Autonomous vehicles are predicted to become a part of daily life. These vehicles will fly and drive without human interaction. However, the picture being painted is incomplete: every time a vehicle (air or land-based) has to stop to refuel or recharge, it is no longer autonomous. In addition to the “brains”, “eyes”, “ears” and other hardware and software that make these vehicles possible, it is critical to be planning for “Autonomous Power” as well.

With every sensor and computing system that is added to a vehicle, the demand for power increases. This need for autonomous power is driving increased interest in harvesting energy from the environment by harnessing the flow of heat, motion, or where light is available, through the use of solar cells. To be truly useful and to avoid compromising primary product function, the solar cells need to be highly efficient, thin, light-weight and, ideally, be able to take on the form of the product itself. The cells must also be able to function in non-standard lighting conditions and environments.

Alta Devices meets all of these criteria.

Exhibition and discussion of the technology, materials, and business issues surrounding autonomous power and solar technology. This will include details about this week’s introduction of Alta Devices Gen4 solar cell technology and displays of solar wing segments.

BVLOS is one of the many capabilities that a UAV can master with enough sensors and computing systems on-board. The speakers will touch on the many implications of BVLOS and whether this is an inflection point for the UAS industry.

Panelists include:

CEO and Founder of Drone Analyst Research and Advisors

Senior Technologist of Air Transportation Systems at NASA

President of MicroPilot

Lisa Ellman

Partner and Co-Chair, Global Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Practice Group at Hogan Lovells US LLP

Susan Roberts

Co-Founder, Policy Leader at AiRXOS, a GE Venture

Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Sales at Alta Devices

Alta Devices Head of Product, Aarohi Vijh, will examine the uniquely high performance attributes of the company’s solar technology for low- and high-altitude UAVs and electric vehicles working in non-standard environmental conditions.