The license agreement formalizes rights to patented multi-domain drone payload technology for aerospace and defense applications
The Florida State University Research Foundation and NorthStrive Defense Tech have signed an exclusive patent license agreement covering new multi-domain drone technology that can transport payloads across air and water.
The technology enables an unmanned aerial drone to transport a cable-suspended payload through water while maintaining flight above the surface, leveraging buoyancy-assisted transport to potentially improve payload efficiency compared to traditional air-only drone systems.
Unmanned systems are increasingly being developed to operate across maritime, aerial and payload-delivery missions. The United States, United Kingdom and Australia are advancing underwater drone technologies through the AUKUS defense partnership, and the U.S. Navy is pursuing the development of unmanned surface vessels capable of carrying large payloads over long distances in support of manned warships. These developments underscore a broader defense market shift toward unmanned platforms that can operate with flexibility in a variety of missions and environments.
"Florida State University faculty produce game-changing research in areas of defense challenges, and this licensing agreement expands the reach of that work through development and translation through this new start-up," said Valerie McDevitt, associate vice president of Strategic Partnerships and Innovation.
NorthStrive Defense Tech has obtained an exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license within the aerospace and defense technologies field to make, have made, use, sell, have sold, sublicense, and import licensed products covered by U.S. Patent No. 12,291,334 and associated know-how. NorthStrive Defense Tech LLC, a startup formed for the licensing of FSU technology, is focused on identifying, acquiring, licensing, developing, and commercializing advanced defense technologies, with an emphasis on drone, autonomous systems, aerospace, and dual-use applications.
In connection with the license, NorthStrive Defense Tech entered into a sponsored research agreement with the FSU Research Foundation to fund and collaborate on additional research and development activities intended to advance the technology toward a working prototype and potential commercial-grade units. That sponsored research program remains ongoing.
