North Dakota’s IT leaders are working on better serving residents with technology, and connectivity plays a key role in improving service delivery. One piece of the connectivity driving the state’s technology operations is Vantis, a statewide infrastructure network for drones. Officials have likened it to an interstate system for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
The Vantis project provides secure infrastructure, from the hosting perspective, with firewalls and security controls to meet the strict FAA requirements, North Dakota Chief Technology Officer Craig Felchle said.
FAA’s radar data is highly sensitive information that is not made available to everyone, North Dakota Information Technology’s (NDIT) Strategic Communications Manager Dain Sullivan said: “So, to create a framework that was approved for that, and to be the only state that’s done that, that’s a massive feat.”
This real-time data supports beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations, allowing drones to safely travel longer distances to perform missions. North Dakota officials will now have increased visibility into all the UAS in flight, Felchle said.
This level of insight enables officials to explore new technological capabilities. For example, NDIT‘s Statewide Interoperable Radio Network — slated for a 2027 completion with 140 tower sites planned — is intended to bridge communication gaps for public safety teams like firefighters and emergency medical services staff.
Currently, people manually inspect tower sites after a severe weather event, but Felchle said that there is potential to leverage UAS technology instead. Faster response times could help both state government and its beneficiaries, as well as the public.
Because North Dakota has large rural areas, navigating its rugged terrain to inspect downed power lines can be challenging, dangerous and expensive, Sullivan said. But fixing issues related to electricity has a very direct impact to the businesses and populations the infrastructure serves.
“This has a real-life application, where you can send a drone out there and examine the damage and know exactly what you need to fix in real time,” Sullivan said. “Before, you couldn’t do that.”
Assessing infrastructure after natural disasters is not the only area in which operators will have increased visibility, Felchle emphasized. The state’s drone program also plays a part in delivering medical supplies where needed, and can support the agriculture industry by surveying fields and enhancing precision.
“North Dakota is the model state at this point,” the CTO said, noting that the Vantis program may be expanded to support other states. The key, he said, is partnership — both across state agencies and across sectors. Looking ahead, Felchle said he expects to work with other states, too.
Officials will be going through continuous validation with the FAA to ensure strict data requirements are met during usage before scaling what they do, Felchle said.
“I always say it takes people, process and technology to be successful,” Felchle said. “This is an example of where we had to bring together all those things as a state to make this capability happen.”
Some of the potential applications that BVLOS drone operations enable are yet to be discovered, the CTO underlined: “So, it’s going to unlock a lot of capabilities — a lot of capabilities we might not even know yet.”
