Commercial drone professionals gathered last week (Sept. 6-8) for Commercial UAV Expo 2022 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. The eighth annual event had 232 exhibitors and 3,405 verified professionals on-site of more than 4,100 registrants from 60 countries and 48 U.S. states.

“The turnout was monumental,” said Lee Corkhill, group event director at Diversified Communications (organizer of the Expo). “We surpassed every expectation this year. With a 74% increase of verified registrants over last year and a sold-out exhibit floor, Commercial UAV Expo has proven to be the opportunity of the year for anyone who needs to keep up with commercial UAS technology, trends, and developments.”

The event kicked off Tuesday Sept. 6 with extensive pre-conference programming, including Live Outdoor Flying Demonstrations put on in cooperation with Sundance Media Group and participating vendors Ascent AeroSystems, Autel Robotics, Commaris, Frontier Precision Unmanned, Skydio, Skyfront, Volatus Aerospace, and Wingtra. Thevendors showcased new, cutting-edge commercial drone solutions and a sophisticated a/v setup allowed attendees to see the data and images as they were being captured. A full recap of the Outdoor Demos as well as Tuesday’s Exhibitor Showcase presentations can be found here.

The sold out exhibit hall floor opened Tuesday evening and was immediately flooded with attendees exploring solutions from among the 232 exhibitors, showcasing solutions in 340 booths.

“This is ‘the’ drone show in the Commercial UAV space,” said Christian Stallings, director of geospatial operations for Alynix LLC. “There's no better place to learn about drone technology, to see real world applications, to meet others who are using these successfully in their organization. So I'd say to anyone who was thinking about coming, if you're serious about integrating robotic technology, drone technology into your work, there's not a better place to find out what's working, meet the people who are doing it successfully and educate yourself about the opportunities that are available.”

Wednesday morning, more than 1,000 attendees packed the conference room to hear from Federal Aviation Administration’s Acting Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety David H. Boulter speak about “FAA’s Vision to Enable the Next Generation of Flight” and Skydio’s Chief Executive Officer Adam Bry’s address on “Unlocking the Future of Successful Drone Adoption.” In his remarks, Mr. Boulter announced that the first FAA Type Certification was granted to Matternet; learn more about the announcement here.

Lee Corkhill and Commercial Drone Alliance’s executive director and Commercial UAV Expo advisory board member Lisa Ellman delivered opening keynote remarks.

The Thursday morning keynote took a look into the “Future of Drone Delivery,” with insights from Dallas Brooks, aviation regulatory lead for Wing; Sean Cassidy, director of safety, flight operations and regulatory affairs for Amazon Prime Air; Jim O’Sullivan, vice president of regulatory and special projects for Matternet; and Tom Walker, CEO of DroneUp. The keynote was moderated by Jay Merkle of the Federal Aviation Administration. All keynote presentations are accessible online.

The conference program focused on how drone technology is solving problems and creating meaningful ROI across various industries. With over 180 speakers, the conference sessions addressed the pressing issues currently facing commercial drone professionals. Experts from the FAA, NASA, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Amazon Air Prime, Lockheed Martin, Skydio, the State of Alaska, Ohio Department of Transportation, DroneUp, USGS National UAS Projects Office, Dominion Energy Services Inc., Sundt Construction, Windover Construction, Wing, Florida Power & Light Company, and many other top organizations shared their expertise on a wide range of topics.  View a brief recap of the final day including the Women Behind the Drone Revolution panel and more here.

Special features of the 2022 event included numerous networking events, industry-specific roundtable discussions, vendor-delivered exhibitor showcases, and the DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Summit, which held two full days of programming for drone operators and program managers across law enforcement, fire, search and rescue, and other emergency services.

Commercial UAV Expo was supported by 300-plus publications, portals, associations, user groups, analysts, cooperating events, and government agencies, covering six continents. “We are thrilled to have such far-reaching global support,” said Corkhill. “These groups are recognizing Commercial UAV Expo as the leading international event in the commercial drone space.”

The next Commercial UAV Expo is scheduled for September 5-7, 2023 at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas. Stay up to date by inquiring about attending or exhibiting, and continue to follow Commercial UAV News for post-event coverage.

For more information, visit www.expouav.com.