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Arlington, Va. — The leading global trade association for the autonomy, robotics, and automated air, ground and maritime vehicle industries today announced its name change to reflect ongoing efforts to promote gender inclusivity. In addition to dropping the word “unmanned” and other gender-specific terms in its name, governing documents, and association language, the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) announced the launch of its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Advisory Group.
The rebrand is led by AUVSI’s Board of Directors and President and CEO Brian Wynne, who have reinforced the association’s commitment to DE&I and supporting growth within new segments of the uncrewed systems community.
“In 2022, AUVSI will reflect on lessons learned in the last 50 years and look toward the next 50 years of industry growth and evolution,” said Wynne. “By launching the DE&I Advisory Group and other new initiatives, AUVSI will continue to lead, engage and educate the community. Under our new identity and with a cohesive voice, AUVSI will advance our bold vision of an autonomous future in which uncrewed technologies are integrated into society and provide lasting public and economic benefits.”
New programming and opportunities will be executed throughout the 50th anniversary year to build on the association’s existing work to advocate for the establishment of laws and regulations that enable the advancement of uncrewed systems in the commercial and defense sectors, educate regulators and public on the benefits of these systems and connect the industry and stakeholders.
“As the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the uncrewed systems industry, AUVSI represents diverse membership across domains; across the defense, civil and commercial markets; and across industry, government and academia,” said Dr. Virginia (Suzy) Young, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We are committed to creating a welcoming and inspiring environment for all of our members as we identify and tackle common challenges, goals and opportunities.”
“In this groundbreaking industry, we know that inclusivity accelerates innovation,” said Mignonne Hollis, Chair of the AUVSI DE&I Advisory Group. “We urge all stakeholders to follow the leadership of AUVSI in adopting gender-inclusive language that invites all to participate and help drive the discussions that will shape our collective future.”
The association was founded as the National Association for Remotely Piloted Vehicles (NARP-V) and rebranded as the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems in 1978, and added “International” in 1996 before changing before changing again today to the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International.
