The University of Wyoming will host a two-day symposium on drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, this Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jeff Hamerlinck is the director of UW’s Geographic Information Science Center. He says the symposium will be the first of its kind and he is hoping it will be an opportunity to raise awareness in the state about drones. Hamerlinck says drones’ data-collecting abilities are unmatched. The data collection is timelier, the quality of the data is much higher, and the cost of drones is relatively affordable.
But Hamerlink says regulations haven’t kept up with the technology.
“Because it’s such a rapidly evolving field, some of those things haven’t been clearly delineated. So we will have an opportunity at this symposium to hear about how this has been dealt with in some other states and hopefully, that will lay the groundwork for how we are able to optimize the use of these technologies in Wyoming.”
Hamerlinck also says he sees them playing a major role in the state’s future.
“We see a lot of potential where these kinds of systems can assist with everything from natural resource management to law enforcement, utilities mapping, and other applications as well.”
The symposium will include live demos with drones. The event begins at 9 a.m.on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. There will be open registration at the event.
