For Immediate Release: April 1, 2019
Contact: Tom McMahon, tmcmahon@auvsi.org, (571) 255-7786

AUVSI Names AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards Finalists

Winners will be announced at XPONENTIAL in Chicago on April 30 and May 2

 
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International (AUVSI) today  named the finalists for the second annual XCELLENCE Awards. The awards recognize the accomplishments by companies, organizations and individuals across the unmanned systems community. The winners will be announced during the award ceremonies on Tuesday, April 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. CDT and Thursday, May 2 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. CDT at McCormick Place in Chicago.

"The rapid growth of the unmanned systems industry is reshaping our future by expanding business markets, providing consumers with innovative solutions and even saving lives," said Brian Wynne, president and CEO of AUVSI. "The XCELLENCE awards recognize companies and individuals who are achieving remarkable results with unmanned systems technology to benefit our communities.”
 
The AUVSI XCELLENCE Awards will honor innovators with a demonstrated commitment to advancing technology, leading and promoting safe operations and developing programs that use unmanned systems to improve the human condition. These are the finalists in those categories:

TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION  

Commercial/Enterprise Operation

• Flyability, Elios - The Indoor UAS for High-Dose Areas
• GBA, Eyes In The Sky Perform Bridge Delamination Assessment
• Impossible Aerospace, Impossible US-1
• Loveland Innovations, IMGING
• Propeller, Propeller Software Platform

Communication or Data Connection Solutions

• MilSource, MILTECH 907
• OFS, µlinx® Fiber Optic Cable
• Persistent Systems LLC, Wave Relay® Mobile Ad Hoc Network
• Simulyze, Inc., Mission Insight™

Detect & Avoid Solutions

• Auterion, Auterion PX4 Avoidance
• Buffalo Automation, AutoMate
• Iris Automation, Casia
• Kongsberg Geospatial, IRIS UAS Fleet Control Station
• NASA, Independent Configurable Architecture for Reliable Operations of Unmanned Systems (ICAROUS)

Fleet Management Software & Solutions

• Auterion, Auterion Insights
• AutonomouStuff, Platform Fleet
• Consortiq, CQNet: Drone Operations Management Solution
• Kittyhawk IO, Kittyhawk Drone Operations for Enterprise

Power Solutions

• Alta Devices, New Solar Technology Product
• Global Energy Transmission Co., GET Air 12 Kilowatt Power Cloud and In-Air Drone Charging System
• SolidEnergy Systems, Lithium Metal Batteries
• Top Flight Technologies, Inc., Patented Micro Hybrid-Electric UAV Power System
• Unmanned Systems and Solutions, LLC, Long Endurance Aerial Platform (LEAP)

Safety Solutions

• AirMap, AirMap Real-Time Geofencing Alerts
• Auterion, Auterion Operating System for Enterprise Drones
• Fluidity Technologies, FT Aviator Drone Flight Controller
• ParaZero, SafeAir System
• UASidekick, UASidekick

UAS Mitigation & Security

• Airspace, Galaxy
• Ascent Vision Technologies, XMADIS
• DroneALERT, DroneALERT
• WhiteFox Defense Technologies, Inc., DroneFox Mobile

Vision/Camera Systems & Components

• Arbe, Phoenix Radar System
• Delta Digital Video, Model 7805R H.265 HD/SD Video Encoder
• Luminell Drone Light AS, DL Series
• Velodyne Lidar, Alpha Puck
• Xsens, Xsens MTi 600-series

XCELLENCE in Innovation

• Cepton Technologies, Inc., SORA 200
• Fortem Technologies, Fortem SkyDome
• Intel Corporation, Intel Drone Light Shows
• RIEGL USA, RIEGL VUX-240
• WhiteFox Defense Technologies, Inc., WISDM

OPERATIONS & SAFETY

Operations & Safety Organization

• AES Corporation, Striving for Safety Excellence with Global Drone Program
• Kansas Department of Transportation, KDOT UAS Safety Risk Management Program
• NASA, NASA Langley UAS Operations Office
• Rio Tinto Kennecott Copper, Mining Safety Improvements by Implementing UAS

TRAINING & EDUCATION

Training & Education Organization

• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Gaetz Aerospace Institute
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, ERAU-W UAS Program
• Flying Lion, Inc., Commercial Drone Pilot Training Program
• Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus UAS, Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus UAS Program
• SkyOp, SkyOp STEM Education Program

Training & Education Professional

• Barry J. Brennan, President & Founder, Flying Lion, Inc.
• Jeff Hemming, President, Carolina Drone Academy
• Patrick “Lucidity” Sherman,  Commercial Drone Operator, Trainer and Educator, Roswell Flight Test Crew

Finalists were also named for the Humanitarian Award, which is sponsored by DJI. These awards will recognize five organizations and/or individuals that have made a significant impact using unmanned systems to serve in humanitarian or philanthropic efforts. Recipients of the Humanitarian Award will receive a $25,000 donation divided among their organizations. These are the finalists for the Humanitarian Awards:
 
HUMANITARIAN
 
Humanitarian Project/Program

• Aidronix, Scaling Access to Care in Rural Mexico via Digital Health, Telemedicine and Drone
• AVERPAS, AVERPAS
• NASA / MIT, Search and Rescue Under the Canopy (SARUC)
• North Carolina Department of Transportation, NCDOT Hurricane Florence Response
• Project Lifesaver International, PLI Indago UAV Program
• Swoop Aero, Vaccine and Health Supply Delivery In Vanuatu
• The Ocean Cleanup, Remote Sensing of Buoyant Ocean Plastics
• Zipline International, Zipline Medical Drone Delivery Service

“For the second year, we are glad to see the width and depth of UAVs’ embracement expanding across more industries – from public health, search and rescue, to disaster response and environmental protection – as demonstrated by the submissions we’ve seen from this program,” said Mario Rebello, Vice President and Country Manager, North America, at DJI. “It is not easy for the judges to select these eight finalists from a pool of remarkable submissions, and we look forward to the winners’ announcement on May 2.  Aside from recognizing and rewarding those outstanding organizations and individuals who use drones to serve good purposes, we hope this opportunity could encourage more ground-breaking humanitarian efforts around the globe.”

The winners in the Technology Innovation, Training & Education and Operations & Safety categories will be announced at XPONENTIAL 2019 on Tuesday, April 30 at 11:30 a.m. CDT at the Solutions Theater in the exhibit hall.
 
Recipients of the Humanitarian Award will be announced on Thursday, May 2 at 9:00 a.m. CDT during the keynote presentation in the Arie Crown Theater.
 
As the unmanned systems industry’s largest trade show and conference, XPONENTIAL offers a broad-based and balanced educational program brimming with cutting-edge content and inspirational insights, ranging from policy implications and technical challenges to use cases and best practices across vertical markets and everything in between.

For more information about the featured speakers and XPONENTIAL 2019 and to register, visit xponential.org.
 

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About AUVSI

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) — the world's largest non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics — represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets. For more information, visit AUVSI.org.

About DJI

DJI, the world’s leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, was founded and is run by people with a passion for remote-controlled helicopters and experts in flight-control technology and camera stabilization. The company is dedicated to making aerial photography and filmmaking equipment and platforms more accessible, reliable and easier to use for creators and innovators around the world. DJI’s global operations currently span across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and its revolutionary products and solutions have been chosen by customers in over 100 countries for applications in emergency response, filmmaking, construction, inspection, agriculture, conservation and other industries.