Drones can be used to locate earthquake victims, fight fires, save lives, assess the extent of agricultural damage and take forest inventories. Almost every day new applications arise for them. But it is not just a matter of drones: In the future, unmanned systems in general will be changing the nature of transport on land and sea.
Hannover, Germany. CeBIT is greatly expanding its drones showcase next year. ‘Following its successful premiere last March, CeBIT is now creating an internationally leading event for drone technologies and solutions titled ‘Unmanned Systems & Solutions” reported Oliver Frese, Managing Board member at Deutsche Messe. ‘Drones and unmanned systems on land and sea have a huge business potential, and CeBIT will be illuminating this potential from every different angle.’
CeBIT holds an advantage in this regard as the world’s leading event devoted to digitalization, covering a broad range of products and services. In addition to the ‘Unmanned Systems & Solutions’ topic cluster, CeBIT will be showcasing the solutions that are necessary to develop and operate unmanned systems as well as future application opportunities for them, including the Internet of Things, Big Data applications, Communi¬cations and Infrastructure Solutions and Research & Development.
‘The ‘Unmanned Systems & Solutions’ topic cluster will be a visitor magnet again in 2017,’ commented Frese, adding that this year alone some 100,000 visitors displayed an interest in offerings involving unmanned flying objects.
To create growth opportunities for the newly expanded topic cluster, ‘Unmanned Systems & Solutions’ is being staged next year in Hall 17. The expanded CeBIT segment will consist of an exhibition, a several-day conference program and a flight show. The core focus of the presentations will be on business applications for the economy, science and civil society. The relevant application areas extend from logistics and surveying technology to agriculture and forestry, police and fire prevention, retailing and medicine.
In designing the new topic cluster, Deutsche Messe is cooperating with several different partners, including the German BUVUS association for unmanned systems, which was established as a network and special interest group for the use of drones and other unmanned systems in the commercial sphere.
‘This cooperation with CeBIT is a great success for us,’ reported Jan Syré, President of BUVUS. ‘We are delighted to be working together with CeBIT to create a central European showcase for unmanned systems.’
In the conference section of ‘Unmanned Systems & Solutions’, BUVUS will be discussing the latest legislative issues – of eminent importance, above all for transport and logistics applications. A further conference topic will consist of the use of sensory systems. BUVUS will also be presenting numerous best-practice examples, including from the areas of construction and real estate, police and firefighting and transport and logistics.
Further cooperation partners consist of the Taiwan Unmanned Areal Systems (UAS) Development Association and UAV DACH, the German-language umbrella association for unmanned aviation in Europe.