Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Showcase Added to MAPPS/ASPRS Specialty Conference Program

As a market that has long utilized satellite and manned airborne platforms for data acquisition the geospatial profession is finding unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology has the potential to revolutionize data collection and lower operating costs. In an effort to continue to educate members and to fully embrace the conference theme “Ground to Cloud (R)Evolution – Emerging Technologies Supporting Geospatial Applications” MAPPS and ASPRS today announced a UAV showcase is being added to its Joint Conference October
29 through November 1 in Tampa Florida to highlight and explore the emerging technology.

Manufacturers of UAV/UAS platforms sensors and packages are encouraged to participate in the showcase to display the technology to a market eager to utilize the new systems. The showcase will allow geospatial practitioners and data collectors who will become the first to apply the technology with an opportunity to engage with the developers.

UAV/UAS manufactures are encouraged to sign-up for the showcase by contacting Kelley Kennedy-Lapping at asprs@townsend-group.com. In addition to the showcase on Thursday November 1 a special session will focus on UAV/UAS’s and the geospatial market. Mike Tully Aerial Services Inc. (Cedar Falls IA) will review the results of an extensive market survey of commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the U.S. focusing on systems in the “under 55 lbs.” class. In addition George Southard Trimble Navigation Limited (Westminster CO) will discuss what Trimble’s recent acquisition of Gatewing NV and the introduction of UAV/UAS means to the geospatial mapping agriculture and surveying markets. The session will also review the legal and operational hurdles that must be overcome for commercial unmanned systems to function in U.S. airspace.

Early registration for the conference ends September 28 2012. To view the preliminary program and to register visit the conference website http://conferences.asprs.org/Tampa-2012/.

This significant conference is the seventh in a series that originated in 1994 as the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) and the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) began jointly hosting education conferences on emerging mapping and geospatial technologies and applications that have now become an integral part of our everyday lives. The conference seeks to bring geospatial producers data users managers and imaging and geospatial information professionals together to present the latest developments. Sponsorships and exhibits for the conference are available and information on how to become part of the conference may be found on the conference web site http://conferences.asprs.org/Tampa-2012/