Nearly 600 people including visitors from more than 20 states and several countries converged on Dayton on Tuesday for the start of the Ohio UAS Conference.
The three-day event — hosted by the Dayton Development Coalition and held at Sinclair Community College — focused on raising the profile of unmanned aircraft work across the Buckeye State. It included speakers, panel sessions and more than 40 exhibitors.
For the last several years, Dayton has been at the centre of Ohio’s efforts to grow the industry. “This is bringing people from all over the United States, talking about UAS, talking about the technology around UAS,” said Jeff Hoagland, President and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition.
Although a separate event, the House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee held a field hearing at Sinclair during the conference.
Rick Little, President of Starwin Industriesin Kettering, had a booth at the conference. He sees unmanned aircraft as a golden opportunity that the Dayton region needed to continue fighting for. “Now is the time,” Little said. “We have to do it. We cannot be shut out of this.”
Just as important as the strong turnout was the overall mood as officials say sequestration hasn’t cast a pall over the event. “I think people are here to learn and hear from the experts on where the industry is, where it’s going, and the potential it has, not just in Ohio, but across the country,” Hoagland said. “I think people are going to walk away wanting more next year.”
Wednesday’s list of speakers included:
- Morley Stone, Chief Scientist at the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
- Janis Pamiljans, Vice-President for UAS at Northrop Grumman
- Jim McGrew, Deputy Business Development, Unmanned Systems, the Boeing Co.
The event ended on Thursday.
Source: Biz Journals