The city of Chula Vista in California is inviting researchers to propose projects, partnerships and pilot programmes on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs).
The city has issued a ‘request for expressions of interest’ highlighting that city-owned facilities are now available to businesses and organisations.
Eric Crockett, economic development director, says: “Chula Vista is the only city in the nation with federal recognition for both AV and UAS testing and validation in a real-world environment.”
Available locations include an undeveloped 375-acre university site which is already being used by drone start-ups. For AV firms, the city is also offering 17,000 square feet of industrial space for vehicle maintenance.
“We’ve kept this solicitation as open-ended as possible because we want to encourage industry responses to be creative and innovative,” Crockett adds.