Central Michigan University officials say the school is now home to Michigan’s only interdisciplinary drone lab.
The lab isn’t a physical place, but a collection of drones and equipment valued at around $100,000.
The program currently consists of two classes designed to help students become FAA certified as drone pilots.
Heather Polinsky is the department chair of the School of Broadcast and Cinematic Arts.
She says the program is designed to put CMU at the forefront of a growing industry.
“Drones are an exploding technology and we want to be on the forefront of where that’s going to be,” Polinsky said. “I mean, it’s obviously being used a lot in media but there’s all sorts of other applications for drones and we want to make sure that CMU has that capability.”
In the future, Polinsky says she hopes the program will expand to include other classes specific to subjects like business and meteorology.