Drones have been touted as enabling a potential 90% in timesavings, while the costs associated with using drone vs. a survey crew are exponentially different. These differences have spurred talk around starting a drone program at companies of all sizes, but establishing the right foundations to ensure these kinds of programs don’t fail is far less pervasive. Why are some UAS programs successful when other fail? How should stakeholders measure and communicate the value of a drone program?

This session will explore these questions and more across two separate panel discussions, both of which will be moderated by Mark Bathrick, Dell Technologies Federal Civilian Strategic Programs

Should You Build or Outsource Your Drone Program? – 2:00-2:40

The justification for adopting drone technology isn’t just about data or information; it’s about finances and the bottom line. Often that leads to a question of “build or outsource a drone program?”, but the answer isn’t that simple. This session will address the considerations and risk-management factors inherent in choices when it comes to in-house drone programs, outsourcing these services, or using a hybrid approach. Presenters will share processes for developing safe, effective and efficient UAS operations.

Attendees will come away from this session with a sense of what they’ll need to define in order to establish or expand their drone program. Those specifics will be understood in financial and mission outcome terms to bring back to organizational stakeholders.

Panelist: Rob Knockenhauer, Censys

Panelist: Jeffrey Hong, Parsons

Panelist: Edgar Valdez, Deliotte

Panelist: Joel Sherman, TraceAir

The Art of project planning, drone data collection, data processing, analytics, and dissemination made easy and scalable – 2:45-3:30

Many engineering firms and service providers get easily overwhelmed when planning to perform end user projects. What drone do I use? What cameras or LiDAR sensors should it have? What software do I use for processing and analytics? In many cases firms just take the lowest end solution and don't truly deliver what the end customer needs. This can then deter end users from contracting again or even trying to hire these solutions.

In this presentation/discussion, industry experts will explain what it means to make a complicated and overwhelming process, easy and efficient. They’ll discuss how to accomplish multiple projects for a wide range of customers and gain company revenue in key industries moving to drone use. 

Panelist: James Michel, Skyline Software

Panelist: Phil Mann, Airwise Solutions

Panelist: Mark Taylor, Extreme Aerial

Panelist: Jacob Rutledge, UPS