BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The city of Bismarck has been chosen to host the 2015 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Roadshow next month.
The conference will be held May 18 to 20 at Bismarck State College’s National Energy Center of Excellence.
Marlo Anderson of the Central North American Trade Corridor Association was contacted six or seven months ago about hosting the event in conjunction with the group’s trade and transportation summit. He said the conference will inform people of technological advances and what will be available in the future.
“It gets people thinking ’what if,’” Anderson told the Bismarck Tribune (https://bit.ly/1xHj2zc ). “It opens eyes and minds to the possibility of what is going to be available in a couple years.”
Anderson said the show will feature autonomous software companies, drone manufacturers selling surveillance hardware and maybe some self-driving vehicles.
The unmanned vehicle association was drawn to North Dakota by the state’s federal drone-testing site, as well as the trade corridor association’s idea for an “autonomous friendly corridor” from North Dakota to Texas.
Conference chairman Larry White said the event also will focus on agriculture and how the application of unmanned systems has been advancing the industry. Attendees typically include government officials from the U.S. and Canada, as well as oil and transportation representatives.
Anderson said organizers hope that up to 500 people attend the conference. They hope to open the event to children, too.
“We want to get the young people involved in what will be their future,” White said.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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