InterDrone Listed in “Fasetst Fifty”

[Drone News]

Lady Gaga’s incredible drone-packed performance at the Super Bowl last weekend went a long way toward proving that the drone industry is going mainstream, as does the recent news that InterDrone has just been selected as one of the “Fastest Fifty”—an elite list of the top fastest growing trade shows in the U.S. in any industry—by Trade Show Executive magazine.

Being named to the list at all is a distinction to be proud of it, but InterDrone was also one of only 14 trade shows in the country to be named in three categories: 1) Fastest Growth in Exhibit Space; 2) Fastest Growth in Number of Exhibitors; and 3) Fastest Growth in Attendance.

Can we just say: Woot woot—that is fantastic!

One of the great things about this recognition is that it’s awarded based purely on the numbers. InterDrone killed it in 2016, with attendance up 26% and exhibit space up an impressive 48% from 2015, and a total draw of 3,518 attendees from 54 different countries on 6 continents, as well as 155 exhibitors and sponsors in 222 booths. That is to say, this recognition is well earned.

“We are honored to be recognized by Trade Show Executive for our rapid growth reflecting both the exciting growth of the commercial drone market and the hard work of our team. More than 260 media and association partners have helped build InterDrone into the largest dedicated commercial UAV event in the world.“

– Ted Bahr, Chairman of InterDrone

InterDrone was the only drone-focused trade show named to the “Fastest Fifty” this year—you can see the full list of trade shows that were recognized here.

A Reason to Celebrate

InterDrone’s success is something all of us in the drone industry can celebrate, because it’s a bellwether for where we’re all headed. That is (pun intended)—UP.

In 2016, when FAA Administrator Michael Huerta gave his keynote at InterDrone, he noted that in the first month of the Section 333 sUAS regulations there were only 7 authorized operators, whereas the new Part 107 regulations and certification process boasted thousands of participants.

Further, he noted, 3,000+ people studied for and took their Aeronautical Knowledge Test the very first day the regulations went into effect, on Monday August 29th, 2016.

We can only imagine what those numbers will look like this September.

We’ve talked on here before about helping to change public perception of drones and the people who fly them, and certainly the larger the drone community grows, the more there are drone ambassadors doing this work across public and private sectors. Kudos to InterDrone for leading the way, and for all of their success.

Below is Michael Huerta’s keynote last year. Even though this was only five months ago, we feel like the industry has come so far since then.

InterDrone 2017

InterDrone 2017 is shaping up to be even bigger and better than 2016. The conference will be held at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas from September 6-8, 2017.

The conference has gotten so big that some drone companies are choosing it as their venue for launching new products, which has historically been done at CES. We can’t wait to see what surprises are in store this year.

Regarding professional development at InterDrone 2017, there are three tracks to support UAV pilots: Drone TechCon for drone builders, developers, OEMs, and engineers; Drone Enterprise for enterprise UAV pilots, operators, and drone service businesses; and Drone Cinema for pilots engaged in aerial photography and videography.

Find out more about attending and exhibiting by visiting the InterDrone website. And make sure to join their email list to get all the updates as the conference approaches.

Last year FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta (quoted and featured in the video above) and Yuneec CEO Tian Yu gave Grand Keynotes. Wonder who will kick things off this year…?

 

The post InterDrone Listed in “Fasetst Fifty” appeared first on UAV Coach.

View the full article