RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Transportation has been named as a finalist in the fifth annual Association for Uncrewed Vehicles Systems International XCELLENCE Awards.
The NCDOT Division of Aviation’s success expanding the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) has been recognized in the enterprise application category, one of five programs in the running for the XCELLENCE in Operations award.
The awards program recognized NCDOT’s Drone Operations program, which significantly expanded drone use across the agency during the past year with operations that are more efficient, safer and less expensive than traditional methods. That includes the nation’s first deployment of tethered drones (drones attached to a cable) on Incident Management Assistance Patrol trucks in January 2022 to support incident responders. It also includes the nation’s first drone inspection of a bridge beyond the line of sight of the operator, flown under a first-ever waiver granted by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The AUVSI XCELLENCE awards recognize the accomplishments of companies, organizations, and individuals across the uncrewed systems community. The awards honor innovators with a demonstrated commitment to advancing autonomy, leading and promoting safe adoption of uncrewed systems, and developing programs that use these technologies to save lives and improve the human condition.
The winners will be announced during AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2022, which takes place April 25-28 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. The event will include displays from hundreds of companies from around the world and feature educational programming by uncrewed systems experts.
“We are always honored to be recognized for our accomplishments in expanding the use of these transformational technologies to improve public services and build our state’s economy,” said Division of Aviation UAS Program Manager Riley Beaman. “And we are excited to be part of this international conference and have the opportunity to network and showcase what North Carolina can offer companies paving the way for this important industry.”
The AUVSI is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of uncrewed systems and robotics and represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. For more information, visit AUVSI.org.
For more information about the XCELLENCE awards and XPONENTIAL 2022, visit xponential.org.
