“2023 Drone Expo: Top Highlights and Must-See Innovations”

The drone industry has seen significant growth over the past five years, with Chinese manufacturer DJI’s market ownership declining in the US and drone delivery redefining logistics in some parts of the world. The Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International’s Xponential event is just around the corner, and this year we’re looking 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 in Florida in 2022. We’ve seen new funding raises from one industry leader and lay-offs and downsizing in the tech industry that impacted operations at others, intense government restrictions on foreign manufacturers that opened the gateway for US players, international pressure to reform supply chains across government, success of the AFWERX program that has emboldened and supported the nascent AAM industry, and a proposal for an industry-driven regulatory overhaul making its way through Congress.

At #xpo23, we’ll be eager to hear how the FAA views this legislative proposal, get a better sense from industry how they’re 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 hopeful that Matternet will announce new partnerships, sales, operations, or deployments to really demonstrate that the regulatory pathway the industry has been following leads somewhere. If it doesn’t, then we may be more stuck than even the most pessimistic viewpoints believe.

We’re excited to see the latest announcements from Zipline and Google Wing about the future of what both companies are calling “delivery networks.” We’re 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.

For drones, the advocacy efforts have always been to enable a continued national level federal ownership of the sky to prevent a “patchwork of regulations” that would make scaling extremely difficult. What is significantly less clear, however, is the ownership of oversight and approval for ground installations like those recently proposed by Wing and Zipline for their “delivery networks” or for inspection support for drones like Skydio, DJI, and Valqari.

There are too many other questions out there we’re excited about, and for those who will be in the audience, let’s chat! Who will be the new kid on the block stealing attention? What technology will be the most game-changing? Will we see the announcement of a new government approval or program as has happened in previous years?