The core of AUVSI’s mission is to build, grow and foster a viable and sustainable unmanned and autonomous systems industry. Critical to achieving that goal is establishing balanced and appropriate policies that support the development and expanded operation of unmanned systems.   Since the last time AUVSI and members were able to convene for Hill Day in September 2019, the unmanned systems community has made unprecedented, even transformative, progress. A worldwide audience witnessed how rapidly unmanned systems could be developed and deployed to deliver critical capabilities where they are needed most. 

Most of us have read more about port congestion and supply chain woes in the past few weeks than ever before, and the multitude of problems do seem quite thorny. There are record numbers of shipping vessels waiting to be unloaded, there is a lack of available truck chassis to transport containers out of the ports, and the critical details around how to efficiently implement 24/7 port operation are still being hashed out.  

These days, Washington, D.C. politics are topsy-turvy, but Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA-05) proved yet again her support for automated driving technology, and AUVSI thanks her for being such a stalwart champion.  

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and AUVSI hosted the Episode IV of the UAS Symposium – Remotely Piloted Edition. The event brought together the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) community at a pivotal moment, which much is happening from new rules on remote identification to a focus on beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, all under a backdrop of the increased use of drones for humanitarian purposes and COVID-19 pandemic response. The final segment of this virtual event series fostered discussions on how the UAS industry is doing more than ever with new technologies and uses. Below are top takeaways from the event for the UAS community.