Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), are most often associated with targeted killings of U.S. terror suspects in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, or concerning civilian casualties and the resulting outcry and condemnation of drone usage.
But now one organization seeks to change those impressions, launching a new website Friday called “Increasing Human Potential,” which is designed to “highlight the valuable and endless benefits of all unmanned systems and robotics.”
The website is the work of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), a 40-year-old nonprofit trade association that represents not just drone manufacturers but other companies and researchers in the fields of unmanned electronic systems and robotics. Specifically, it counts 7,000 individual members and nearly 600 corporate members from 60+ allied countries.
“Our vision is to improve humanity by enabling the global use of robotic technology in everyday lives,” wrote Melanie Hinton, the group’s senior communications manager, in an email to TPM.
AUVSI maintains its own separate website for the association’s member companies, but the new “Increasing Human Potential” website is designed to the organization’s new public face.
“This website is different from AUVSI’s main website, which is geared towards our members and the unmanned systems industry,” Hinton explained.
AUVSI plans to update its new public education website daily with positive drone news, Hinton said.
“There are many great stories about unmanned systems every day,” Hinton clarified. “The website is home to information about the invaluable assistance unmanned systems provide, such as protecting law enforcement and first responders; monitoring and evaluating the environment such as hurricane tracking, monitoring endangered species; and helping when natural and man-made disasters strike such as assessing the Fukushima nuclear facility in the wake of the Japan tsunami, capping the Deep Horizon oil well and locating and retrieving the ‘black box’ after the AirFrance crash.”
For it’s first batch of stories, the website links to articles from Wired on NASA’s tests of Hurricane analysis drones and the Royal Canadian Navy’s first use of a drone in observing suspected drug traffickers.
