Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a memo of understanding to collaborate on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) technology.
This occurred on May 5 at the 2018 North American Governors and Premiers Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, organizers announced.
“Combining the considerable unmanned aerial system expertise of Nevada and Alberta offers significant potential for growth and innovation across numerous industries,” Sandoval said in a statement released by the organizers.
“I am confident that as this collaboration develops it will serve as a gateway to even stronger economic and cultural ties for the benefit of all Albertans and Nevadans.”
Nevada is highly regarded as global leader in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry and is anchored by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems, and home to one of six Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated UAV test sites.
Nevada has successfully partnered with organizations like NASA to develop unmanned air traffic control management structures to safely integrate manned and unmanned aviation operations, event officials said in their announcement.
Notley said: “We are excited to build and strengthen economic relations with Nevada, especially in the growing unmanned system sector. This is a new opportunity to foster economic growth, innovation and diversification.
“Together, we can work to tackle challenges related to the safe integration of unmanned aerial systems into our airspaces, opening up significant commercial and industrial market opportunities in key sectors like energy, forestry, agriculture, and the environment,” Notley added.