Our preview of the 2024 Commercial UAV Expo keynotes calls out a lineup that features leaders from the FAA, Mitsubishi Electric, Pacific Gas & Electric, the City of Houston and more, helping to set the tone for conversations that take place throughout the event. This combination of industry and government contacts is the exact mix that is needed to accelerate commercial viability and market demand for drone technology. However, their insights are connected to even larger developments that will impact the entire industry. 

Below is a quick look at how talking points and insights from the keynotes are connected to the past and future to highlight why stakeholders across the industry should make sure these keynotes are part of their schedule. You can further supplement that schedule by attending as many of the 85+ sessions and visiting with as many of the over 200 exhibitors as you can.

The evolution of the drone industry

The milestone 10th edition of Commercial UAV Expo in 2024 is a testament to both the impact and staying power of drone technology. Hype may have driven the interest in those early days, but that has subsided for the creation of value that can be quantified. But what does it mean to purposefully and meaningfully build on this success?

Two people that have meaningfully enabled this evolution are Lisa Ellman and Gretchen West of the Commercial Drone Alliance, and they’ll open the event with a “State of the Industry Update” that will outline the collective action that has fueled over a decade of growth in the industry. Perhaps even more importantly, they’ll highlight what it means to see this evolution taken to the next level thanks to further and more effective collaboration.  

Defining the regulatory environment 

Drone regulation is without question the top issue in the industry, as many have called out how the real value of the technology will never be realized without regulation that allows it to truly scale. For many, that means beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights without visual observers (VOs). It would also mean these operations take place autonomously to greatly expand the scope of operations. But what will that actually look like? And when is it going to happen? 

There are few better people to answer those questions than Tim Arel, Chief Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization at the FAA. The specifics of the FAA’s process and timing are details he’ll outline as part of a candid exploration of how the agency is thinking about uniting drones with traditional aviation ecosystems in a way that allows everyone to safely share the sky. 

What does it mean to quantify the value of the technology?

For many years, the potential impact that drones could make when it comes to performing tasks in faster, cheaper and safer ways was enough to propel the industry forward. The bottom-line reality quickly caught up to those advocates though, forcing them to transition out of the possible and into reality. Exactly where and how was the technology going to create value? And what does it mean to enable this value in a quantifiable manner?

These are the specifics that Randy Macchi, Chief Operating Officer of City of Houston, and Josh Fredriksson, Senior Director of Inspections, Pacific Gas & Electric are set to fully explore as part of their keynote conversation. As leaders within their respective organizations, they’re set to outline what it has meant for their organizations to meaningfully adopt the technology and create value with it in a way that will help others similarly succeed with the technology.  

Connecting commercial viability with market demand

Beyond the core technology and regulations associated with using it, the path to real economic growth for the drone industry is going to be defined by the demands of the market. But where is that demand today? What does it mean to make a business case for investment? How can the technology avoid the pitfalls of commoditization?

Answering these questions through the different lenses of aviation, technology, and financial capital, panelists in the Accelerating Commercial Viability and Market Demand conversation will outline how and why drones are on the brink of redefining industries by boosting efficiency, enhancing safety, and expanding data collection capabilities. All of which impacts present-day decisions that will ultimately form the foundation for future opportunities for stakeholders and the entire drone industry.