“The Future of Drones Unveiled: A Sneak Peek into the Biggest Drone Event of 2023”

The drone industry has seen significant growth over the past five years, with Chinese manufacturer DJI’s market ownership declining in the US and the International Civil Aviation Organization publishing guidance on regulatory support. The annual Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International’s Xponential event is just around the corner and this year, instead of discussing what the industry saw in previous years, let’s look at what we might expect to see or hear in the coming days and why it matters in the context of the autonomous vehicle industry’s next steps.

Lots has changed since the last Xponential that took place in Florida in 2022. In the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) industries, we’ve seen new funding raises from one industry leader and lay-offs and downsizing in the tech industry that impacted operations at others. At #xpo23, we hope to hear how the FAA views proposed legislation, get a better sense from industry how they are supporting or fighting it, and to hear any news about those on the prospect of a new regime for approvals considering the 2.5+ years of investment in existing certification pathways.

We’re also looking forward to understanding the economic considerations investors are making for the number of deliveries, as well as how the regulatory environment will meet those targets, and are needed to meet expectations. Even more so, we’ve seen a trend from the biggest delivery players toward installed infrastructure at point of delivery/take-off.

Local municipalities, community stakeholders, and other governance groups will have a role over installed infrastructure like those we’ve seen proposed recently and the way local groups choose to exert that oversight has not quite been established. We hope to see delivery and inspection companies talking about the immense amount of social engagement, societal sensitizing, and stakeholder development that has gone into this work or it’s likely we’ll see a much more difficult pathway forward for these infrastructure installations than those in the industry expect.