Less than a decade ago, a new sector linked to the model airplane industry and the recreational use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) began to take off: they were called drones. It is a sector that has since changed drastically through developments in sensor technology and data collection and management advancements.
The UAS traffic management (UTM) sector was born and an entire industry built around addressing visual and broadcast services, mapping, critical infrastructure inspection, and precision farming, among many tasks and solutions.
“The energy coming from the drone industry has meant that in less than a decade it has gone from being a product for the leisure industry to be the solution concerning safety, emergencies or rescue services,” explains Isabel Buatas, director of Expodrónica.
And the ultimate step to not only continue the industry’s explosive growth and its creation of thousands of jobs but also to provide truly transformative solutions, is precisely the one that we are going to see thanks to the integration of Expodrónica into World ATM Congress. This is a clear sign of the challenge and the opportunities the coexistence of the UTM and ATM sector in the sky of the future. As Isabel Buatas says, “it is closer than it might seem.”
In its inaugural year at World ATM Congress, the Expodrónica Pavilion hosts more than 60 exhibitors and two areas for experience-sharing and drone business study. The Civil UAVs Initiative Theatre and Openvia Air Campfire, where about a hundred experts take part from the public and private sector, from the UN, NATO, NASA, and the EU to the leading companies in the aeronautical and UTM sector such as Airbus, DJI, ENAIRE, and Indra.
“Seven years ago, when Expodrónica brought together, for the first time, all the pioneers of an incredibly innovative and bold drone sector, the we faced was the development of the technology and the applications for which drones could be useful,” recalls Isabel Buatas. “Now, the challenge is developing our own infrastructures for the UTM sector, connectivity for data management, and the adoption of airspace legislation allowing both sectors, UTM and ATM, to coexist safely and efficiently.”
The Sky of the Future will be explored in-depth over the next two and a half days with a programme of talks, presentations and panel discussions. Join us to analyze the drone sector from diverse perspectives: innovation, technological development, applications and services, future challenges, urban integration or legislative aspects.
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