AUVSI Xponential started today with co-located educational events as the Xponential exhibitors set up a full floor of technology.  We’re excited to be here in Denver, and looking forward to tomorrow! There’s a lot to choose from, but here are just 3 highlights not to miss.

The Keynotes:

Lots of good speakers, but we’ll be listening carefully to the conversation with AUVSI’s  Chief Advocacy Officer Michael Robbins  and Fortress Information Security VP of Strategy and Policy, Tobias Whitney.  Robbins and Whitney will be talking about cybersecurity relative to drone integration into the airspace and the widespread use of commercial drones.  As the Blue sUAS list, the Green sUAS program, and new state laws regarding the use of drones for state entities have captured the recent news cycle, this should be an interesting and important discussion.

The Sessions:

One session that we’ll be attending is a discussion on a topic that comes up almost constantly as the drone industry talks about advanced aviation – beyond financing and research grants, how do companies actually make money?  “HOW DO WE MAKE AVIATION PROFITABLE?” is Session Number XPO23-EG15, held Tuesday, May 9 at 1:00 PM in Room 201.    The discussion includes panelists from Joby Aviation, Thales Digital Aviation, Kansas UAS Joint Task Force, and Titan Aviation Global.

The Exhibit Floor:

Drone industry insiders know Watts Innovations, makers of the US-manufactured, NDAA-compliant Prism heavy lift platform.  The company keeps a low profile, but Watts Innovations developed the UAS in use by DroneUp, the drone service providers partnered with Walmart for residential drone delivery and is a well known provider for industrial and heavy lift applications.  Today, Watts launched the Prism Lite: a UAS with the same US-manufactured quality as their flagship Prism, in a form designed for system integrators without full fleet management needs, based on the ArduPilot Cube.  Prism Lite will be on display on the floor tomorrow at Booth 2033.  Stay tuned for our interview with founder Bobby Watts and CCO Sauming Seto!

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