Photo: GPS World Staff
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) will host Xponential Virtual Sessions, a week-long webinar series, May 4-8.
According to AUVSI, the series will offer information, insights and insider knowledge covering a number of topics, including drone delivery, public safety, connectivity, and other aspects of the unmanned systems and robotics industry.
These webinars are being held because of the rescheduled Xponential 2020 conference. Xponential 2020 was originally scheduled to take place May 4-8 in Boston, but is now tentatively scheduled to take place Aug. 9-12.
AUVSI offered an overview of the webinars, which are all complimentary.
Digital Twins — The Future of Virtual and Mixed Reality Robotic Avatars
Date: Monday, May 4, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Peter Haas, associate director, Humanity Centered Robotics Initiative, Brown University
Hass will describe how advances in mixed and virtual reality control will lead to a UX revolution for avatar-based robotic teleoperation, where the manipulation of digital twins will translate to manipulation of a robot — or robots — in the physical world. Register here.
Drone Delivery Supporting Public Health
Date: Tuesday, May 5, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Eric Gardiner and Eric Lasker, federal business development, Zipline
Executives from Zipline will describe how drone delivery has evolved through the Federal Aviation Administration UAS Integration Pilot Program and is now being adapted to help community healthcare partners respond to COVID-19 in the United States. Register here.
NASA’s Vision and Role to Enable Urban Air Mobility
Date: Wednesday, May 6, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Speakers: Robert Pearce, associate administrator, NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, and Brian Wynne, president and CEO, AUVSI
Pearce will review initiatives to enable small UAS operating at low altitude through a UAS Traffic Management System and large UAS operating in higher altitude airspace with definitive flight experiments to validate key standards, such as detect-and-avoid technology. Wynne will host a discussion with Pearce about his full vision for future aviation, including what the next 50 years has in store for commercial airline travel and urban air mobility.
Register here.
Advancing Autonomy Through DARPA Challenge to Benefit First Responders
Date: Thursday, May 7, 3-4 p.m. EDT
Speaker: Dr. Timothy Chung, program manager, DARPA Tactical Technology Office
DARPA’s Subterranean Challenge engages international teams to deploy autonomous systems — rolling, walking, flying and floating — to remotely map, identify and report on artifacts discovered along underground courses. Chung will discuss persisting challenges with robotics, how teams are succeeding in competition while advancing unmanned capabilities and how these lessons can benefit first responders. Register here.
Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity — Bridging the Gap Between Cellular and Aviation
Date: Friday, May 8, 2-3 p.m.
Speaker: Mark Davis, technical lead, ACJA
Davis will explore the latest roadmap for aviation and cellular communications, including how recent initiatives such as Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity (ACJA) are aimed at providing a standards framework to enable unmanned aerial cellular. ACJA is a joint activity between GSMA, which represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, and the Global UTM Association, a non-profit consortium of worldwide Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management stakeholders. Register here.