The CRDR held a session on the future of drones during PNWER's 2019 Economic Leadership Forum in Seattle, WA. The Forum's program concluded with a robust look at the future of drones and the role that they can play in different aspects of our world. Drones are being utilized in ways that would seem impossible just a few years ago. The session was moderated by Charlton Evans, End State Solutions, and featured Tom Hagen, AUVSI-Cascade Chapter; Bryan Norton, City of Boise; and Douglas Spotted Eagle, Sundance Media Group. The manufacturing and innovative drone technologies happening right here in the Pacific Northwest gives us the chance to be a world leader on drones. This is a fast-evolving industry, and drones are being used to mitigate disasters, inspect critical infrastructure, increase public safety, and more. However, the speakers identified a major issue to the opportunities and effective use of drones which is misinformation and false perceptions regarding the legality and uses of this technology. Tom Hagen said, "We need more informed legislators, homeowners, drone users, and others. We need laws that allow the technology to work, but we need to work on education. PNWER is one way to do this educational outreach & bridge this gap." Douglas Spotted Eagle stated, "Technology is not to be afraid of. It is to be understood." 

Presentations:
Douglas Spotted Eagle, Sundance Media Group LLC Presentation
Tom Hagen, AUVSI Presentation

As part of its Critical Infrastructure Reentry and Situational Awareness Project (CIRSAP), the CRDR held a workshop on September 4, 2019 in Salem, Oregon. Over 80 public and private sector stakeholders from Oregon and around the region participated in the workshop focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones. The workshop sought to highlight the current state of UAS usage within the State of Oregon and identify opportunities to collaborate more effectively between the public and private sector on drone usage and utilizing drones for situational awareness. The workshop brought together attendees and speakers from drone companies, industry associations and organizations, first responders, law enforcement, state and federal agencies, municipalities, emergency managers, and stakeholders from both the public and private sector.

The workshop was funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Challenge Grant program. Oregon is one of four states that participated in the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project. Learn more about the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project here.

On August 28, 2019, the Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR), and the Montana Division of Disaster and Emergency Services held a statewide event in Helena, Montana. Fifty stakeholders gathered from emergency management, precision agriculture, transportation infrastructure, forest management, and other public and private sectors. The half-day workshop focused on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) situational awareness and featured presentations from drone manufacturers, experts and pilots from private companies, academia, and the State of Montana government. The purpose of the workshop was to educate stakeholders on current UAS policy, understand the use of UAS in Montana, and discuss utilizing UAS for improved situational awareness.​

​The workshop was funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Challenge Grant program. Montana is one of four states that participated in the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project. Learn more about the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project here.

Over 100 public and private stakeholders from across Idaho gathered in Boise on June 5, 2019 for the first statewide workshop focused on utilizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for situational awareness. This effort brought together many sectors including law enforcement, emergency management, transportation, communications, emergency services, fire, search and rescue, and higher education research as well as private sector agriculture and infrastructure such as rail, communications, power, and utilities.

​The workshop was funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Challenge Grant program. Idaho is one of four states that participated in the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project. Learn more about the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project here.

​Public and private stakeholders from around the region met in Seattle, Washington on May 7, 2019 for a workshop to discuss the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) improve situational awareness of critical infrastructure post-disaster. In attendance were participants from across many sectors including law enforcement, emergency management, transportation, communications, emergency services, fire, as well as private sector agriculture and infrastructure such as energy, communications, power, and utilities.

86% of the nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector. Therefore, there is a need for rapid damage assessment of these critical infrastructures immediately following a disaster. Emerging drone technology is allowing for an expedited and detailed damage assessment of infrastructures by owners and operators. The private sector needs to access to disaster zones to conduct damage assessments and then be able to share information rapidly with state emergency management agencies so that a common operating picture can be established.

The workshop was funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Challenge Grant program. Washington is one of four states that participated in the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project. Learn more about the CRDR's Resilience Challenge Grant project here.

The Pacific Northwest Economic Region and its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience in partnership with Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute (GRI) were awarded a 2017 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Security and Resilience Challenge grant for critical infrastructure. Held in Lakewood, Washington, this workshop presented the results of the technical research team (GRI) at utilizing self-directed drone technology (algorithms) and LIDAR to inspect damaged bridges in a post disaster scenario.

The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) and its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) were awarded a 2018 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Security and Resilience Challenge grant for critical infrastructure. With this grant, the CRDR sought to develop methodologies to allow for the rapid inspection of critical infrastructure in post-disasters using drones --also called Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). This information would then be shared with state-level emergency management agencies to establish better situational awareness and a common operating picture.

