Robot soldiers, self-driving cars and more flying drones than you can count are all in store for Tulsa’s manufacturing space.
At least that’s a possibility, according to Michael Robbins, president and CEO of AUVSI — the world’s largest advocacy organization for autonomous technology. He joined Tulsa Innovation Labs Thursday for a strategic briefing on autonomous vehicles.
“Tulsa really has an opportunity to position itself to help America win the age of autonomy and build thearsenal for democracy by bridging the gap between prototyping and small-scale production,” Robbins said.
Hosted at The Vista in the Historic Greenwood District, more than 50 people showed up to hear how Tulsa could become a leader of autonomous manufacturing on the global stage and diversify its economy from oil and natural gas.
The technology is “already here” in aerospace, manufacturing and energy but it’s becoming more common, according to TIL managing director Jennifer Hankins.
Over the past five years, Tulsa has invested $250 million into becoming the drone capital of the world.
In 2024, the federal government spent more than $90 million on expanding the city’s drone industry, $51 million of which is spurring more ranges, K-12 programming and institutes at colleges and universities.
Another development came last year when Skyway Range, which operates a 1,200-square-mile flight corridor, merged with Osage LLC. It now provides resources for drone testing, training and development.
Robbins said he sees a future where autonomous robots are regularly used for military operations and one where self-driving cars, like Waymo, continue to reduce the amount of serious car accidents.
AUVSI works directly with state and local leaders to help communities adopt autonomous technology “across all domains.” Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell spoke during the event, saying the state needs to embrace this chance at diversifying its economy.
“We’re not just participating in this space. This is not just checking a box for us as a state we are all in,” Pinnell said. “We are all in this industry. We are all in on this innovation because we believe it.”
Even with local support, Robbins said there needs to be proper funding on the federal level.
“Congress is broken. We all kind of know that, and we’re not going to solve that here, but we do have to all lean on our legislators,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get the kind of defense spending bill that’s going to enhance our defense management.”
Without that support, he said China will continue to dominate the global stage of supplying autonomous technology. He described the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as an example of a “drone war” that China is benefiting from.
In order to establish and attract more manufacturing companies, Robbins said Tulsa must continue to bolster its workforce by investing in skilled engineers and technical vocational pipelines.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
