Ohio colleges to host 'drone summit'

DAYTON – Two Ohio colleges plan to launch a drone summit in August to talk about the future of unmanned aircraft in the state.

Sinclair Community College and Ohio State University are hosting the Unmanned Aerial Systems Academic Summit featuring technology experts and academics in the aviation field, the (Dayton) Daily News reported.

Deborah Norris, vice president of workforce development and corporate services at Sinclair, told the newspaper the Federal Aviation Administration has made significant progress setting regulations for unmanned aircraft and that it's an ideal time to talk about how they will be used in the future.

The FAA is drafting rules to fly small drones weighing less than 55 pounds within civilian airspace, the newspaper reported. The FAA has given waivers to some businesses to fly drones while new rules are pending.

A study by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International estimated that integrating UAVs into civilian airspace could create 2,700 jobs and have a $2.1 billion impact in Ohio by 2025. It also estimated that 100,000 jobs could be added nationally with an $82 billion economic impact in the next 10 years.

Seth Young, director of Ohio State's Center for Aviation Studies, said in a statement that the purpose of the summit is to keep up with the rapid advancement of UAS and educate students on UAS research.

The conference will be on Aug. 24 at Sinclair's downtown Dayton campus. The college is spending $5 million to renovate a building on campus for a drone training and certification center.