Welcome to AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2010!

Today marks the beginning of AUVSI's largest event in our 38-year history: four days of exhibits, education, discussion and networking. When our show ended a year ago I knew there would be more growth for 2010, but I never could have predicted that we would have 110 more exhibitors, and registration numbers that surpassed our 2009 attendance before the 2010 show even opened!

To accommodate that growth, we've added a fourth day to this year's show and we are introducing a number of new features that will make this event more exciting than ever before. For the first time, we are hosting three demonstration areas within the exhibit hall for air, ground and maritime vehicles. We've also brought back an area for static displays and this year Northrop Grumman has brought a full-sized model of its Global Hawk. Another new feature within the exhibit hall is our Beyond the Booth Showcase where exhibitors will take the stage to make product announcements and presentations; a full schedule of these presentations is posted in the exhibit hall.

In addition to the excitement in the exhibit hall we've also increased our educational offerings with more technical presentations, panel discussions, workshops and poster presentations than ever before, 140 of them in all. We are also honored to host an impressive line-up of daily keynote speakers, kicking off today with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. All the speakers are worthy of your attention.

AUVSI's Unmanned Systems North America 2010 is a great opportunity to network and interact with colleagues in the field of unmanned systems, and there are plenty of chances to do that as well. Be sure to attend the Welcome Reception in the exhibit hall tonight sponsored by iRobot, the AUVSI Foundation Awards Dinner on Wednesday night and AUVSI's Stadium Stampede, sponsored by Northrop Grumman, on Thursday night, and note that uniformed personnel will have complimentary access to the exhibit hall on Friday.

Enjoy the show.

Source: Flight Daily News