PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
September 2014
835
REGION
EWS
Northern California Region | Florida Region
T
he ASPRS
Northern
California Region
is hosting a 2-day
symposium on
unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in Reno, NV on October 21-22, 2014. The
purpose of the event is to assemble academia, UAS developers, survey
and mapping companies, government agencies, and UAS enthusiasts,
to share information, showcase new technologies and demonstrate UAS
systems in action (in flight). The event will be held at the Reno Stead
Airport, an FAA-designated UAS test site, as well as at a symposium hotel
in downtown Reno. The mission of the event is to advance knowledge and
improve the understanding of UAS technologies
and their safe and efficient introduction into our
national airspace, government programs and
business.
change is in the air
Highlights of the
Symposium:
• Demonstrations (in-flight) of
UAS technologies
• Collaboration opportunities
between government, private
sector and academia
• Exhibit floor
• Speakers and presentations on
relevant UAS topics
Suggested Attendees:
• Aerial mapping, survey, and
professional services firms inter-
ested in new business areas
• Companies with UAS interests
and business plans
• Government agencies inter-
ested and involved in UAS
technologies
• Government agencies driving the
implementation of UAS policy
• UAS companies- software,
hardware, system developers
• Academia and research
institutions
• The geospatial community that
is likely to be working with these
technologies in the future
• UAS enthusiasts
”Change is in the Air.” This is the tagline of our fall symposium, which denotes the
excitement and also the angst that goes along with change. We are all reminded
daily, from news and conversation, of the advent of the age of the drones and we
each react with our own individual excitement, loathing, fear, curiosity, or blend
thereof. The topic is definitely popular right now and ASPRS members are smack
dab in the middle of the issue, as one of the largest applications of Unmanned
Aircraft Systems (UAS) technology will be mapping. One of the key topics of our
symposium will be, ”What is at stake?” When disruptive technology such as UAS
comes along, we all have a need for education and collaboration.
The symposium will bring industry experts to speak to the issues relevant to our
mapping and remote sensing community. The program will be tailored to cover
topics of aircraft design, sensor payload options, flight planning, flying the mission,
data processing and product development. Speakers and panels will be selected to
provide first-hand information on these issues.
No UAS symposium would be complete without a group of exhibitors offering
hands-on opportunities to see the equipment, talk to the experts, and gather
contacts for teaming and collaboration. We have extended preliminary invitations
to manufacturers of UAS technology and it appears we will have a large group
of vendors who make UAS equipment, provide software solutions, provide UAS
components, and provide services.
Last, but certainly not least, this symposium is designed in coordination with the
Nevada UAS Test Site. The State of Nevada was selected as one of the six national
UAS test sites to serve as an arm of the FAA and provide for the safe transition of
civilian applications of UAS into the national air space. This unique collaboration
