10 Questions: Ken Stewart, NUAIR

Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance

Ken Stewart is currently Chief Executive Officer of NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, Inc.) located in Syracuse, New York.  NUAIR is a New York based nonprofit organization that provides expertise in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations, aeronautical research, safety management and consulting services.   He joined the organization in late 2020 where he is responsible for setting the overall vision and product strategy for the organization.  Mr. Stewart is an experienced industry veteran in wireless telecommunications and cloud-based software market with a specialization in building Enterprise SaaS, Federated digital marketplaces and platforms.

Prior to joining NUAIR,  Mr. Stewart served as the CEO of AiRXOS, a General Electric aviation company, where he led innovation, development, and commercialization of Unmanned Traffic Management services.  After beginning his career in engineering and management positions at IBM and GTE, Stewart served as an executive with several venture capital and private equity-backed companies commercializing and scaling pre-revenue start-ups and transforming organizations for growth.

He was recently appointed president of the Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA) which is an independent nonprofit that works with all levels of government to collaborate on policies for industry growth and the overall responsible use of commercial drone technology.

I was recently able to catch up with Ken and NUAIR staff to discuss his work in the drone space in New York State.

eSpatiallyNewYork: What is the primary function and purpose of NUAIR?

Stewart:  NUAIR is responsible for the continued development and advancement of New York’s AAM Proving Grounds and 50-mile UAS corridor between Syracuse and Rome, facilitating beyond visual line of sight testing, commercial operations, and the safe integration of UAS and eVTOLS into the national airspace.  Here’s a link to some of the history of how everything got started: https://esd.ny.gov/central-ny-rising-uri

NUAIR also manages operations of the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY, one of just seven FAA-designated UAS test sites in the United States and is responsible to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to conduct operations for UAS and advanced air mobility (AAM) eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing testing).

eSpatiallyNewYork:  NUAIR seems to be mostly New York State-based.  How does its function and purpose differ from CDA? 

Stewart:  We continue to conduct meaningful projects and tests in New York for the FAA, NASA, and industry to advance both the UAS and advanced air mobility (AAM) industries. These projects provide the needed data to prove the safety and reliability cases to help shape policy and regulation to unlock the true potential of commercial drone operations. I am taking my professional expertise, coupled with the knowledge of the 3,600+ UAS test flights NUAIR has conducted at the New York UAS Test Site to help generate the needed policies and regulations to make national commercial drone operations both scalable and economically viable. I also represent NUAIR on the FAA beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) advisory and rulemaking committee (ARC), actively working with the FAA and fellow industry leaders to solve the issues around safely flying BVLOS. Being a part of both of these initiatives gives NUAIR the ability to directly influence and shape the future of aviation.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Can you share some examples of NUAIR  providing outreach and consulting to governments in New York State on drone use and/or technology?

Stewart:  NUAIR has helped over 20 state agencies implement their drone programs including law enforcement, fire departments, environmental conservation and more. Selected examples are highlighted in this YouTube video.

We’ve also just started working with the New York State Thruway Authority, helping them integrate drones into their daily operations for routine bridge and infrastructure inspections. Flying a drone to scan a bridge is a lot safer than the traditional means of using a snooper truck, both for the crew inspecting the bridge and for motorists. Couple that with faster, more cost-effective inspections, it’s a win-win for the crew, the local economy and New York State as a whole.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Would appear a lot of this work is in the public safety community.  Are there other areas of government?   

Stewart:  The healthcare industry is beginning to realize the benefits of utilizing drones as well, especially the ability of contactless delivery of materials. You can read here about one of our recent collaborations with SUNY Upstate Medical where we helped deliver unused COVID-19 Test Kits.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Explain NUAIR’s relationship with the start-up incubators Genius NY and The Tech Garden. 

Stewart:  GENIUS NY and The Tech Garden are key partners and organizations for the Central New York UAS and high-tech ecosystem. We work directly with many of the companies in the Tech Garden and actively promote the resources both organizations provide to tech startups, actively contributing to the economic development of the region. Our COO Tony Basile is also on the board of directors for GENIUS NY, actively reviewing applicants and voting on the winners.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  The NUAIR Alliance is impressive.   How do these categories stack up in New York State? 

The NUAIR Alliance continues to grow on a global scale and includes organizations from all aspects involved with UAS and technology including policy & standards, spectrum, test sites, components, government and more. Visit https://nuair.org/alliance/ to see all of our active Alliance members.

NUAIR and the New York UAS Test Site has brought over 330 different companies from across the world and thousands of people to Central New York throughout the years and continue to bring in companies to test and setup shop.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  FAA, NASA Aviation, and state/local drone regulations – how does NUAIR stay on top of all the changes?  It all seems so fluid, dynamic, constantly changing.

Stewart:  This is what we do all-day, every-day. NUAIR employees are talking with, working with and/or conducting meaningful projects the FAA, NASA and industry every day of the week.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  How’s the industry dealing with all of the security concerns over Chinese made drone products such as the DJIs?  How are US-based companies responding in this regard?  

Stewart:  The concern with Chinese/foreign made drone and components continues to grow, including the recent regulations from the United States government stating that federal funds cannot be used to purchase Chinese (or other specific foreign countries) drone components. A lot of the public safety officials we work with are now looking into one of our partners, Skydio, an American drone manufacturer, who was a major hit at the New York Public Safety UAS Summit we just held. We’ve also validated a drone parachute on the WorkHorse, an American-made UAV built for deliveries.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Any involvement / business development with the any GIS companies?

