Unmanned aircraft industry to meet Sept. 1-3

July 28, 2015

Rod Boyce

 

The eighth annual Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems Interest Group meeting will be held Sept. 1-3 at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Conference Center.

This year’s meeting, hosted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration, will focus on Arctic issues. State leaders will open each day of the meeting, sharing highlights of important projects.

The meeting's first day will showcase Arctic research, Alaska Native corporations at the industry's forefront and applications such as search and rescue, oil spill research, sea ice surveys, sea grass and otter surveys and icebreaker-based missions. Several of ACUASI’s global partners will be present.

The conference's second day has a technical theme. Corporate leaders will give presentations on the latest in technology. Topics include traffic management, use of the Global Hawk in environmental science, fire response, doing business in Europe and an operator’s perspective on diversification.

The third day focuses on policy, with key Federal Aviation Administration leaders speaking. Sessions include a review of the FAA’s new Center of Excellence on UAS and a panel session with the FAA’s six UAS test sites. In the afternoon, technical sessions will continue while Alaska’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Legislative Task Force convenes in an adjacent room for a policy meeting, which is open to the public.

Griffon Aerospace will showcase a SeaHunter unmanned aircraft, the newest in UAF’s fleet. This twin-engine aircraft has a 15-foot wingspan.

Special events during the conference include a reception at the Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum and dinner aboard Alaska’s Riverboat Discovery.

Workshops before and after the conference are free. On Aug. 31, the U.S. Energy and Interior departments will host presentations on geophysical measurements and natural resource monitoring in Alaska and the Arctic. On Sept. 4, ACUASI will host a daylong workshop on the unmanned aircraft business.

ACUASI is part of the UAF Geophysical Institute.

For more information or to register for the conference and the workshops, go to http://www.uasalaska.org/.