SnotBot makes a splash at Drone World Expo

I was on the road for almost two weeks, and flew over 21,000 miles from Boston to the Indian Ocean, and then from the Indian Ocean over the pole to LA and then back to Boston.
I spent the last two days of the trip at the Drone World Expo (DWE), “The Defining Event for the Commercial Applications of UAS Technology.” I am on the advisory board for DWE, so it has been a real education to see this conference come together. Most of the equipment, people, and processes were on the cutting edge, so it was a great opportunity to meet with leaders in the field of drone and sensor tech. Many of the visions for the future were applicable to the work that Ocean Alliance hopes to do over the next three to five years, and while much of the tech was above Ocean Alliances current budgets, I expect that the prices will drop considerably over the next couple of years.

SnotBot was one of the three winners of the Innovative Drone Exploration and Application (IDEA) Competition, a new competition created by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and DWE.  Winners of this competition had all of their expenses related to DWE covered and were asked to talk about their project at the Expo. As a DWE advisory board member, I was also invited to give a second talk on our work, so SnotBot was very well represented at DWE.
SnotBot tech John Graham and I were also surprised by how many people seemed to be aware and supportive of the SnotBot program, from all the feedback we received we feel comfortable in saying that we are a leader in the field of “drones for good.”
 

I was a little disappointed that over 90 percent of the technology, applications, and ideas were based solely on terrestrial projects. I spent much of the conference going around saying my favorite line:  “We live on planet ocean, not planet earth,” and since 71 percent of the planet is water, you need to be looking to drones that work above, below, and on the water. I know a few companies that are going home and expanding their visions for their tech to include oceans.
Onward! Upward!