Stewart:  We have quite an active program with Cardinal Geospatial, trying to define an analysis tool that could be used to determine whether an operator was using a DEM with enough granularity for their mission and the terrain over which they are flying.

eSpatiallyNewYork:  Looking into the crystal ball, what’s the next big thing for the upstate drone/NUAIR community? 

Stewart:  5G. MITRE Engenuity Open Generation Consortium has determined New York’s 50-mile corridor is a prime location to launch the nation’s first 5G UAS testing range, a designation that will greatly enhance New York’s position as a global leader in this emerging technology sector.

The work we continue with the FAA, NASA, and industry both on the standards/regulations side and the physical data collection/testing side are helping shape the future of aviation. This work will unlock the true potential of drones for commercial operations that are both scalable and economically viable. The drone and overall high-tech Central New York ecosystem has everything a company needs to land and expand their UAS operations.

Contact:

Tim Lawton
Director of Marketing & Public Relations
tlawton@nuair.org
www.nuair.org

Geospatial Business Spotlight: Spatial Analytix

Company Name:        Spatial Analytix

Website:                      http://www.spatialanalytixllc.com/

Established:                2015

The Company                                                       

Spatial Analytix is currently under the leadership of Ben Houston (CEO) and Matt Mercurio (GTO).  Together, both bring a wealth of experience in GIS and mapping to the growing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) mapping market in New York State and beyond.

Most recently, Matt was GIS Manager in Allegheny County, PA and before that Project Manager at the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology (IAGT) in Auburn, NY. He also continues to be a principle and founder at Civic Mapper (www.civicmapper.com). Ben has spent the past six years as founder and officer at GroundPoint Technologies (www.groundpointllc.com) and prior to this worked with Matt and other colleagues at IAGT in both NASA and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) funded geospatial programs.

Spatial Analytix was formed in early 2015 to support a growing need in the UAV data processing market.   The current emphasis in the UAV market is on platforms, hardware, software and cloud based solutions, not the data. Spatial Analytix believes that the next few years will be characterized by market confusion over data quality and deliverables as even experienced geospatial professionals sort through the fog. By bringing a focus on data quality and useful deliverables, Spatial Analytix moves UAV data collections beyond being just imagery projects to producing high quality, plug and play geospatial data.

Geospatial Services   

Spatial Analytix focuses on geospatial data in terms of the data quality triangle:

SA1While much of the current discussion in the UAV market focuses on the wow factor of precision, Spatial Analytix also considers temporal components along with verifiable accuracy in the data deliverables to ensure customers get what they want, when they want it. It’s the three elements together that bring real value to the data.

Typical outputs from automated processing (i.e., web based solutions) normally include point clouds, terrain models, and image mosaics (often labeled with the misnomer of “orthomosaics”). Such deliverables are usually acceptable for surveillance and monitoring uses, but for true GIS and engineering mapping applications, automated processing solutions leave a big data quality gap. Artifacts, noise and flight line overlap issues can clutter the point cloud and skew surface models, making for inaccurate contours and messy mosaics. Automated orthophotography can show up with smearing and ghosts, and usually do not include optimal image and cut line selection. Although available off-the-shelf geoprocessing tools in this space are becoming more powerful and functional each day, Spatial Analytix combines the right mix of quality tools, technical knowledge, and artisanal experience to get projects to come out right. The first time.

Clients can access raw data and processed deliverables through standard file systems, or as a URL which can be delivered across an enterprise for data visualization and exploration. No longer do the deliverables need to be sent to a GIS or CAD operator to put on screen for a supervisor or program manager. Live, web based delivery of hosted data is now standard. Platforms range from Google Maps to ArcGIS Online to Pictometry Connect. When compared to traditional photogrammetric and aerial survey products, Spatial Analytix deliverables are designed to be not only equivalent…but better.

Ortho-Image

Ortho-Image

Spatial Analytix is developing a network of regional UAV data collectors offering standard services including:

  • Point Clouds (LAS format)
  • DTMs (full surface)
  • DEMs (bare earth surface)
  • Contours
  • Breaklines
  • Planimetrics
  • Image mosaics/orthomosaics
  • Volumetrics
  • Drainage
  • Vegetation/Landcover/Impervious surface mapping
Colorized point cloud

Colorized point cloud

In the near future, Spatial Analytix product enhancements will include:

  • Oblique imagery integration (Pictometry Connect integration)
  • GeoVideo
Typical UAV Flight Line Configuration Developing 3D Model

Typical UAV Flight Line Configuration Developing 3D Model

 

Spatial Analytix offers Virtual Geospatial Technology Office (vGTO) services to partner companies looking to leverage UAV and geospatial technologies by providing authoritative consulting support on such things as optimal flight planning and data processing, enterprise data management, and web based solutions. Whatever the UAV geospatial data deliverable is –  imagery, elevation, vector, or raster –  Spatial Analytix is confident that users have never seen data like this before.

Contact:   

Ben Houston, ben.houston@spatialanalytixllc.com

Matt Mercurio, matt.mercurio@spatialanalytixllc.com

Website: spatialanalytixllc.com

Facebook: /spatialanalytix

Twitter: @spatialanalytix

(412) 368-6015

GTO © Professional Services

SA7