A few months from now, the uncrewed aviation industry will once again come together during Commercial UAV Expo at Las Vegas’ Caesars Forum. From September 5 to 7, professionals, vendors, academia, regulators, and operators will immerse themselves in the latest developments, both technical and legalm, as we approach the day in which drones and air taxis will join their crewed counterparts in the National Airspace (NAS).

This year, I have been given the responsibility to moderate a session titled “Sky Operations Across the Globe,” during which we will hear from experts from all over the world on how they’re using drone technology to create efficiencies in their current operations, what it has meant to overcome regulatory barriers, and how they’ve enabled new workflows that save money and reduce waste.

Drones are creating value for operators and organizations across the world but how are stakeholders able to get the technology off the ground while also defining the value of the effort? Can developments and innovation in one region define action items and takeaways for stakeholders in another?  We will try to address these and other concerns during the panel and with the participation of the audience in a Q&A to follow the presentations.

Learn more about the conference program here or register for the event.

Schedule for “Sky Operations Across the Globe

From Anti-Piracy Operations to Inspection, Mapping and Marketing: Building West Africa's First Comprehensive UAV System
Speaker: John Jackley, Advanced Technology Communications 

ATC has designed and deployed a comprehensive UAV system and fleet for the Ghana Ports and Harbors Authority (GHPA) at the ports of Tema, Takoradi and the naval base at Sekondi. The GPHA had no prior experience with drones, so the project involved training 27 of their personnel to be certified drone pilots under Part 28 of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. In addition, we built from scratch the data flow and exploitation workflows for multiple disciplines of users, including Engineering and Surveying, Security, and Communications and Marketing. The presentation is in a case study format that presents all of these issues from the perspective of having to create a UAS space where none existed before. 

Drone delivery is a reality today in Latin America. A view to the first urban drone delivery network
Speaker: Santiago Barrera, Aerialoop 

Today in Quito, Ecuador, we see the world's first integral aerial delivery network in a 3 million population city. Connecting anywhere to anywhere in under 20 min. Applying core technologies in such a unique manner and at such a scale that can be replicated in thousands of cities around the world. 

Large Scale Drone Mapping - Solving Survey Challenges on a Country-Wide Scale
Speaker: Raghav Mallick, ideaForge Technology 

As part of the Government of India's Digital India campaign, the government has launched an ambitious scheme to map 660,000 villages in India using drones under the SVAMITVA scheme and to digitize all land records in India. The goal of this scheme is to create accurate land records for rural planning, reduce property-related disputes, bring financial stability to citizens, and more. This presentation aims to go over the learnings of this large-scale drone-based survey, and how such learnings can be adopted globally. 

Unlock BVLOS potential of drone over populated area for gas inspection 
Speaker: Audrey Pann, Thales 

There are many initiatives underway across the world to develop the technologies and regulations needed to fully enable the potential of drone operations to be realized. A significant factor in realizing this potential is enabling drones to operate Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). Over the past few years, Thales has been utilizing its vast experience in certified aircraft avionics systems and air traffic management develop technologies and has carried out a number of trials of BVLOS operations. This presentation will discuss the work carried out to date, and the lessons learned from both a technological and regulatory perspective over gas infrastructure operation in Southwest of France. 

Usage of Drone in Power Transmission Projects at Sterlite Power
Speaker: Rahul Uniyal, Sterlite 

Sterlite Power is a leading integrated power transmission developer and solutions provider globally, focused on addressing complex challenges in the sector by tackling key constraints of time, space and capital. Their use of drone technology became critical during key project phases. Their first UAV usage trail in 2016 to string a 2.5 mm plateena rope across a span of around 450 meters between 2 towers over a deep valley with heavy vegetation was not successful, but those lessons were quickly learned to enable success, and the company never looked back. Learn how they’ve become first movers in the Power Transmission Industry with drone applications by using the technology to save time, reduce costs, improving quality, and make everything safer. 

Join us at the Exhibit Hall Theater on September 5 to hear these experts and participate in the discussion. Great things are happening around the world, and this will be a unique way to hear about these five specific cases and the possibilities that they are presenting to affect change in other parts of the world.

Learn more about the conference program here or register for the event.