For Dallas, 2020 will go down in history as the Year of the Drone Expo.

Earlier this week, the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International announced its major drone conference, XPONENTIAL 2020, would take place in the Texas city in October rather than in Boston in August – citing COVID-19 safety issues.

Today, major drone expo InterDrone postponed its annual event from August to December 15-17, also in Dallas at the Hyatt Regency.

Prior to pandemic concerns, InterDrone had been scheduled to take place in Las Vegas – the 2019 venue. In February, officials announced the venue change to Dallas. The postponement, InterDrone officials say, came about “after closely monitoring the risk and impact of COVID-19 on a daily basis, and speaking at length with members of [the drone] community.”

“The health and safety of every member of our community and our team are of the utmost importance to us,” an InterDrone spokesperson said. “Recent developments have made it impossible to effectively execute an August event that delivers the level of connection, education, and customer value our community expects.”

Expected programs include:

Officials say InterDrone will “facilitate connection with drone pilots, service providers, UAS engineers and developers, UAV manufacturers, videographers and enterprise UAV end-users.”

Organizers had expected more than 135 drone vendors and providers in the drone expo space as well as other drone-facing organizations.

In the meantime, InterDrone will offer several virtual programs:

Recorded Sessions

“Watch keynote presentations, panel discussion, and industry workshops from the thought-leaders who are shaping the commercial UAV and UAS industries on the InterDrone LaunchPad.”

The InterDrone Podcast

“The weekly recording provides listeners with both a 30,000+ foot view of the commercial UAS industry, and also answers niche industry questions with each episode providing a deep dive into a specific vertical market, technology, product, or topic.”

Webinars

“Go beyond the basic how-to and learn the latest strategies for safe and efficient drone operations in webinars covering topics from public safety, to infrastructure inspection, construction, photography and more.”

White Papers

“If you’re thinking of integrating drones into your agency’s operations, first take a listen to those who have led the way by downloading the new 14-page Perspectives on Drones in Public Safety.”

UAS Industry Funding

“View the latest capital raises from UAS and unmanned systems organizations.  Did your company raise a round of funding, and would you like to be added to the list?  Submit here.”