Kittyhawk moment: Aerial drone to TAMU-Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI – The Federal Aviation Administration named Texas a test site for aerial drones thanks to a statewide proposal spearheaded by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. See Prime Air octocopter video for a look.

"This is a Kittyhawk moment," said Ron George, Senior Research and Development Officer at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. "The integration of unmanned aircraft is the next big step. And Texas A&M University Corpus Christi is going to be right there in the middle of it."

The university, which partnered with the Texas Engineering Experiment Station in College Station, or TEES, is one of six entities nationwide selected for the designation that could help usher in a multibillion-dollar industry.

Texas A&M has access to 6,000 square miles of approved airspace near Corpus Christi and submitted the only proposal from Texas.

A&M-Corpus Christi partnered with TEES, San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute, the Camber Corp., American Aerospace Advisors Inc. and faculty at the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Tech.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi drafted a statewide proposal to bid on becoming a test site. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has been involved in researching unmanned aerial systems technologies for about two years.

The university has been looking at ways to use these technologies for mapping sea grass, detecting oil spills and wildfires, hurricane monitoring and even counting herds for ranchers.

Read more at the Corpus Christi-Caller Times, The Eagle and the San Antonio Business Journal.