On November 17th and 18th, 2015, Jon W. Adams, with DJS Associates, Inc., attended the inaugural Drone World Expo (DWE) conference in San Jose, CA. Chief among the topics at DWE were discussions surrounding the proposed system for UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) Traffic Management (UTM). The goal of this UTM is to effectively and efficiently integrate UAS traffic into the low-altitude airspace, emphasizing safety while allowing civilian operators to employ UASs for a multitude of functions. This UTM, which NASA hopes will be in full swing within 5 years, aims to provide increased aerial infrastructure as more and more UASs flood into US airspace on a daily basis.
Data Management in the Drone Age was another hot topic. In these times of rapid technological advancements, data capture and data processing are leading to mountains of data at an alarming rate. Drones are not only capable of capturing high resolution still images and video, but are also now being equipped with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors. Couple these data capture inputs with outputs such as orthomosaic/spectral imaging maps and photogrammetric point clouds and models, and it’s easy to understand how all of this data could quickly overwhelm IT departments.
Look to the future, and be prepared.