The use of drones continues to soar across the public safety sector. Drones offer incredible benefits and the industry keeps increasing, slated to grow to 63.6 billion dollars by 2025.   Public safety makes up a large portion of the drone industry, and is arguably one of the most important. However, with difficult regulations, grant writing processes, and the overall cost of obtaining quality gear, creating and maintaining a drone program can be a daunting task.

AUVSI: Lone Star Chapter is excited to bring drone experts together in this 2-day event that focusses on helping people get into the drone industry. Come join other drone enthusiasts, aspiring drone professionals and full-time drone professionals as we talk about our experiences and struggles. More importantly though, we want to provide you with the real-world experience that you can use as a platform to advance your own goals.  AUVSI’s mission is to bring the unmanned industry into the mainstream and educate those at the beginning of their journey.

This will be an approximately 3-4 hour class and is a prerequisite to attend the field practical the following day that will be held out in the field located at: 4500 Medical Center Drive, Mc Kinney, TX 75069. This class is geared towards those who have some working knowledge with drones and can handle basic flight operations. We will cover the following topics: *Review sample photo/video footage *State and Federal laws regarding drone use *Payload types for SAR *Programs, Skillsets and Tactics needed for SAR *General discussion on qualifications/certifications for SAR

The Ridge and Valley Chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) seeks to advance unmanned systems technology and to raise awareness of the region as a center of technical expertise. An essential element in the advancement of unmanned systems is partnership. Of course, robotic systems are increasingly interconnected with each other and with the people who use them; these partnerships are driving critical advances in autonomy and robotics. But human partnerships are also critical. Research partnerships spawn transformational new technologies. Workforce development partnerships provide a reliable flow of adaptable, well-trained workers. Economic development partnerships create conditions to accelerate commercial growth.