
The idea took flight with a statement from a professor to Peter E. Crouch, dean of UTA’s College of Engineering.
“One of our research stars came to my office and said, ‘I can’t do my drone work without somewhere to fly it,’” Crouch told the audience at the official opening of the Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center, or MAVRC, pronounced Maverick.
University leaders, federal officials, business representatives and students gathered Sept. 16 for the opening of the open-air facility dedicated to advancing research, safety and innovation in autonomous technologies.
Yan Wan, the researcher who made that statement eight years ago, is now a professor in the electrical engineering department at the University of Texas at Arlington and attended the event.
“None of us would be here today without this lady,” Crouch said.
UTA built the $2.3 million outdoor netted drone facility at its University of Texas Research Institute, in northeast Fort Worth, to help in the testing and training of drone projects. In addition to being open to the UTA community, the flight test area can be used by businesses and local governments.
The outdoor drone area is 120 feet by 150 feet with nets at 40 feet off the ground. The facility includes 26 Vicon motion-capture cameras to monitor test flights.
The grand opening offered a peek into UTA’s work in unmanned aerial systems and advanced air mobility.
“Discovery is at the heart of everything we do at UTA,” said Wayne Atchley, vice president for regional campuses at UTA. “We’ve driven breakthroughs in robotics, aerospace, biomedical engineering and autonomous vehicles. The Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center is the next bold step in that journey.”
UTA’s Maverick Autonomous Vehicle Research Center opened on Sept. 16. (Bob Francis |Fort Worth Report )
To take flight …
University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute
7300 Jack Newell Blvd. South
Fort Worth 76118
817-272-5900
The center positions North Texas at the forefront of autonomous systems research, he said.
Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said the MAVRC gives the region another tool to use, particularly when recruiting aviation and defense-related firms to invest in the area.
“When you have companies, or in their case academic institutions, that are looking to test things in a real-world environment, gather that data, we now have a tool that we can deploy that allows us to get that done,” he said.
This new resource will complement and expand existing autonomous vehicle research at UTA.
Wan, the professor, is working on an airborne computing platform that would enable unmanned aerial vehicles to help first responders better coordinate efforts during emergencies.
North Texas has become a center of drone and autonomous vehicle development. For example, Hillwood set up the Alliance Mobility Innovation Zone in north Fort Worth as an area to test new technologies.
Earlier this year, Virginia-based Torc Robotics Inc. announced it will open a 22,000-square-foot office at 13119 Old Denton Road to test autonomous trucks and customer freight pilots and commercialization efforts.
Email Bob Francis, business editor for the Fort Worth Report, at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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