Karlsruhe/Frankfurt, 16 August 2018 – INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS (IASEXPO) is part of INTERGEO, the world’s largest conference trade fair for the geoinformation sector, and it is the biggest civilian trade fair dedicated to the commercial use of drones. More than 170 international companies from the sector will be exhibiting in Frankfurt from 16 to 18 October, while more than 100 presentations in the forums will provide plenty of inspiration for putting drones to good use. The judging panel for the Drone Pioneer Award 2018 will also single out visionary drone applications.
From 16 to 18 October, the exhibition centre in Frankfurt will become the largest central meeting point of the civil and commercial drone industry in 2018. More than 170 companies have announced they will be showcasing their innovations and solutions. Meanwhile, experts from the worlds of politics, industry and science will be giving around 100 presentations on drone technology and its virtually unlimited potential applications in the “Best Practice” and “IASEXPO” presentation forums. The partners supporting the civil drones fair are UAV DACH e.V., BVCP (German Association of Copter Pilots) and Drone Industry Insights.
Presentation of the Drone Pioneer Award 2018
For the second time, the Drone Pioneer Award, which comes with € 5,000 in prize money, will be presented to the applicant with the most inventive drone application for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The UN 2030 Agenda aims to create a new global understanding of wellbeing and reshape economies to ensure more sustainable development. This year’s award is being presented in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The prize-giving ceremony will take place on October 17, 2018, in the IASEXPO forum as part of INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS in Frankfurt. A panel of high-profile judges will select the most impressive company, project or product from all the applicants. The judges for the Drone Pioneer Award 2018 will be present at the awards ceremony and are:
Julia Eckey, Principal at Joschka Fischer & Company GmbH
Dr. Marc Thom, Venture Capital Senior Investment Manager / Strategic Partnerships & Alliances at Sony
Jannis Töpfer, Senior Research Analyst and Leader in the Unmanned Systems Hub at McKinsey & Company
Amit Verma, Product Manager at Airbus Aerial
Kathleen Ziemann, Consultant for the Digitalisation Sector Programme at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
The closing date for entries, which can be submitted at www.dronepioneeraward.com, is 15 September. The competition is open to both individuals and companies that have specific products or projects that are compatible with the themes of the UN Agenda 2030. Last year’s award was won by the Thai project ECOSwat, which uses drones to document and map climate change.
Large Flight Zone in the outdoor area hosting live demonstrations
The IASEXPO Flight Zone offers an impressive live showcase, with 30 different flight demos featuring cutting-edge drone technology taking to the sky several times each day. Besides showing off the flight capabilities of the drones, these demos will also give visitors a fascinating first-hand insight into data capture using highly specialised sensors and data evaluation and processing.
Record for start-ups
A total of 15 companies have so far signed up for the joint stand for young and innovative companies that is integrated into IASEXPO – a new record. Besides offering a window onto the latest business ideas for drone applications from up-and-coming companies, this stand is also a showcase for the potential of the drone sector and its future.
Start-ups are also invited to the third IASEXPO Start-up Session, which is taking place from 11.40 a.m. to 1.15 p.m. on 16 October 2018 in the IASEXPO forum in Hall 12.0. This event will see six young international companies go head to head and pitch their business ideas for drone applications. The factors that determine the winner will be the presentation itself along with the sustainability of the idea, the anticipated economic volume, the stage the project has reached and approaches to marketing. A judging panel of start-up and drone professionals (representatives from Drone Industry Insights, McKinsey & Company Inc, Business Angels Frankfurt Rhine-Main) will then announce the first three winners.
About INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS
INTERAERIAL SOLUTIONS (IASEXPO), consisting of an exhibition, forum & Flight Zone is Europe’s leading platform for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is held in a different location in Germany every year, as part of INTERGEO. The forum deals with current issues from politics, administration, science and industry. The outdoor FlightZone offers live demonstrations of the various flight systems and thus delivers an all-round experience of products and the market. In 2018, the first EUROPEAN DRONE SUMMIT is being held in Frankfurt one day before IASEXPO. With the wealth of potential on offer, IASEXPO highlights the wide range of applications for UAVs and provides a glimpse of future markets. The event will be touring prestigious international trade fair locations in years to come – Stuttgart in 2019 and Berlin in 2020.