AUVSI 2013-Washington DC

As I sit at Reagan National Airport waiting to board a flight home, my first year attending the AUVSI show is drawing to a close. I had a very productive couple of days meeting with UAS developers/manufacturers, attending relevant and timely presentations, networking with fellow alumni, and of course seeing the wide variety of unmanned air, ground, and maritime systems on display. Wow, what a show! 

Thanks to some early preparation with the AUVSI show mobile app, I had a detailed (and dynamically changeable) plan to attend several specific presentations, including:

-Who are the Navy's future unmanned aircraft operators and how will they be trained and integrated? (Stout, 2013)

-Closing the research gaps for UAS sense and avoid (Cook & Davis, 2013)

-Evaluating human-robot implicit communications using psychophysiology (Reinerman-Jones, 2013)

-ISIS+: A realistic ATM-UAS simulation environment (Pastor, 2013)

-Four operational barriers to integrating UAS into the NAS (Barstow, 2013)

-Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) airspace integration using notices to airmen (NOTAMs) for airspace user awareness (Harris, 2013)*

-Key considerations for the operation of commercial UAS airfields (Brooks, 2013)*

*Author/presenter was an ERAU alumni

One of the more interesting presentations I attended was from one of an ERAU-Worldwide colleague, Dr. David Ison, covering privacy implications associated with UAS operations, the 4th ammendment, and established case law precedents ("Privacy and Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration in the National Airspace System," Ison, Liu, & Vincenzi, 2013). The major take away I had from his well-received presentation was that it is not unreasonable to expect to see law enforcement use of UAS over 400 to 500 feet, as long as they do not use technology not readily available to or affordable by the general public. In other words, standard or high definition (HD) video is fine, while forward looking infrared (FLIR) or other thermal imaging is not (for now). 

While walking the floor I also had the opportunity to see some great examples of innovative and unique designs (e.g., hybrid fixed-wing/rotary-wing systems) from established firms (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Boeing/Insitu, AAI/Textron, ISR Group), small-emerging companies, and student design competitors (including multiple ERAU student teams). The show tends to spread the focus of coverage across the three major unmanned operational environments (e.g., air, ground, and maritime). So given my role with ERAU-Worldwide (UAS Discipline Chair), I opted to concentrate on air and UAS related exhibits/presentations. See below for some of the more interesting pictures from the floor of the show.

Please note that AUVSI will be changing format next year as it moves from August to May (12-15th) and returns to sunny Orlando, FL (Orange County Convention Center). So mark your calenders, get those Bermuda shorts ready, and start that long-distance walking regime (conferences are notoriously rough on the feet) because you will not want to miss it!