Industry and business leaders gathered in Wichita last week for a summit on unmanned aerial systems, more commonly known as drones. KMUW’s Abigail Wilson reports.
(SCRIPT)
Kansas hopes to be an industry leader in the emerging field of drones, building on its reputation as the home of the air capital of the world.
“We've got the strength and the expertise we've got the highly skilled workforce, we've got a constant innovation perspective, innovative mindset.”
Joel Anderson works in the research office at K-State. He says the drone industry could have a huge impact on Kansas, as long as the state communicates its true value to the rest of the world and gets behind its increasing momentum.
“The future is bright for Kansas and embracing some of the future technologies is going to sustain us in the future.
A 2013 study by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International estimated that by 2025 the drone industry could create more than 3700 jobs in Kansas. The same study reported 80 percent of the potential commercial market for drones to be in precision agriculture.