Autonomous Smart Systems and Integrated Sensor Testbeds (ASSIST)
ASSIST connects Montana’s landscapes, University expertise, and emerging technology companies so that innovation happens in Montana and benefits the people who live here. By giving businesses a place to test and validate products close to home, we stimulate Montana’s economy, and by giving students hands-on experience with those same technologies, we prepare a workforce that can build, deploy, and support the innovations shaping Montana’s future.
What We Do
- Provide sites and services for innovators focused on real-world solutions
- Advance technology, opportunity, and economic development in Montana
- Partner with entrepreneurs, non-profits, researchers, students, and more to accelerate discovery and deliver impact
Sites and Services
Our rugged terrain testbeds are some of the most advanced natural testbeds in the country for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), robotics, and sensor validation in dynamic, high elevation terrains.
With distinct environments including varied terrain, controlled settings, and advanced connectivity, we help partners test and demonstrate near-commercial products in real-world conditions.
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The Lubrecht Experimental Forest Testbed, operated by the University of Montana in partnership with Headwaters Tech Hub, lets clients test, validate and demonstrate technologies under real-world conditions.
With over 21,000 acres of forested slopes, open meadows, and microclimates, LEF offers unmatched access to real-world wildfire, forestry, and environmental research conditions.
Testbed clients receive access to a suite of tools, including an NDAA-compliant drone and sensor fleet flown by a team of experienced pilots who will plan and fly the mission. Our high-performance workstations and software are available to process data your data, and include photogrammetry, lidar cloud processing and terrain modeling, multispectral and thermal imagery analysis, and GIS analysis, mapping and data management.
Watch this video to see our partners testing their advanced technology.
- Learn how ASSIST helped Billings-based entrepreneurs test their product.
- For more information about our facilities and testbed capabilities, please contact us.
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- The Underground Mine Education Center Testbed, a mining and rugged terrain testbed operated by Montana Tech University in Butte, MT.
- The Lutz Farm and Red Bluff Ranch, a precision agriculture testbed operated by Montana State University outside of Bozeman, MT.
- The Grand Farm Innovation Campus, a precision agriculture testbed located outside of Fargo, ND.
Economic Development in Montana
Hands-on Training and Workforce Development
As part of the University of Montana, ASSIST gives students and early-career professionals the chance to work directly with advanced drones, sensors, and data-processing tools on real projects with real partners. This applied learning builds skills in areas like photonics, remote sensing, geospatial analysis, and UAV operations, and it connects students to employers in a growing technology sector.
The result is a stronger pipeline of skilled workers, more opportunities for Montanans to build careers without leaving the state, and a photonics ecosystem that brings jobs and economic benefits to Montana and the region.
ASSIST Partnerships
ASSIST draws on expertise across the University of Montana, so innovators get the research support, field sites, and technical knowledge they need in one place.
- The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship supports research and creative scholarship at the University of Montana from idea to impact.
- The Autonomous Aerial Systems Office drives research and development in Montana using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones.
- The Franke College of Forestry and Conservation educates leaders in conservation-based ecological and social research and information technology and applies that work to pressing environmental and natural resource problems.
- Lubrecht Experimental Forest is owned by the State of Montana and managed by the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station, based in the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. Its 21,000+ acres serve as a working testbed for ASSIST partners.
- The National Center for Landscape and Fire Analysis (FireCenter) develops and delivers scientific products, applications, and geospatial technology to improve fire and forest management, while advancing collaborative research and student education.
To learn how our testbeds can enable innovative research, contact us.
This program is a component of the Headwaters Tech Hub, funded by the Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration, Award number ED24HDQ0C0415.