Drone Amplified Awarded Grant from the National Science Foundation
Lincoln, NE – Drone Amplified, the Nebraska-based company that has pioneered wildfire fighting with drones,has been awardeda National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grantfor$983,676 and a Nebraska Department of Economic Development matching grant for $100,000.
The funding is to conduct research and development (R&D) on increasing the safety, decreasing the costs, and increasing the effectiveness of firefighters battling wildfires.
Today, firefighters are unable to perform the backburns needed to contain wildfires without putting firefighters at risk. This project will result in technologies that directly address the critical pain points of firefighters by improving the intelligence and capabilities of drone systems.
“We have seen the horrible impact that wildfires have had this year throughout the country. The support of NSF and the Nebraska Department of Economic Development will help us transform firefighting technology to enable faster containment of wildfires and a significant reduction of risk,” said Carrick Detweiler, CEO and Co-Founder of Drone Amplified.
The research will result in innovations in algorithms for coordinating groups of robots, deep-learning approaches and the development of novel datasets, algorithms that can predict fire activity and plan missions and autonomous health monitoring approaches. This project has the potential to transform how fire management is conducted by ensuring safe, fast, affordable, and more capable aerial ignition.
“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”
Once a small business is awarded a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant, it becomes eligible to apply for a Phase II grant. NSF accepts Phase I proposals from small businesses at any time. Small businesses with innovative science and technology solutions, and commercial potential are encouraged to apply.All proposals submitted to the NSF SBIR/STTR program, also known as America’s Seed Fund, powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process.
To learn more about America’s Seed Fund, powered by NSF, visit:
https://seedfund.nsf.gov/