FAI International Drones Conference and Expo

2018 edition

The 2018 FAI International Drones Conference and Expo was held from 31 August to 2 September 2018. Part of the public EPFL Drone Days, it welcomed expert speakers and visitors from around the world to discuss the rapid development of the drone ecosystem both recreationally and commercially.

In 2018 three main themes formed the backbone of the Conference: Safety, Sports and Innovation. Together, this allowed for a full exploration of the opportunities and challenges facing the world of drones and traditional aviation as they both seek to develop side by side, and look towards a fully integrated future.

The speakers included:

  • AirMap - Sebastian Babiarz
  • Bluebird Mountain - Konstantin Kollar; Moritz Obermeier
  • Copterproject - Haydar Biyik
  • Deutsche Telekom - Ralph Schepp
  • Drone Combat - James Waite
  • Drone Industry Association Switzerland - Simon Johnson
  • European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) - Yves Morier
  • FAI - Frits Brink; Bruno Delor; Antonis Papadopoulos
  • Frank Fuchs Consulting - Frank Fuchs
  • Freespace Drone Racing - Grantley Reed
  • Global UTM Association (GUTMA) - Benoît Curdy; Jonathan Evans
  • Graupner - Hannes Runknagel
  • H55 - André Borschberg
  • Hungaro Control - György Blazsovszky
  • Involi - Manu Lubrano
  • JARUS - Lorenzo Murzilli
  • MotionPilot - Timothée Peter
  • Picterra - Julien Rebetez
  • Présence Suisse - Nicolas Bideau
  • Quadcopter Racing League - Cristian Mendez Carmona
  • Relmatech - Simon Brown
  • Schaeffler Group - Tim Hosenfeld
  • SenseFly - François Gervaix
  • SkyPull - Nicola Mona
  • Sunflower Labs - Alex Pachikov
  • Swiss SkyGuide - Florent Béron
  • Tech4Impact - Beatrice Scarioni
  • Universidad de Las Palmas - Miguel Angel Betancor Leon
  • Volocopter - Max Hjalmarsson
  • Windshape - Guillaume Catry

Their presentations covered a vast ground, including:

  • Urban transportation
  • Managing air space
  • Public safety
  • Drone Technology
  • Drone Racing
  • eSports
  • and more

Attendees included professional, competitive and recreational drone pilots, government representatives, drone manufacturers, students, researchers, experts, start-ups, school groups, media, business and interested members of the general public.

The exhibitors at the Expo included: