Today final week, I used to be standing on a stage at CES. That’s brief for the Shopper Electronics Present, which is the most important commerce present on the planet, held yearly in Las Vegas.
I used to be there to say what has been an absolute honor — an inaugural spot within the Ladies in Rising Aviation Applied sciences Corridor of Fame. I wrote extensively about what this award means to me right here — and why it’s simply as a lot an award with your title on it as mine.
However as a result of CES is a trade-only occasion and isn’t open to most of the people, many people who may need needed to attend in any other case couldn’t. Thus, I’m bringing you the highlights proper right here.
Subsequent week, I’ll provide you with a glimpse at a few of the most enjoyable non-drone encounters I had at CES. However for right this moment, I needed to give attention to the actual motive I got here (and essentially the most inspirational, standout part of the entire journey): the 2023 Rising Aviation Applied sciences Thought Leaders’ Summit.
The summit kicked off on Thursday, Jan. 5 with a chat run by MatrixSpace Chief Income Officer Lori DeMatteis discussing the place we at the moment are, and what the chart for the longer term is about to appear like. Different Thursday dialogue subjects included BVLOS and a chat on drone sports activities that includes Electrical Flying Automobile Racing Pilot Lexie Janson and Drone Soccer’s Nationwide Engagement Technique Chair, Dr. Renee Welch.
Sadly I didn’t arrive in Vegas till Friday, however I nonetheless acquired to expertise loads of great things. I landed on the airport, dropped off my bag and took the shuttle to the Las Vegas Conference Middle, the place the primary merchandise on my agenda was attending the three p.m. Ladies in Rising Aviation Applied sciences Awards ceremony.
However as a result of I had a while, I took a fast browse of the cubicles. I’ve spidey senses for drones as a result of — even sans map — the Autel sales space was one of many first ones I discovered.
I discovered a number of different smaller firms that I’d by no means heard of, however that made drones.
The time flew by and I then headed to the award ceremony, which is the place the magic actually occurred. The ceremony was held in one of many Las Vegas Conference Middle ballrooms, and it was brimming with the highest folks in drones — of us from the FAA, from NASA, of us who’re entrepreneurs, scientists and trade celebrities. And most of these folks have been girls.
Previous to final week’s 2023 Rising Aviation Applied sciences Thought Leaders’ Summit, I had by no means been in a room with so many sensible, feminine minds targeted on the drone trade. A lot of these minds obtained well-deserved recognition. There have been a slew of awards dole out, together with the annual Ladies to Watch winners and the companies being acknowledged within the High Corporations for Ladies awards. The ceremony culminated with the naming of the first-ever Corridor of Fame inductees.
And after the awards got out and plenty of images have been taken, all of us headed over for a reception. There, I acquired to reunite with some outdated associates, and meet loads of new ones. What’s superb whenever you put so many passionate, feminine dronies in a room is the standard of conversations you had.
Enterprise whiz Fiona Lake informed me why she doesn’t trouble with inventory pictures. Joanna Steidle of Hamptons Drone Photographs informed me why certainly one of her prime digicam drones is a semi-dark horse within the drone pictures world, the DJI Avata. NASA’s April Lanotte informed me about her ambitions to make aerospace science extra accessible to all educators and college students. Hitomi Uematsu gave me the news on her drone mild exhibits (her firm, SKYMAGIC, ran the world cup drone mild exhibits).
Concepts have been exchanged, and new ones have been generated. On this place, the dialogue was real. The spirit was on fireplace. And don’t fear — I’ll share their tales with you on my web site quickly.
The following day, we headed to a collection to file video clips for what might flip into an extended documentary concerning the drone trade. I heard from most of the prior night time’s honorees, together with NASA Ames Analysis Middle Director of Aeronautics Huy Tran discussing her upbringing in Vietnam and escape by way of boat after the autumn of Saigon, in addition to Joanna Steidle speaking about what she seems for in her artwork (and what qualities make it stand out from all the opposite aerial photographs).
I spoke about how I acquired into drones (which as you doubtless know was accidentally in school), which you’ll see a clip of right here:
I share how my weblog began:
Dished my ideas on communication abilities:
And appeared towards the longer term:
And whereas I didn’t fly out till Sunday (and I spent that day doing loads of nice Vegas issues, like seeing the Bellagio and consuming at Eataly), there’s nothing else just like the Rising Aviation Applied sciences Summit. I want you may be there — solely to assured stroll away a minimum of half as impressed as I did.
I’ve been to many tech conferences the place I’m the one feminine speaker, or certainly one of only a handful of girls in attendance. I’m grateful for this previous weekend’s summit for exhibiting me that there isn’t any scarcity of sensible girls who can share huge concepts. If you happen to construct it, they are going to come. That’s precisely what the Ladies and Drones Rising Aviation Applied sciences Summit did.
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