Unmanned Systems 2009 Conference Finds Record Success With Aerial and Ground Demonstrations and Displays

According to the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, attendees showed up in record numbers for their Unmanned Systems North America 2009 conference held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. 10 to 14 g. More than 5,000 attendees from 30 countries came to the show to see 325 exhibitors and 112 speakers participate in panels, workshops and presentations.

The conference kicked off on 10 Aug. at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Inigoes, Md., showcasing 15 air, ground and maritime demonstrations and 17 static displays.

AAI’s Orbiter, Aerosonde’s Mk 4.7, IAI/NA Stark Aerospace Maritime’s Heron I, L-3 Geneva Aerospace’s Mobius and two of InSitu’s ScanEagles flew simultaneously at the show. The show also included General Dynamics Robotic Systems demonstrating its unmanned vehicle leader-follower capability on the ground,  iRobot demonstrated its family of vehicles, from the Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle to the 510 PackBot to the larger Warrior X700, and aircraft flight demonstrations by AeroVironment’s Puma and NASA’s J-FLiC aircraft. Unmanned helicopters were on hand, relatively large and small: Adaptive Flight’s tiny Hornet micro UAS surveilled a fake town (and the crowd in the VIP tent) and Northrop Grumman’s larger Fire Scout closed the show.

Beginning on Tuesday at the convention center, hundreds of delegates attended the conference’s morning plenary session to listen to a wide range of experts from the military, Congress, advocacy groups, international agencies and even the Discovery Channel.

Several Aegis Electronic Group team members were in attendance this week to not only witness the interaction of unmanned systems and their ability to operate with each other, with manned vehicles and with soldiers on the ground, but to also showcase the latest camera technologies being incorporated into these manned and unmanned systems.

With manned and unmanned vehicle technologies advancing, cameras have become an integral part of their success on and off the battle field.  Visual images of what it going around them is crucial information to have when it comes to strategizing.  Cameras are found on aerial, ground and marine vehicles alike and can be used in several different ways including for reconnaissance, surveillance, vehicle inspection for hidden explosives, medical assistance on the battlefield, and more.

Aegis' William Larson-Garcia and David Naranjo at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station getting an up-close look at the static displays

About Aegis:

Aegis Electronic Group, Inc., specializes in the distribution, integration and support of visible and Near IR cameras, components and modified integrated system solutions for industrial and military video and imaging applications.

Committed to delivering value added solutions with the highest levels of technical support, customer service and quality hardware, Aegis, over the last 20 years, has transformed from a hardware provider into a full systems integrator of industrial analog and industrial digital camera systems.

Aegis works extensively with the latest digital technologies including FireWire®, CameraLink, USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet (GigE)® to meet the ever changing needs of their customers.

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Aegis Electronic Group, Inc. (Aug 2009) http://www.aegis-elec.com

Lucey, Danielle (Aug 2009). AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America 2009 Sets Attendance Record. AUVSI.org. Retrieved from http://www.auvsi.org/news/index.cfm#News1935