Early adopters, government officials, industry partners and academic experts in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles will converge on Washington D.C. in November to answer one question: How do drone developers looking to open new commercial markets successfully integrate with federal regulations – present and future?
Scheduled for Nov. 17-19, the UAS Commercialization Industry Conference (UASCIC) will explore the ABCs of UAV business — how business leaders can safely and legally enter the drone sector in the wake of expected FAA policy changes for commercial UAVs.
Over the next 10 years, global sales of drones are expected to exceed $89 billion – the bulk of which will be spent in the U.S. With the FAA taking baby steps to approve UAS for commercial use (such as the BP concession in Alaska), conference organizers think the time is right to plan for future business opportunities.
“While progress writing the rules has been deliberate, it has become clear that the door has now been opened for integration into the national airspace. It is only a matter of time before it becomes common practice,” organizers stated in a recent press release.
Invited presenters and speakers include: James Williams, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office, Federal Aviation Administration; Matthew Hampton, Assistant Inspector General for Aviation, Department of Transportation; Curt Smith, Technology Director, BP; and Matthew Schroyer, Founder and President, Professional Society of Drone Journalists.
According to UASCIC organizers, attendees will have the opportunity to:
“Understand what value UAS will add to your business
Determine and set the requirements for UAS integration in your industry
Build an internal business case to prove that UAS will allow your company to do something they couldn’t do previously
Prepare for the upcoming FAA regulations and ensure you are ready to implement at first opportunity
Test and evaluate the ground control system, maintenance tools, hardware, software and human interaction required to operate by collaborating with one of the six different test sites
Understand the recommendations made by the test sites to help facilitate the upcoming UAS regulations
Manage the political landscape of your organization to relieve the concern that UAS will replace the jobs of loyal workers and instead, transition this as an opportunity for growth
Identify the operator that is right for your implementation plan
Develop the partnerships required to invest financially in UAS
Build safety guidelines to manage and quantify the risk moving forward.”