EagleView Technology Corp.’s subsidiary Pictometry International Corp. has developed an outdoor research lab for sensor research and flight training for unmanned aerial systems at Rochester Institute of Technology, officials said.

“The netted enclosure lab is an ideal test environment that allows full access to GPS signals that are essential for drone operation,” said Frank Giuffrida, executive vice president of engineering at EagleView, in a statement. “It also removes any flight restrictions that are imposed by the FAA for operations within the National Airspace System.”

The outdoor lab will be used to develop and test drones, officials said. The lab, located at RIT, offers more opportunities to factor in weather as previous research was limited to indoor locations due to Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, officials said.

“This lab will allow students and researchers alike to build systems and fly and test them without the burden of researching regulations and safety issues related to open outdoor drone flights,” Giuffrida said. “In addition to advancing our research efforts, the lab also provides a great opportunity for RIT students to learn more about UAS technology and the science behind it, such as imaging capture, flight control and sense and avoidance.”

Pictometry has been in operation for 16 years and most recently ranked sixth on the 2015 Rochester Business Journal’s list of optics and imaging firms.