Berkeley Drone Technologies delivers integrated solutions for building, operating, and sustaining advanced drone capabilities. Our solutions are designed to work together as part of a unified ecosystem, combining infrastructure, training, research, and operations under shared standards and governance.
Drone Parks & labs
Purpose-built environments for experimentation, validation, and deployment
BDT designs, builds, and operates drone parks with extensive sensing and monitoring controls, providing controlled environments where advanced drone systems can be tested, validated, and deployed at scale. These parks support experimental platforms, multi-vehicle operations, and sustained research programs, with integrated sensing, monitoring, and safety systems designed to meet regulatory and operational requirements.
Drone parks serve as the physical foundation of national drone capability, enabling governments and institutions to host real-world experimentation, train operators, evaluate emerging technologies, and support the development of new operational and commercial applications over time.
Flight School
Operational training and certification for real-world drone use
BDT flight schools provide structured training programs focused on practical drone operations across a range of application domains, including agriculture, sensing, mapping, inspection, and GIS-enabled workflows. These programs emphasize safe operation, regulatory alignment, and mission-specific proficiency, ensuring that operators can deploy drones effectively in real environments.
Flight schools are designed to scale nationally or regionally, supporting workforce development and standardized operational readiness while integrating seamlessly with drone parks and broader infrastructure.
Drone Academy
Advanced education in autonomous systems, AI, and drone ecosystems
The Drone Academy is BDT’s advanced, faculty-led education and research interface, focused on the most challenging aspects of modern drone systems. Coursework and programs address topics such as autonomous swarm software, digital twins, advanced sensing, propulsion and energy systems, multi-domain vehicles, and AI-enabled operations.
The Academy operates through a train-the-trainer model, allowing world-class Berkeley faculty to design curricula, establish standards, and seed local instructional capacity. Rather than functioning as a traditional school, the Drone Academy serves as a bridge between academic research, industry innovation, and real-world application—creating a durable pipeline of expertise and experimentation.
Applied Research
Consortium-based research connecting innovation to deployment
All BDT engagements—including drone parks, flight schools, and the Drone Academy—are conducted in active collaboration with the Center for Applied Drone Research (CADR). Organizations working with BDT participate as members of this broader research consortium, gaining access to shared expertise, talent, facilities, and ongoing research programs.
Applied research initiatives focus on translating emerging technologies in autonomy, sensing, digital twins, and infrastructure into deployable systems. This model ensures continuous cross-pollination between research and application, allowing partners to remain aligned with the latest advances while grounding innovation in validated, real-world use.
Managed Infrastructure
End-to-end delivery, standards, and long-term operation
Managed Infrastructure brings all of BDT’s capabilities together. For governments and institutions seeking comprehensive solutions, BDT designs, builds, and operates integrated drone ecosystems on their behalf, combining drone parks, flight schools, advanced education, and applied research under a unified governance and standards framework.
This includes the development and enforcement of best-in-class specifications, operational standards, and quality assurance across facilities, training programs, sensing systems, and data workflows. BDT ensures that infrastructure remains interoperable, future-ready, and aligned with strategic objectives, while maintaining a sustained pipeline of real-world applications, research activity, and workforce development.
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