Member Spotlight: Pierce Aerospace

The impact of autonomous vehicles on the economy is significant as autonomy impacts nearly all industries. Drones, unmanned cars and tractors, and robots are disrupting the pillars of the Indiana economy: logistics, agriculture, and manufacturing. By partnering with key companies, the Indiana IoT Lab is enabling these industries to adapt and thrive in the evolving autonomous landscape.

Lab member Pierce Aerospace is pioneering the impacts of autonomy through their development of Remote Identification technologies for drones. They focus on practical and robust integration of Remote ID services into the drone ecosystem. Their technology works as digital license plates for drones – serving stakeholders ranging from police to the general public. These digital license plates answer, “who is that?” Answering the question of who is operating a drone is one of the last steps needed to get to widespread autonomous drone applications, such as package delivery.

As an industry leader, Pierce Aerospace spearheads work related to their Remote ID activities on the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team, ASTM standards committees for drones, and the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee Task Groups for Remote ID and Waivers.

Funds from the US Air Force and the State of Indiana support the development of Pierce Aerospace’s Flight Portal ID suite of Remote ID technologies. Flight Portal ID was nominated as Indiana’s Innovation of the Year by Techpoint, and was awarded first place in Remote ID technology by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Xcellence’s Awards.

Pierce Aerospace bases their engineering team out of the IoT Lab. According to founder Aaron Pierce, although his company primarily works with software, the IoT Lab is ideal for resources and collaboration amongst tinkerers. “Our software works with hardware, and there’s no better place in the Indianapolis area for us to sling code and solder drones at the same time,” said Pierce. “We look to continue community engagement and use the IoT Lab not just as a place to work, but as a place to exchange ideas and collaborate with others as The Lab grows its confluence between technology and culture.”

The Indianapolis Business Journal recently featured Pierce. The article discusses his multiple accomplishments, philosophy on drone technology, and efforts pioneering the identification of drones using IoT and digital license plates. Read the entire article here.

You can get up-close and personal with this innovative company at the Indiana Festival of Autonomy, held at the lab on Saturday, August 17, from 9am to 4pm. Celebrate unmanned vehicles with hands-on activities, exhibits, drones, robots, self-driving cars and more. Learn more and register for the event here.