Drones at Michigan State University | Office of Research and Innovation

MSU Drone Services

There are existing drone services available at MSU for those who do not wish to invest in the necessary equipment, training and staff. There are also several faculty at MSU using drones in their research that may wish to collaborate.

Remote Sensing & GIS Research and Outreach Services (RS&GIS)

The RS&GIS drone team has been deploying drones and collecting and processing data since 2012. RS&GIS has several certificated remote pilots with hundreds of hours of combined flight time on a variety of platforms. All drone pilots at RS&GIS are also Geographic Information System (GIS) analysts. In addition to drone data collection and processing services, they also offer drone training courses.

RS&GIS Drone Team

GIS Day 2024: Drones at MSU

Drones are important and exciting tools for research, infrastructure and more. Please join the MSU GIS Users Community on November 20th to learn about drones from a panel discussion in celebration of GIS Day 2024.

Drone Operators

To navigate the field of unmanned aerial operations successfully, a deliberate sequence of actions is essential, beginning with certification and extending through strategic compliance and planning.

MSU Drone Policy

Michigan State University has implemented a comprehensive policy to regulate the use and operation of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and uncrewed submersible vehicles (USVs), commonly known as drones, for research, service, extension, outreach, and various support functions including land and facilities management.

MSU Drone Policy

General Questions

For general questions please email ORI.Drones@msu.edu or use the contact form below.

MSU Drones Contact Form