by Chloe Svolos
Last Thursday, AUVSI hosted their annual Hill Day event on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. AUVSI members held 47 different meetings to educate congressional representatives and staff on the state of the unmanned systems industry and advocate for legislative action that will promote innovation in the industry.
Overall, nearly 80 AUVSI members in attendance were incredibly successful in bringing these issues to light and informing Congressional staffers and legislators on the benefits of UAS and robotics importance of the unmanned systems community. Key meetings included representatives from the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee and aviation subcommittee and the House Science and Technology Committee.
AUVSI’s Hill Day culminated in the Science and Technology Fair hosted in collaboration with the House Unmanned Systems Caucus and a networking reception sponsored by Amazon Prime Air. The fair included exhibitors from 19 leading unmanned systems companies, which showcased their work to over 300 attendees comprised of congressional representatives, staffers, industry leaders and media.
Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI, who testified before the House Judiciary Committee earlier in the day on commercial applications of UAS, welcomed guests and vocalized his appreciation for the support the UAS industry is receiving at the event. Wynne discussed how AUVSI’s report on the first 1,000 exemptions, released that morning, showed a commercial UAS market waiting to be unleashed and the need for the FAA to finalize its small UAS rule.