The CRDR invited four states to participate in the project: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The first goal was to establish a working group of interested public and private sector infrastructure owners and operators within each state. A public-private, stakeholder-led workshop was then held in each state which provided the opportunity for public and private critical infrastructure owners and operators to be briefed on and then share their needs and concerns about partnering with the government sector in their respective states. The feedback from each workshop was then incorporated into a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for each state. 

Idaho                                                    Montana
​Oregon                                                 Washington

​See below for the project description, or read more here about the Project Team, Project Deliverables, and Stakeholder Commitment.

The Gap
86% of the nation’s critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector. There is a need for rapid damage assessment of these critical infrastructures immediately following a disaster. Emerging drone technology is allowing for an expedited and detailed damage assessment of infrastructures by owners and operators. To accomplish this work requires that the private sector have access to disaster zones to conduct damage assessments and then be able to share information rapidly with state emergency management agencies so that a common operating picture can be established. 

Project Scope
This project scope includes the development of plans, procedures, processes, and mechanisms for the collection and exchange of damage information. This information will assist both infrastructure owners and the public sector to obtain faster situational awareness on the status of their infrastructures, and other interdependent infrastructures that may impact their ability to provide services, and products to their customers. This information will be transmitted to state EOCs and used to create a common operational map that can be shared with the federal government, lower level jurisdictional organizations and the private sector.

The intent is to work with four states in the Pacific Northwest: Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. These states will be invited to participate in the project. The first goal will be to establish a working group of interested public and private sector infrastructure owners and operators within each state. Then there will be a public-private stakeholder led workshop for each of the four states. These will be sessions that invite public and private CI owners and operators to be briefed on and consider their needs and concerns about partnering with the government sector and their respective state. The outcome of the workshop will ideally be the initial formation of operational concepts that will be incorporated into a CONOPS for that state.

A CONOPS for access into disaster zones and the sharing of information will be prepared for each state. As part of this CONOPS, the process for private sector CI owners to gain access into disaster zones will be formulated for each state. This element of the CONOPS will use the existing state access control methodologies that they have in place or develop a simplified process for access so that drones can be used to gather damage assessment information. The CONOPS will also specify the communications channels and data file type for transmission.

A demonstration drill will be conducted in one state, with one infrastructure owner and operator that implements the CONOPS. This drill will use the established process for a private CI owner to obtain access to a disaster zone, fly a simulated damaged area with a UAS, and transmit simulated disaster damage information to the state Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
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The above drill will be open to observers from other infrastructures and state emergency management officials. Lastly, the longer-term goal is to demonstrate this UAS to EOC situational awareness feed at scale in real-time during the Cascadia Rising II exercise planned for 2022.

​Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) continue to be utilized in a range of industries and government agencies. As UAS/drone technology becomes more readily available, is your organization prepared to develop a professional micro-aviation program?

Unmanned Autonomous Systems (UAS) continue to be utilized in a range of industries and government agencies. As UAS/drone technology becomes more readily available, is your organization prepared to develop a professional micro-aviation program?

The Center for Regional Disaster Resilience organized a webinar addressing these issues on Oct. 23rd, 2018. Watch the webinar recording here. Speakers include:

• Eric Holdeman, Director of the CRDR, moderated the webinar and provided a brief overview of the "Using Drones for Synchronization of Situational Awareness Between Critical Infrastructures and the Public Sector" DHS National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Security and Resilience Challenge Project.
• Charlton Evans, FAA and UAS expert from End State Solutions, discussed the regulatory considerations and the best practices in obtaining internal and external approval to establish a professional micro-aviation (drone) program​
• David Fleckenstein, Director, Washington State Department of Transportation Aviation Division, provided an update on Washington's UAS landscape in light of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) provisions in the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Following the successful Disaster Resilience Symposium in Portland, Oregon, in 2017, the CRDR decided to organize another gathering of leaders and decision-makers from across the region to address common issues, examine solutions, and promote information-sharing. The Symposium was held as part of PNWER's 2018 Annual Summit in Spokane, Washington. Co-hosting the Disaster Resilience Symposium with the larger PNWER Summit provided attendees with the opportunity to interact face-to-face with elected officials and legislators and increased awareness for important disaster resilience issues. The 2018 Disaster Resilience Symposium consisted of two sessions: Election Infrastructure & Cybersecurity and Drones.

