This document and attachments comprise the first quarterly report on the Northeast Ohio Information Exchange: Digital Infrastructure for Drone Services in Cuyahoga County, abbreviated hereafter as the NEOFIX project.
About NEOFIX
The Northeast Ohio Flight Information Exchange (NEOFIX) is a program for local government and public safety agencies to post information for each other and drone operators which keep the region’s airspace open, secure, and safe. This program is vital technology infrastructure necessary to promote a friendly setting for drone use, repair, manufacturing and assembly and jobs development.
Rationale
The interest for the NEOFX work originates with local public emergency, first response and other public safety officials, regional health institutions and private business stakeholders engaged in drone operations. The NEOFIX is devised as a public private partnership whose purpose is the creation of public infrastructure but also in setting conditions for private industry to develop drone or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations, manufacturing, repair, education and training or related business development outcomes throughout Cuyahoga County with an emphasis on District 2 and the region bound by the Aerozone District plan.
Nationally, authority for drone infrastructure contributing to safe advanced air mobility (AAM) operations resides with the Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA). Other Federal and State government interests include homeland security and transportation. The FAA has clearly identified the role of state and local government in informing drone infrastructure and for advising them on how industry efforts may best integrate into any given community within the regulation ecosystem overseen by the FAA.
Benefits to Cuyahoga County
The NEOFIX is a public private partnership, where public sector first in resources will be amplified well beyond a dollar-for-dollar return by private companies and other stakeholders for an emerging $10B private industry. NEOFIX will enhance first response and public safety professionals in Cuyahoga County with a Common Operating Picture of drone operations, supporting safe operations and counter-UAS. The NEOFIX puts the County and its airspace within the leading the communities in the nation, applicable as a model to share throughout the state of Ohio.
First Quarter NEOFIX Project Performance
- Goal 1: To build interest among local, regional, state and national drone (UAS) stakeholders.
- Goal 2: To design and initiate data-build toward for services accessible to the public.
These intertwined goals arise from the process of convening and organizing UAS stakeholders. The stakeholders advise the NEOFIX configuration to best account for flight operations throughout the region. The early organizing concepts essential in the NEOFIX design are to focus on identification of physical hazards, infrastructure obstructions such as power and cellular structures, transportation features, restricted operational areas, sensitive facilities, ground hazards, and natural geography. Additional concepts include industrial density requiring flight advisories, large scale sporting and social events including high school athletics for example, emergencies in progress, surveillance and related issues of resident privacy. Accounts for flight plans, operation compliance with local ordinances, FAA regulations and for compliance tracking, enforcement and operator accountability.
NEOFIX design must also account for user friendly interface, privacy and planned deconfliction by authorities.
Soaring to new heights, together.
Be sure to visit the BWU Technology Partnerships Initiative website to learn more about how our NEOFIX program drives economic growth, promotes policy and infrastructure to improve drone safety and efficiency in various industries, and ensures that drone technology is being used responsibly.