The third annual
Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Conference (UAS) is set to return to the Dayton region next year, from August 26th to the 28th, with events playing out in the
Dayton Convention Center and
Sinclair Community College. The
Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) and the Wright Brothers Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International will host the three-day conference.
The 2014 conference will continue the tradition of connecting industry experts with key government officials to discuss the rapidly evolving unmanned aircraft industry. An aircraft without a human pilot is colloquially known as a drone.
“We provide the venue to examine issues surrounding development and provide opportunities for further collaboration between all attendees,” explains Maurice McDonald, DDC’s Executive Vice President of Aerospace & Defense. The DDC has hosted the event since 2012 in partnership with various regional organizations and academia.
Why Dayton? McDonald says it’s simple. “Aviation as we know it really began in the Dayton region,” he says, noting Charles Kettering’s development of the first unmanned aerial vehicle, the Kettering Bug, in 1918 alongside the area’s favorite aviation heroes, the Wright Brothers. The latter, of course, is now the namesake of
the local United States Air Force Base, “which is responsible for the research, development, testing, and acquisition of UAS technologies and the acquisition of new systems for the Air Force.”
The event will feature network opportunities and presentations given by senior leaders in the UAS community. “In addition, conference participants will have access to numerous UAS companies attending the conference and those exhibiting their company’s capabilities,” McDonald explains. “The conference also provides the opportunity to choose various break-out sessions where panels of experts discuss various capabilities, issues, technologies, and applications of UAS.”
For those looking for continuing education credit, training sessions will be conducted on the last day of the event.
“This conference gives attendees the opportunity to have valuable discussions around an industry that is still being developed,” says McDonald. “The Dayton region and Ohio will be able to showcase its strong assets, such as our world class research and development centers, our manufacturing capability, our significant aerospace supply chain and our public and private university structure.”
Source: Maurice McDonald
Writer: Joe Baur