Robot Aviation, an aerospace company based in Norway, is planting a stake in North Dakota’s drone industry this week at 1 Million Cups Fargo and UAS Industry Day.

“Robot Aviation is involved in a lot of activities in the development of drone technology, operations and regulations in Europe but not in North Dakota yet,” said Ole Vidar Funnemark Homleid, co-founder and COO of Robot Aviation. “We want to find partners for joint efforts towards the European and US market for this innovative and fast growing technology.”

Homleid and co-founder Per Kristian Haga are coming to North Dakota tomorrow morning, in order to attend North Dakota’s Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Industry Day on Feb. 25. They will also present Robot Aviation at 1 Million Cups Fargo, at 9:15 AM at the Stage at Island Park.

Robot Aviation was founded in 2008 and works primarily in the UAS civilian market. Their goal, Homleid said, is to become the preferred provider of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) products and services. Throughout the years, they have worked towards this goal by releasing a variety of unmanned aircraft systems, including:

• SkyRobot MX100: Can fly flush against constructions, cliffs, buildings or tunnels without damaging the craft, the surroundings or people around and can fly up to 1.5 – 2 hours.

• SkyRobot RX200: Totally enclosed high performance single-rotor turbine sensor platform with the focus on safe operations with focus on robustness, reliability and maritime and can fly up to 4 hours.

• SkyRobot FX450: A high performance long range fixed wing aircraft that enables operations in demanding environments for up to 30 hours.

• RA-ACIS 3X autopilot: A very robust and flexible triple redundant flight computer that can be used in aircraft, helicopter, multi-rotor systems and others. With the application interface program, the system can easily adapt to external sensors, computers and software systems

“[We] have been working with UAS technology since the early 90’s,” Homleid said. “Civilian use of UAS technology has great potential in many industries. It gives us motivation along with the growth of the industry that we see today.”

Homleid said they first found an interest in North Dakota’s drone industry after meeting Donavon Johnson, Director of North Dakota Trade Office’s Resource Management Group in Telemark, Norway last autumn. Johnson and Brian Opp, Manager of Aerospace Business Development, invited the Robot Aviation team to UAS Industry Day.

North Dakota UAS Industry Day

More on UAS Industry Day: Join North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple, industry leaders and key stakeholders on February 25, 2016, in Fargo, North Dakota, for this exclusive one-day event focused on new opportunities related to UAS technology.

• Learn the latest on the research, development, testing and training capabilities from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota.
• Connect with the growing cluster of private sector companies that make up North Dakota’s UAS ecosystem.
• Identify synergies with potential collaborators, end-users and more.
• Learn about North Dakota’s UAS-friendly, pro-business environment and why it is quickly becoming a hub for UAS activity.

There will be a welcome reception at the Prairie Den, Fargo’s downtown co-working space, the evening of February 24, from 6:00-8:00.

Sign up for UAS Industry Day, here.

Photos courtesy of Robot Aviation.