For Immediate Release: June 1, 2020
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786

Finalists Named for AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards

Winners will be announced at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2020 in Dallas on Oct. 6 and 8

 
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) today named the finalists for the third annual AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards. The awards recognize the accomplishments of companies, organizations and individuals across the unmanned systems community. The winners will be announced during award ceremonies on Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 4:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. CDT and Thursday, Oct. 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. CDT during AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2020 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.

"The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards celebrate the achievements of individuals and organizations who have applied unmanned systems technology to create solutions to address a range of challenges affecting business and society," said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. “AUVSI is pleased to recognize these finalists for their perseverance and dedication to turn dreams into reality.”

The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards will honor innovators with a demonstrated commitment to advancing autonomy, leading and promoting safe adoption of unmanned systems, and developing programs that use these technologies to save lives and improve the human condition.

The winners in the Technology Innovation categories will be announced at XPONENTIAL 2020 on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 4:00 p.m. CDT at Learning Lab Theater in the exhibit hall.

These are the finalists in those categories:

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Commercial/Enterprise Operation or Solution 

• Auterion, Auterion Enterprise Suite 
• InNovo Partners, LLC, iPaaS - InNovo Platform as a Service
• Iris Automation, Casia
• Matternet, Inc., Matternet M2 Medical Logistics UAS

• UPS, UPS Flight Forward Drone Delivery 
   

Hardware – Platform 

• Air Force Research Laboratory-led Team, SkyVision Ground-Based Detect and Avoid System
• Cleo Robotics Inc., Dronut - Next Generation UAV 
• Elsight, Halo

• FIRST iZ, FIRST Port^TM
• Kongsberg Maritime, HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Hardware – Component 

• LightWare Lidar, LW45 microLiDAR 

• Ouster, Inc., OS2-128
• VectorNav Technologies, Tactical Embedded Series
• Velodyne Lidar, Inc., Velabit ^TM
• Xsens, MTi-680G GNSS/INS with RTK 

Services 

• InNovo Partners, LLC, iPaaS - InNovo Platform as a Service
• SqwaQ, SqwaQbox 

Software

• Airbus, Project Wayfinder

• Auterion, Auterion Enterprise PX4
• Notos Technologies, Pioneering Forever Flight
• Perceptive Automata, Bringing Human Intuition to Autonomous Trucks
• Verity, Failsafe

XCELLENCE in Innovation 

• Airspace Systems, MetroAir
• Dynetics, The Gremlins Program
• Emesent, Hovermap
• Iris Automation, Casia

• Unifly NV, SAFIR

Finalists were also named in the Humanitarian and Public Safety categories, which are sponsored by DJI. These awards will recognize three organizations and/or individuals in each category that have made a significant impact using unmanned systems to serve in humanitarian or public safety efforts. The recipients will share $30,000 in prize money. Recipients of the Humanitarian and Public Safety Awards will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 9:00 a.m. CDT during the keynote presentation in Ballroom A. These are the finalists for those categories:

HUMANITARIAN & PUBLIC SAFETY

Humanitarian Project/Program

• Centro de Innovación de Drones, Medical Cargo Drones Improving Health Services in Rural Communities of the Dominican Republic 
• Nepal Flying Labs, Drones Optimized Therapy Systems
• Swoop Aero, Transforming the Way the World Moves Essential Supplies with Aeromedical Drone Logistics
• UMD UAS Test Site, Human Organ Transplant Delivery UAS
• WildTrack, Footprint Identification Technique (FIT) 
• Wingcopter GmbH, Saving Lives through Drone Deliveries

Public Safety

• Chula Vista Police Department, Drone as a First Responder (DFR) Program 
• DRONERESPONDERS, DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance 

• North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Aviation, NCDOT Drone Leadership for Public Safety 
• Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, Earthquake Disaster Response
• Swedish Rescue Drones, From a Flying Facebook Group to a Dedicated Search & Rescue Organization Saving Lives
• Verity, Making Drones Safer with Failsafe by Verity 

“DJI is proud to recognize the AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards finalists, whose pioneering accomplishments highlight the critical role drones play in a wide variety of public safety and humanitarian applications, from directly saving lives through search and rescue missions to safely transporting life-saving deliveries in urgent times of need, and many more,” said Romeo Durscher, Senior Director of Public Safety Integration at DJI. “Their collective effort showcases the best of what can be achieved with drone technology today and will encourage innovators to push the boundaries for what’s possible with drone technology in the years to come.”

As the unmanned systems industry’s largest trade show and conference, XPONENTIAL offers a broad-based and balanced educational program brimming with cutting-edge content and inspirational insights, ranging from policy implications and technical challenges to use cases and best practices across vertical markets and everything in between.

For more information about the XCELLENCE awards and XPONENTIAL 2020 and to register, visit xponential.org.

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About AUVSI

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) — the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics — represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. For more information, visit AUVSI.org.

About DJI

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, was founded and is run by people with a passion for remote-controlled helicopters and experts in flight-control technology and camera stabilization. The company is dedicated to making aerial photography and filmmaking equipment and platforms more accessible, reliable and easier to use for creators and innovators around the world. DJI’s global operations currently span across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and its revolutionary products and solutions have been chosen by customers in over 100 countries for applications in emergency response, filmmaking, construction, inspection, agriculture, conservation and other industries.

About AUVSI XPONENTIAL

AUVSI XPONENTIAL is the largest, most significant event for the unmanned systems industry. The 2020 exhibit hall will showcase hundreds of cutting-edge companies from around the world and the conference will feature educational programming by unmanned systems experts, providing information about the future of policy, technology and business solutions and trending topics.