It’s always a favorite event: Pitch the Press at Commercial UAV Expo, where new companies get only 2 minutes to impress a panel of journalists, who choose the most innovative and interesting products. This year I was honored to be on a panel with a group of esteemed colleagues: Abe Peck of Inside Unmanned Systems, Gene Roe from Lidar News, and Jeff Thoreson, Editor-in-Chief of xyHt. Seeing such a talented group of innovators is always exciting – and having the opportunity to connect with other drone media is always fun.
This year, we heard from 17 UAV companies. One slide, two minutes, and no more than 2 questions – a challenge even for the best presenters. These top 3 winners stood out from the crowd for their impact: on the environment, human problems, and the drone industry.
Austria’s Air6 Systems had the tough job of going first – but the DrSuit, or “drone squadron for unmanned inspections of wind turbines,” was memorable. Generally, offshore wind turbine inspections take place over the course of weeks, and involve expensive manned ships to travel with a large crew out to the wind farm, inspect one turbine per day, and return. It’s an expensive, time-consuming and fuel inefficient process – but a necessary one. The DrSuit application replaces the traditional technology with an uncrewed ship equipped with four drones, which can complete inspection of the entire wind farm in one day, necessitating only a single round trip. The entire mission can be managed by on-shore operators.
Consortiq: 3D immersive models of building are a valuable tool – and Consortiq is making them even more valuable, by combining interior and exterior views of a building. Data can be gathered from ground-based cameras during walkthroughs and combined with aerial data from drones, resulting in a virtual walk-through product. Combined with AI and ML analytics, the product makes building inspections more efficient and more effective.
Wonder Robotics: The product name says it all – Wonder Land. WonderLand is a sensor that can be attached to a drone to provide real time“Vertical awareness” to ensure a safe landing under dynamic circumstances. If a delivery drone has to make an emergency landing, the Wonder Robotics system is designed to bring it to the ground while avoiding a child running under its path or a car pulling into the driveway. This has the potential to impact drone safety – and bring additional assurance of ground risk management to regulators.
“We had a record number of submissions and presentations this year, which highlights the incredible variety that is on display across the entire exhibit hall,” said Jeremiah Karpowicz, Editorial Director of Commercial UAV News. “Our winners reflect that variety on multiple levels though, because in each of them you can see how they’re creating value today while also opening up possibilities for tomorrow. That connection with the present and future of technology adoption and integration is what this event is all about.”
Read more from Commercial UAV Expo 2022:
- What Does the FAA Plan for Drone Regulations? From the Keynotes at Commercial UAV Expo (and the FAA’s Surprise Announcement)
- The ROI of Commercial Drone Programs: Skydio’s Adam Bry at Commercial UAV Expo
- Teledyne FLIR’s New Drone: SIRAS™ Fills a Gap in the Industry
- Draganfly Launches New Products: Two New Aircraft, and Long Range LiDAR [DRONELIFE Interviews CEO Cameron Chell]
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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