Drone LIDAR

Drone Surveying Equipment Featured at the MVCC Drone Festival


The Microdrones World Tour made a quick stop in upstate New York to participate in the 2021 Mohawk Valley Community College Drone Festival.  The event highlighted the MVCC Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Degree Program which was recently featured in a Microdrones production of Down to Earth.  CLICK HERE to learn more about Down to Earth, Higher Education.

Attendees of the 2021 Drone Festival on the MVCC Quad

At the 2021 Drone Festival, attendees were able to learn about MVCC’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems AAS degree program and chat with members of the Unmanned Aerial Solutions Club, faculty and students while also having the opportunity to speak with other leaders in the drone industry.

Attending the event from Microdrones were Bret Burghdurf, Marketing Director, Mike Dziok, Vice President of Marketing, Chuck Dorgan, Director of Sales for North America, and Justin Palmer, Creative Services Manager.

Mike Dziok, Vice President of Marketing, Justin Palmer, Creative Services Manager, Professor Bill Judycki, and Chuck Dorgan, Director of Sales for North America.

During the festival, participants could enjoy interactive drone, racing drone and flight demos, hands-on racing simulators and even try flying a mini-drone.  Two miniature RC hovercrafts were also available for the public to pilot and learn how to operate the remote controls, prior to flying the drone in the netted safety area.

The RPAS class also had their Microdrones integrated system at the event and performed flight demonstrations throughout the day. The curriculum at MVCC includes drone Lidar and mapping training on how to use the mdLiDAR1000 and mdMapper1000DG from Microdrones.

MVCC started its program in 2015, led by Professor Bill Judycki, an electrical engineer, and a licensed pilot.  According to Professor Judycki, the MVCC two-year program is one of only four in the country that allows students to design, build, test, program, fly and apply RPAS technology.

“We do a few things very well,” Judycki explained, “and one of those is teaching technologies and science to individuals looking for a degree. Fortunately for us, when it comes to the application portion of our curriculum, we use the mdLiDAR and mdMapper systems from Microdrones. That way we have one platform that can perform multiple applications where our students can create and process real-world drone surveying projects.”

Judycki was prominently featured in the latest 3 episodes of Down to Earth, a surveying reality series, produced by Microdrones. Titled “Higher Education,” the 3-part series follows Professor Judycki as he teaches his students both in the classroom and out in the field, where you can watch how they gain incredible hands-on experience flying the Microdrones surveying equipment.

Professor Judycki and students on location at Yahnundasis Golf Club during the production of Down to Earth, Higher Education.

During the production of the Down to Earth MVCC episodes, Bret Burghdurf, the Marketing Director at Microdrones, spent three days with Bill and his students. “The RPAS program at MVCC isn’t your ordinary class,” said Burghdurf. “I’ve produced a number of Down to Earth episodes, and I watched these students handle themselves like many of our professional surveyors. So, it was great to catch up with them at the Drone Festival and hear their reactions to watching their episodes of Down to Earth, as well as their family and friends. I’d recommend any other colleges or institutions who are thinking of adding drone surveying to their curriculum, learn from the best- right here at MVCC.”

The latest 3 episodes of Down to Earth, "Higher Education," are now available on YouTube and mdTV

If you are a college or educational institution who would like to learn more about adding drone surveying equipment to your curriculum, CLICK HERE to speak with one of our knowledgeable representatives.