Drone Confab Focuses on LoBiondo, Tech

CAPE MAY – U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) was the star of the show at the Fourth Annual UAS Conference held Sept. 24-25 at the Convention Center in Cape May. Discussion of drone technology and legislation came in a close second.
Freeholder Will Morey, who heads the Department of Planning, Economic Development, and Transportation Infrastructure and is a licensed, commercial-rated pilot and certified flight instructor, was master of ceremonies.
Morey opened the conference with praise for the retiring guest of honor.
“It’s hard to think about aviation without thinking about Frank LoBiondo,” he said.
LoBiondo is a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and heads up the Subcommittee on Aviation. He also sits on the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
LoBiondo also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, where he serves as chairman of the newly created 10-member CIA Subcommittee with oversight of the Central Intelligence Agency.
LoBiondo explained that he has been working on legislation to figure out how to add unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to the existing airspace.
“Cape May County airport has a tremendous opportunity to push the envelope, to be a launchpad on where this technology goes in the future,” LoBiondo said.
Co-keynote speaker retired Maj. Gen. Marke F. “Hoot” Gibson, former FAA senior adviser on UAS and executive director of the NextGen Institute, talked about his company, NUAIR, receiving a $30-million grant to develop a UAS test site in New York.
“We are going to provide a safe environment to test these new uses of UAS technology,” Gibson said, referring to power line, pipeline, and infrastructure inspection.
LoBiondo and former staffers Mark Aitken and Matt Satterley joined the congressman for a panel discussion and question-and-answer session on legislation related to UAS.
LoBiondo explained that there is new leadership at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that oversees UAS regulations.
A pending bill he drafted will likely soon be on President Donald Trump’s desk for signing.
“This bill had bipartisan support in the House and an agreement reached over the weekend with the Senate should put the bill on the president’s desk soon,” LoBiondo explained.
The legislation would have the Department of Transportation update and integrate UAS into its programs, have the FAA coordinate with other agencies on counter UAS, place the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security on the same page regarding UAS, update recreational use of UAS and the use of drones for delivery purposes, among other provisions.
Satterley said the bill would open more airspace to commercial uses of drones and allow operators to earn a livelihood and develop further uses for the technology.
Aitken said Cape May County has benefited from the developing technology in part from the county’s willingness to embrace UAS.
“Will Morey and Carole Mattessich (the county’s director of strategic business development who assists the county drone program) wanted to bring this technology to Cape May County, when many others tried to keep it out. The congressman worked with them to make this happen,” Aitken quipped, as LoBiondo is known for instructing his staffers to “make it happen.”
In response to a question, LoBiondo explained how UAS touches everyone’s life.
“There’s not much that drones don’t touch. They are used in farming, law enforcement, emergency medical service, military, transportation, weather, infrastructure inspection. For example, a drone recently did an underwater inspection of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, then did an aerial inspection, the same drone,” said LoBiondo.
He said industry would continue to find new uses for drones.
“It’s limitless where we go from here. We need to allow industry to do what they do and we’ll solve problems that arise to let you advance technology,” he said.
That panel was followed by a group from the Coast Guard, headed by Chief Warrant Officer Todd Wardwell, who is stationed at USCG Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia.
Wardwell explained how the Coast Guard is supplementing a lack of manpower and equipment to get its job done.
“We used to need hundreds of Coast Guard personnel to inspect aids to navigation, like buoys. Now we can supplement manpower with UAS,” Wardwell said, citing one example.
The Coast Guard monitors tankers in Delaware Bay, uses drones for mapping, HAZMAT, weather events, rapid delivery of supplies and more.
Wardwell said the Coast Guard is planning a supply delivery test next month at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May.
Jeffrey D. Bishop, acquisition program manager for the Coast Guard’s small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) for the National Security Cutter (NSC) Program, is charged with outfitting the USCGs NSC fleet with UAS capability to conduct operational missions.
Bishop explained that UAS allows surveillance of several targets at once and allows ships to follow targets at a distance while the drone tracks and maps the location of any contraband that may be dumped overboard.
After the Coast Guard presentation, a luncheon honored LoBiondo at Naval Air Station Wildwood Museum in Erma.
Mattessich said the conference was important to the county for two reasons.
“It brings innovators from all over the country who get to know us and see how open we are to new technology. Second, we get to say thank you to Congressman LoBiondo. Frank is our patron saint. He has been with us since the inception, encouraging us every step of the way. He is not just a talker; he is a doer. He made sure we had a seat at the table when it came to UAS,” she said.
Dr. Nancy Hudanich, superintendent of Cape May County Technical Schools and the Cape May County Special Services School District, took part in a panel Sept. 25 that focused on preparing the future workforce in UAS technology.
“We are teaching drone use across all of the curricula, because there are aspects of it in every program,” she explained.
The pre-engineering students design the drones, the welding classes build the drones, public safety students learn their use in police work, computer students work with related software and all students learn the “soft skills” of work ethics, critical thinking and ethical use of drones.
Hudanich said Verizon worked with Tech students last year on drones that check downed power lines.
Other topics at the conference included tracking wildlife with drones, airspace infrastructure and management and use of drones in the entertainment industry.
Mattessich provided the following regarding UAS in the county:
Innovation Forums: Every six weeks, UAS innovators from throughout New Jersey and surrounding states meet here for a half day of talking about their latest research and development efforts in UAS technology.
Tech Incubator: This fall, the county is launching its first incubator; it will host seven early-stage UAS companies.
Public Use Certificate of Authorization (COA): After an arduous approval process, the county received authorization from the FAA to conduct public use flights under its own COA, covering 800 square miles of airspace up to an altitude of 7,000 feet.
Special Events: Cape May County will serve as the site for special events like a workshop for United Nations representatives learning about the new guidelines for using drones in international disasters.
Teaming Efforts: The county works to bring innovators together with potential users of their products and services, whether this means facilitating introductions or putting together an innovator/end-user conference.
Emergency Response Specialty: Cape May County is privileged to engage in public-private teaming addressing use of UAS technology to improve First Responder tools. The efforts have gained national and international attention. Most importantly, emergency management professionals are looking to the county as a testing ground for new developments.
To contact Carl Price, email cprice@cmcherald.com.