NDDOT Prepares for Bison Game Drone Demonstration

NDDOT and other partners will be flying two unmanned aircrafts, otherwise known as drones, over tailgaters

FARGO–Drones can be used for both capturing moments and helping a community.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation is setting its sights on the tailgating area of the NDSU-SDSU game, a visual line of sight that is.

NDDOT, the Northern Plains UAS Test Sight, and other partners, will be flying two unmanned aircrafts, otherwise known as drones, over tailgaters.

“As many people in Fargo know, there is a high energy at the tailgating events, and with these kinds of events, it’s really hard to capture the essence of that energy, but when you’re up off the ground, you get a sense of the energy of the fans,” Botlink CEO Terri Gunn Zimmerman said.

“It’s a positive area,” NDDOT UAS Integrated Program Administration ITD Director Russ Buchholz said. “They call it “sili-drone” valley, so that’s kind of why we picked Fargo.”

With permission from the FAA, the drones will not only capture the fans energy, but they will also act as a model for the unmanned aircraft systems pilot program.

North Dakota is participating with 9 other programs in the country.

Botlink, a software company located right here in Fargo, built the software and will be operating one of the drones.

“It’s the first waiver of its kind for sustained operations over people,” Zimmerman said. “Before, you were maybe able to do a lightweight drone or maybe on a movie set you might be able to do slight operations over people.”

This is also the first time an event of this nature is collaborating with local law enforcement..

This flight demonstration is a part of North Dakota’s efforts to demonstrate how first responders and law enforcement officers can benefit from unmanned aircrafts. This will allow first responders to use the drones as both their eyes and their ears.”

“We are working on those processes, trying to collect the data so we can make it easier for anyone flying a UAS in the future that they can do certain things exactly like we’re doing right now,” Buchholz said.

The drone demonstration begins tomorrow morning at 9 and will finish at 1:45.