NUST MISIS and Copter Express have launched a course to train developers of unmanned aerial systems. The program’s first enrollment will take place in 2019 and will likely lead to a special master’s degree program in the coming years.
The course will train developers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the NUST MISIS Department of Automated Control Systems. Copter Express, a Russian developer and manufacturer specializing in the creation of autonomous industrial drones and educational UAV designs, is partnering with NUST MISIS for the course. In 2016, Copter Express helped set up the “Management of unmanned aerial vehicles” course as part of the WorldSkills Russia.
“The most popular way to use a civilian drone today is to take photos and videos. But this market is oversaturated. At the same time, there is a great demand for the use of drones in construction and agriculture. Currently, the volume of the global drone market is [worth] about $40 billion, and according to forecasts these numbers will double [in the near future]. This gives great prospects for developers, especially in Russia, where the drone industry is just starting to develop”, said Alexey Shlykov, Executive Director at Copter Express.
The course for UAV competencies will be dedicated to software development and special physical marks to move stable autonomous drones along predefined trajectories. For this, a special laboratory were students will be able to develop and test drones, prepare designs and final qualifying works, and prepare to participate in Russian and international competitions in robotics, is already being constructed at NUST MISIS.
“The NUST MISIS Department of Engineering Cybernetics, headed by Olga Uskova, President of Cognitive Technologies, is the founder of the works on unmanned systems and computer vision. In January, we launched a ground area to test ground-based unmanned vehicles as part of the REC ‘Intellectual Mining Enterprise’ together with the VIST Group. Now, together with Copter Express, we are finishing the creation of a new ground area and a laboratory for unmanned aerial systems. Next year, we plan to create a separate master`s degree program dedicated to unmanned transport systems and drones, where one specialization will be devoted to ground vehicles and the another to aviation”, commented Sergey Solodov, acting director of the NUST MISIS College of IT & Automated Control Systems.
