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Mission & Vision

The future holds expanding opportunities for military and civilian applications of unmanned systems. We, the DC Capital Chapter of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, believe our first responsibility is to constantly strive to provide the credible advocacy and support for the potential that unmanned systems can provide for the military and commercial sector as well as our nation.

We are committed to the following principles:

*We will provide forward looking leadership that will focus on challenges and issues in the nation’s Capital that face the unmanned systems community.
*We will endeavor to support our member's goals and provide recognition for outstanding leadership and achievement in the field of unmanned systems.
*We will provide opportunities to educate the public, including potential government and commercial users on the value of unmanned vehicle systems capability to our nation's future.
*We will conduct our business relationships with industry, government and the unmanned vehicle community with a high level of ethics and professionalism and maintain an unquestioned reputation for integrity, credibility and respect as advocates of unmanned systems.
*We will promote and be advocates for innovative approaches that will provide visionary roadmaps for unmanned systems and provide opportunities for integrated military and/or commercial requirements.
*We will provide an effective interface with the customers and stakeholders that comprise the unmanned vehicle community."

Chapter News

Aurora’s UH-1H receives FAA Special Airworthiness Certification. Photo courtesy of Aurora Flight Sciences.

Technology

Aurora's Optionally-Piloted UH-1H receives Special Airworthiness Certificate from FAA

The FAA has granted a Special Airworthiness Certificate to Aurora Flight Sciences’ UH-1H helicopter, which is the company’s newest optionally-piloted aircraft, and the third manned aircraft overall that Aurora has converted to robotic-controlled or OPA operation.

As the latest development in the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS) program, Aurora has created the “Autonomy-enabled UH-1,” also known as AEH-1, by adding a complete digital flight control system.

Business Solutions

Drone pilot program to help state, local governments weigh in on UAS integration

On Oct. 25, President Trump directed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao to launch the Innovative Drone Integration Pilot Program, an initiative which will “safely test and validate advanced operations” for UAS in partnership with state and local governments in select jurisdictions.

The move is seen as a way to give state and local governments some say in regulating UAS use, while not pre-empting the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration to oversee the nation’s airspace.

Transportable Interoperable Ground Robot (TIGR), photo courtesy of Business Wire.

Technology

Roboteam unveils Transportable Interoperable Ground Robot during AUSA 2017

During AUSA 2017 in Washington, D.C., Roboteam, Inc., which provides tactical ground robotic systems and controllers for defense, law enforcement and public safety missions, unveiled its Transportable Interoperable Ground Robot (TIGR).

Described by Roboteam as the “most advanced, groundbreaking robotic platform ever made available to the modern warfighter,” the TIGR is a two-man carried UGV with a modular design. The modular design allows for add-ons, sensors and future technology integration.

Highly mobile and capable of operating in any terrain, the all-weather UGV is capable of a number of different functionalities that are unachievable for other mid-sized robotic platforms in the “theater of war,” according to Roboteam.

AUVSI News

For the transplant transportation trial, a special carrier was created called the Human Organ Monitoring and Quality Assurance Apparatus for Long-Distance Travel (Homal). Photo: University of Maryland Medical Center

Technology

Link: Organs by Drone? Unmanned Flying Vehicles Could Soon Carry Body Parts for Human Transplants

Postmates has introduced its new Serve robotic delivery device. Photo: Postmates

Technology

Postmates introduces Serve, its robotic delivery device that it built from the ground up

On-demand delivery company Postmates has introduced the newest member of its fleet, Serve, which the company claims is the first robotic delivery device created from the ground up by an on-demand delivery company.

Postmates says that after seven years and hundreds of millions of deliveries, it realized that it was in a unique position to create its very own autonomous delivery vehicle, which combines a patented Socially-Aware-Navigation system with the company’s proprietary Postmates software.

Technology

NUAIR Alliance hosts first official UTM kick off meeting with partners

From Dec. 11 to 12, the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR Alliance) hosted its first official unmanned traffic management (UTM) kick off meeting with partners in Syracuse.

According to the NUAIR Alliance, the goals of the meeting were to establish a joint roadmap to advance research and development opportunities, identify and resolve technical issues, and lay the framework for a detailed implementation plan to build an operational beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) UTM system.

Some of the partners present at the meeting included Unifly, AirMap and Syracuse University.

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Why join AUVSI

AUVSI is the world’s largest organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics industries. We provide our members with a unified voice in advocacy for policies and regulations that encourage growth and innovation; we provide education to the public and media on the safe and beneficial uses of unmanned systems; and we enable market growth by providing our members with custom resources to realize their full potential within the industry.