Colby to provide insight on UAV technology as a tool for agriculture industry
SPAR Point Group, organizer of Commercial UAV Expo, announced today that Chad Colby, owner of AgTechTalk and industry expert in UAV technology and agriculture policy, will join the 2015 Commercial UAV Expo Advisory Board. The inaugural event will take place October 5-7, 2015 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
“We are very excited to have Chad Colby on board,” said Lisa Murray, Event Director.” “Mr. Colby is a wealth of knowledge on the impact of UAV technology on the agriculture community. His combined experience in aviation, technology and precision agriculture make him a valuable addition to the Commercial UAV Expo Advisory Board.”
Currently, Mr. Colby serves as Product Support Lead for precision agriculture company, 360 Yield Center (360yieldcenter.com), which combines tools that sense a crop’s needs with new tools that allow for more timely application of nutrient and plant health solutions. According to Mr. Colby, “it’s relatively unknown among commercial growers that UAS will have the largest impact on our industry compared to any technology out there—by far. The biggest advantage to UAS is the speed at which growers can get their hands on data. In our industry, data is absolutely critical for making informed decisions. The faster we have it, the sooner we can react to it.”
Mr. Colby has been active in providing the industry with a better understanding of unmanned aerial systems technology at events such as the Unmanned Systems 2015 Conference by AUVSI, the 2014 Precision Aerial Ag Show and Ag PhD Field Day at Hefty Farm. He also appears often on “This Week in Agribusiness” where he presents a segment called Ag Tech Talk.
“At Commercial UAV Expo, growers will be able to learn about the technology that will revolutionize modern agriculture and see it first-hand,” said Mr. Colby. “I’m a passionate proponent of UAS for agriculture and am very pleased to be part of an event that is providing education and access for commercial uses of UAS.”
Mr. Colby joins these other advisory board members, announced earlier in the year, who will lend their expertise and help shape the conference program:
Iain Allen, Senior Manager – GIS, Barrick Gold
Jon Amdur, Vice President-Manager, Unmanned Aerial Systems, AECOM
Eric Andelin, LiDAR Services Technical Director, Michael Baker International
Gabriel Dobbs, Director of Business Development and Policy, Kespry
Patrick Egan, Editor in Field, Americas Desk, sUAS News
Lewis Graham, President/CTO, GeoCue Group
Thomas Haun, VP of Global Strategy, PrecisionHawk
Dave Henderson, Director of Sales – Geospatial Solutions, Topcon Positioning Systems
Jesse Kallman, Head of Business Development and Regulatory Affairs, Airware
Bryan Leber, Operations Manager for Corporate Construction, Bechtel Global Corporation
Mariah Scott, COO, SkyWard
Curt Smith, Technology Director CTO Office, BP
Colin Snow, Founder and CEO, Drone Analyst
Keith Strier, Principal, Ernst & Young LLP
Baptiste Tripard, Sales Manager, senseFly
Peter van Blyenburgh, President, Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) International
Lucas van Oostrum, Chief Technology Officer, Aerialtronics
Gregory S. Walden, Senior Counsel – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Advisory Board bios can be found here.
About Commercial UAV Expo
Commercial UAV Expo is a conference and exhibition exclusively focused on the commercial sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial Systems) market in North America covering industries including Surveying & Mapping; Civil Engineering & Infrastructure; Mining; Construction; Process, Power & Utilities; Precision Agriculture; Law Enforcement, Security, Emergency Response, and more. It is organized by SPAR Point Group, a leading organizer of conferences and trade shows in the geospatial arena. It will take place October 5-7, 2015 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
