UAS in Broadcast

The Broadcast Industry has been quick to recognise the potential of small unmanned aircraft systems. As the number of systems and qualified operators has increased in the UK, so their contribution to program making has grown, often delivering footage that would be uneconomical or even impossible to create in any other way. At the same time the UK has seen a proliferation of small innovative developers, suppliers, and operators of UAS, with capabilities being offered to a wide range of industries.

This rapid growth has not been without challenges however. Within the broadcast industry the knowledge of what is possible, or even safe, is not widely spread, the network of qualified operators has a relatively low profile, and the constraints of regulation are not well appreciated. The specific needs of broadcasters in terms of operational flexibility and the quality and technical specification of the delivered content are frequently unclear outside the broadcast industry. The Robotics & Autonomous Systems Special Interest Group and BBC R&D have recognised that the UK’s Broadcast and UAS industries have much to gain from a pooling of knowledge and expertise, and that their common interests would be well served by the fostering of a shared community, and this event has been specifically organised to address this need.

The 1st UAS Conference is open to all across the UAS industry. We invite technologists, engineers, operators, software developers and end users of these tools to join us and explore a wide range of topics.

• Sessions will cover subjects including:
• Aviation Regulation, Privacy Regulation, Journalism and Law
• Craft Skills
• Payload technologies
• Platform Technologies
• Tethered platforms
• Autonomy and the small UAS.
• Operational Issues
• Safety in Operation
• Training

The Conference is jointly organised by BBC Research & Development’s Ant Miller and Nick Pinks in partnership with the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Special Interest Group.