Company wins $60K UAV grant

A Bend company obtained a $60,000 grant to develop a system to collect data on pest management in agriculture with unmanned aerial vehicles, according to an announcement Wednesday.

Paradigm isr submitted one of five winning proposals aimed at a share of $327,000 awarded by SoarOregon, the nonprofit formerly known as Oregon Unmanned Aerial Systems Business Enterprise. SoarOregon received a two-year, $882,000 grant to help jump start the industry in Oregon.

Other grant recipients and their awards are:

• Northwest UAV of McMinnville, in partnership with VT Group of Tigard, $75,000 to work on a new propulsion system,

• Fordyce Design and Manufacturing of Gaston, $14,000 for a standardized servo system,

• Insitu’s Advanced Programs Engineering Group of Hood River, $75,000 to develop flight navigation and communication systems to integrate manned and unmanned aircraft on joint missions and

• Cloud Cap Technology of Hood River, $103,000 to work on a new-generation transponder and autopilot.