University of Nevada

The University of Nevada in Reno is a public university. Starting in the spring semester of 2014, the university is offering a minor in Unmanned Autonomous Systems. It is chiefly sponsored by the College of Science and Engineering, but is an interdisciplinary minor co-sponsored by Electrical and Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.

Minor Degree
The minor degree program is an 18-credit minor, requiring 9 upper division credits, as well as at least 9 credits unrelated to your major to receive the minor degree. Of these 18 credits, only 6 are pre-determined, and the other 12 can be taken from a list of electives. The program is open to all students that are a part of the College of Science and Engineering, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The minor is designed to compliment students' majors, allowing them to specialize in unmanned autonomous systems within their chosen field.

Research
The University of Nevada is currently developing the Nevada Advanced Autonomous System Innovation Center (NAASIC) in a 25,000-square-foot Innovation Center in downtown Reno as a collaborative organization to spur economic development and commercialization of technologies of autonomous systems. The University currently has found one partner in a startup Australian drone delivery service, Flirtey. Flirtey is looking to expand into the U.S., and has chosen to use the University of Nevada as its base of operations, and is looking to use the University's resources to test aerial drones for delivery flight. In return, the University is taking an equity stake in Flirtey.

The University has also been contracted by the U.S. Army for a $150,000 contract. Partnering with NevadaNano, the Reno program aims to provide a new sensor technology that can sense various chemicals. The ultimate goal is to develop a drone with integrated chemical sensing that is able to communicate to other identical platforms, and potentially be self-powered. It should be able to sense chemicals while in flight without having to stop and hover. The system is expected to be the size of a deck of cards. Phase I, a proof of concept, was finished in July. Phase II is a working prototype, and Phase III is the final product, ready for military use.

The University of Nevada has also introduced a UAS Summer Camp in 2014 to help expand knowledge and awareness of the field. The summer camp was aimed at high school students who were studying the science and mechanics behind the aerial vehicles. They did note, however, that the theory of flying was easier than flying itself. Not only did students fly drones, but they also designed bottle rockets, for the purpose of studying aerodynamics. The camp was split into two distinct pieces, classes that studied aerodynamics and flight, and field trips that put those into practice.