UAV show attracts thousands — PHOTOS

Las Vegas Review-Journal

7 years ago

Andrew St. Pierre of Autel Robotics demos the Evo camera drone during the third annual Commercial UAV Expo at the Westgate in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

R4 Robotics Inc. president Karl Sachs, right, demos his R4 Roller drone, developed with a lined rolling cage, to attendee Larry Pruitt during the third annual Commercial UAV Expo at the Westgate in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

Daniel Hubert, right, of LiDAR USA demos the Matrice 201 LiDAR modular drone to attendees Troy Tetsuka, center, and Paul Fitzgerald during the third annual Commercial UAV Expo at the Westgate in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

Attendee Matthew Waldon of Australia inspects a DJI Mavic drone on display at the Drone Nerds booth during the third annual Commercial UAV Expo at the Westgate in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

Attendees inspect the SkyRanger drone by Aeryon on display at the Precision Hawk booth during the third annual Commercial UAV Expo at the Westgate in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018. Richard Brian Las Vegas Review-Journal @vegasphotograph

The Commercial UAV Expo, held at the Westgate from Monday through Wednesday, drew in more than 3,000 professionals interested in the unmanned aerial vehicle industry from across the globe, according to its website.

The expo featured keynote addresses from high-profile speakers in the industry, such as Earl Lawrence, the Federal Aviation Administration’s executive director of the unmanned aircraft systems integration office, and Michael Kratsios, the White House’s deputy U.S. chief technology officer.

Kratsios commented on the administration’s focus on promoting emerging technology in the U.S. and fostering economic development with the help of drones. He also emphasized the administration’s push to keep regulations up to date with the industry’s technological developments.

“The general idea (is) that this technology is moving at a faster pace than our regulators are able to keep up with,” he said. “We’re seeing companies actually make a business decision to not do business in the United States, and this is something that resonated with a lot of people in the White House. … The future of aviation is unmanned.”

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.