With a growing state and national reputation bolstered by increased research funding, OSU announced the creation of the Unmanned Systems Research Institute on Friday, December 4, 2015.  The institute focuses on the research and development of unmanned systems technologies and is dedicated to bringing together multidisciplinary talent to collaborate on the design, testing, evaluation and application of unmanned technologies.

Professor Jamey Jacob is director of the institute, which is housed at the OSU Richmond Hills Research Complex. The OSU Research Foundation plans to establish an unmanned systems development center as part of the institute that will be based at the OSU Research Park in Stillwater. The research also involves the use of unmanned systems to study atmospheric conditions and weather.