THE HEADWATERS REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION HUB (HEADWATERS HUB), LED BY ACCELERATE MONTANA, AIMS TO BECOME A GLOBAL LEADER IN SMART, AUTONOMOUS, PHOTONIC REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES. THIS TECH HUB WILL LEVERAGE REGIONAL ASSETS?INCLUDING A CLUSTER OF PHOTONICS COMPANIES AND ITS DIVERSE GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE?TO INTEGRATE REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS WITH ADVANCES IN EMBEDDED PROCESSORS WITH BUILT-IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING CAPABILITIES. IN DOING SO, WESTERN MONTANA SEEKS TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY SMART PHOTONIC SENSING SYSTEMS COUPLED WITH AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS TO ADDRESS CRITICAL DEFENSE, RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, AND DISASTER PREVENTION NEEDS.