“Dawn of Drones” Rebrands to “Dawn of Autonomy” for the 2024 Season

The popular podcast “Dawn of Drones,” known for its global reach and influence in the drone, advanced air mobility (AAM), and autonomous industries, is set to undergo a name change and transformation for its 2024 season. The show’s creator, Dawn Zoldi of P3 Tech Consulting LLC, and producer Mike Pehel of UpStreem, in collaboration with the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), have announced a name change to “Dawn of Autonomy.”

The decision to shift towards autonomy was explained by Zoldi, a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, licensed attorney, and certificated Part 107 pilot. She stated, “We’ve already been covering a wide range of emerging technologies on the Dawn of Drones, our related Full Crew newscast and as part of our Law-Tech Connect™ Workshops – from artificial intelligence and weather sensors to AAM infrastructure, multi-domain software, maritime operations, EVs and more.” She added, “We recognize that, in the future, drones will be one part of an array of automated systems that will act together harmoniously across the full range of use cases, from delivery to inspection to security services. We wanted the name to reflect the wide range of those technologies to be more inclusive, as well as more precise. Words matter.”

The Full Crew newscast will continue to feature leading voices in tech, discussing hot topics including AI, IoT, robotics, and drones. The format aims to provide viewers with key insights into technologies that are reshaping the world.

Zoldi’s Law-Tech Connect™ (LTC) Workshop, a premier event at the annual AUVSI XPONENTIAL, will also continue. The workshop provides legal, regulatory, and policy knowledge relating to multi-domain uncrewed systems and enabling technologies. The 3rd Annual LTC Workshop is already being planned for April 22, 2024, in San Diego.

Keely Griffith, AUVSI VP, Strategic Programs, expressed enthusiasm for the name change, stating, “We love this name change! It’s consistent with our mission to advance uncrewed systems and robotics, across all domains, in both the military and commercial sectors. We are excited to continue our partnership with P3 Tech and UpStreem and to help take the show to a whole new level together.”

The Dawn of Autonomy podcast will continue to live stream every Wednesday at 9am MT/11 am ET on both AUVSI channels and Zoldi’s channels. It will feature guests from across the entire uncrewed ecosystem, discussing their efforts linked to monthly themes. The podcast will kick off the new year with “New Tech” month, sponsored by industry newcomer AIBOT.

The related Drone Law Connections (DLC) drop-in audio chat club on the Clubhouse app will also continue next year, with two significant changes. DLC will now become a once-a-month chat on the first Thursday every month, 11am MT/1pm ET. The plan is to have all Dawn of Autonomy guests for any given month join the room to talk about their link to the month’s theme. The reins of DLC will be handed over to co-hosts Maggie Schuster and Sam “The Dronist” Scully.