AESS UAS/UAV Technical Panel NewsVince Socci, Technical Panel Chair, socci@ieee.org, June 2017

Call for Volunteers!Activity within the UAS/UAV Tech Panel has been ramping up. We have many events being planned, standards/regulations being developed, and courses being taught. The tech panel is seeking additional volunteer panel members to develop the breadth, depth, and impact of these activities. If you are interested in volunteering with the tech panel, please contact Vince Socci at socci@ieee.org.

We are especially interested in extending our activities throughout Regions 7-10. We have many technical sessions, event plans, and other activities that can easily be replicated in other geographic areas if we had volunteers to support them.

Standards Group FormedThe Tech Panel is seeking approval of the formation of the AESS UAS/UAV Standards Committee by the IEEE-SA Standards Board. Policies and Procedures for Standards Development for the IEEE/AESS Unmanned Aerial Systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Standards Committee (UAS/UAV SC) were presented to the AESS Board of Governors. We received AESS BoG approval in May and are proceeding with the development of the group. If interested in participating in UAS/UAV standards development, contact Phil Hall at Philip.hall@ieee.org.

Student ActivitiesStudent activities are in high gear with the UAS/UAV tech panel. Vince Socci will present the “How It Works: Drone Edition” at the Kopernik Observatory summer camp this year. Ron Ogan will present a session entitled “Utility Line Inspection Using Unmanned Aircraft” at the Mississippi College Annual Professional Development Day on August !0. Ron has led many student activities for our tech panel. Contact Ron at rtogan@ieee.org for ideas on UAS/UAV student activities.

FAA EngagementWe increased our engagement with the Federal Aviation Administration by joining the FAA's Unmanned Aircraft Systems Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (UAS ID ARC). The IEEE AESS UAS/UAV TP is presently supporting two working groups in this activity: Working Group 1 – Existing and Emerging Technologies; Working Group 2 – Law Enforcement and Security/Regulations. Shawn Kimmel (kimmel_shawn@bah.com)is leading this activity.

Drone Operation, Safety, and License Prep CourseThrough support of IEEE-USA and Region 1, the TP is developing a Drone Operation, Safety, and License Preparation course for the fall. The course is a six-week, 36-hour training program covering topics such as: drone technology, flight dynamics, flight operations, drone safety, commercial applications, FAA regulations, license preparation, and many hands-on activities. Licensed sUAS pilots are encouraged to contact Vince Socci (socci@ieee.org) if interested in supporting this effort.

Hear about our events at Sections CongressThe tech panel will provide an Ignite Session at the 2017 Sections Congress in Sydney, Australia. The session will highlight how Dronefest has been able to engage the local community for impact. The presentation will share the story of how a section needed vitality and energy in their meetings. They thought they could gain benefits by sharing technologies of public interest. Dronefest was able to grow public engagement. The session will share strategies on using UAS/UAV technologies to ignite energy into IEEE meetings.

IEEE STEM at the Intrepid MuseumIEEE is supporting an ongoing exhibit at the Intrepid Museum in NY entitled “Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?”. The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum unveil this first major museum exhibition on pilotless aircraft to open in the United States on May 10, 2017. The exhibit is co-curated by Eric Boehm, the Museum’s curator of aviation and aircraft restoration, along with Mary L. “Missy” Cummings and Alexander J. Stimpson, both specialists at Duke University. IEEE is a major supporter of the event.

Additionally, IEEE is co-sponsoring the Intrepid DRONES conference, taking place November 3, 2017. AESS UAS/UAV tech panel members will present several sessions.

See https://www.intrepidmuseum.org/drones.aspx for more information.

Drone PhotographsWe are collecting your favorite photographs captured by a drone, along with captions describing the scene. If you have any you are willing to share, please email them to socci@ieee.org. We hope to build an album of drone photographs to share with other IEEE members.

Don’t forget our Call for Volunteers!Come join the tech panel and help advance UAS/UAV technology for humanity. Contact Vince Socci, socci@ieee.org.