Election Infrastructure & Cybersecurity
Elections were designated as part of our nation's  critical infrastructure in late 2016 by the Department of Homeland Security. The topic is both timely and relevant to our elected officials who will be in attendance at the PNWER Summit. The session will examine federal guidance for state and local election officials; current threats to election infrastructure; policies to protect election infrastructure; and methods to reassure the public.
​
Speakers:

• Eric Holdeman, Director, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR)
• Patrick Massey, Regional Director, Office of Infrastructure, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
• Chad Houck, Deputy Secretary of State, Office of the Secretary of State, State of Idaho
• Julie Wise, Director,  King County Department of Elections, Washington State
• Dave Matthews, Cyber Expert, Consultant

Presentations:

• Eric Holdeman, Center for Regional Disaster Resilience Presentation
• Chad Houck, State of Idaho Presentation
• Julie Wise, King County Department of Elections Presentation

Drones
The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) and its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) in partnership with Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute (GRI) have been awarded a 2017 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Security and Resilience Challenge grant for critical infrastructure. The project seeks to develop technologies for UAS (drone) employment to technically inspect critical infrastructure in post disaster scenarios.

There is a need for rapid damage assessment of critical infrastructure immediately following a disaster. Emerging UAS technology is allowing for an expedited and detailed damage assessment of  infrastructure such as bridges and other steel and concrete structures within the built environment.

• Current and Emerging Federal and State Policy
• Drones and UAS Impacts on Response and Recovery
• Private Sector Use of Drones for Critical Inspections
• Drones in Wildfire Response
• Privacy Considerations

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​Speakers:

• Robert Hodgeman, Senior Aviation Planner, Washington State Department of Transportation, Aviation Division
• James Yates, Emergency Manager Coordinator, Thurston County Emergency
  Management
• Taskin Padir, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Northeastern University
• Greg Thies, News Operations Manager, King 5 News
• Tom Hagen, President, AUVSI Cascade Chapter
• Charlton Evans, Principal Consultant End State Solutions
• Jaethan Reichel, CEO, Lightship
• Evan Reis, Director, PE, SE, Executive Director, Co-Founder, U.S. Building Resiliency Council 

Presentations:

• Robert Hodgman, Washington State Department of Transportation Presentation
• ​Charlton Evans, End State Solutions Presentation
• Taskin Padir, Northeastern University Presentation
• Jaethan Reichel, Lightship Presentation
• Evan Reis, U.S. Resiliency Council Presentation
• Tom Hagen, Enterprise Initiatives, Inc. Presentation 

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is rapidly growing in momentum in both the public and private sectors. UAV usage is moving quickly from mere hobbyists and real estate agencies to full-fledge usage of systems that can have sophisticated cameras and other sensors, that when linked with other technologies can make a significant impact on the cost of operations and the capabilities of agencies and companies.

Federal regulation also continues to evolve and there is a corresponding dialog about the regulation of this new disruptive technology at the state and local government levels. As with any new technology, there is a possibility for it to be used for both the public good or, in some cases, by criminal elements in our society.

Collectively, we can expect to see new uses and new systems fielded that will aid people and organizations in providing services and products to citizens and customers. One area of particular interest is the use of UAV to assist in the assessment of critical infrastructure following a disaster. This may include the generalized assessment of impacts and the use of new technologies and their adaptation to provide better decision-making tools to government and private sector leaders coping with disasters.

Infrastructure owners and operators can use UAV technology as can emergency management and a wide variety of public and private organizations that will respond to emergencies and disasters here in the Pacific Northwest.

We are already seeing governments form informal working groups of users, either by geographical, e.g., county, region or by discipline, e.g. law enforcement.

The Purpose
With the rapid advancement of the UAV technology and use it is appropriate to establish an informal users group that includes both the public and private sector representatives and their associated organizations. The potential for collaboration and information sharing between the public and private sector UAV users is significant.

This users group would serve as a forum for the sharing of information between participating personnel and organizations. This users group is not for the purpose of replacing existing associations already in existence or usurping the legislatively-mandated responsibilities of any one agency.

Likely topics for information sharing could include:

• The interpretation and implementation of new regulations as they are being promulgated
  
• The sharing of new uses for the technology for infrastructure inspections and other purposes
• Briefings on new systems, both UAV and onboard sensors, etc.
  
• Best practices briefings by participating organizations as their frequency of use and expansion of mission perimeters broaden 
  
• Lessons learned from specific missions or events that are applicable to a wide variety of agencies and businesses
  
• Advances in the use of UAV to assess critical infrastructure
  

The Scope
A Users Group will be established for Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Potentially, the users group could be expanded to NW Canadian Provinces as the usage of UAV expands along with the potential for cross-border coordination and uses by government agencies and commerce.

Membership
There would be no “formal” membership other than the sharing of contact information of individuals who wish to be informed of users group conference calls so that they can be contacted and kept in the loop. Membership will not include hobbyists.