鶹Ƶ Drone Day
Looking to take your drone knowledge to a higher level?
Every fall, the School of Communications hosts the annual 鶹Ƶ Drone Day, providing community members with updates on the drone industry while highlighting the importance of safe practices, certifications and emerging technology. The 2026 鶹Ƶ Drone Day was held on Friday, Oct. 30.
Established in 2021, 鶹Ƶ Drone Day has seen tremendous support from recreational and commercial pilots, transportation and safety officials, educators, students and community members interested in unmanned aircraft systems. And the turnout continues to soar! In 2025, 鶹Ƶ Drone Day welcomed its largest turnout ever with 185 attendees, vendors and volunteers.
The daylong program, hosted in partnership with NC AUVSI, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
To learn more about the 2026 event, read our Today at 鶹Ƶ news release.
For additional information, contact organizer Randy Piland at rpiland@elon.edu or (336) 278-5232.
2026 Photos
Keynote speaker
‘Preflight Checks for Intelligent Machines: What Drones Can Teach Us 鶹Ƶ Trustworthy AI’
Dr. Sambit Bhattacharya
Every drone pilot knows the preflight checklist: before anything leaves the ground, you verify it will behave as expected. This month, AI scientists and industry leaders told the UN Security Council that today’s most powerful AI systems need exactly that discipline: safety testing before deployment, auditable behavior, and clear accountability. ‘s keynote argues that the drone community is already living in that future. Using work from the Intelligent Systems Lab at Fayetteville State University, including NASA-funded research on onboard AI for Mars, wildfire detection, and multi-robot perception, Bhattacharya will show what it takes to trust an AI that has to act on its own: how we test models that will run on small, power-limited hardware; how we measure the cost of a false alarm; and why “it worked in the lab” is not the same as “it’s ready to fly.” The lesson runs in both directions: drones need AI to reach their potential, and the broader AI world could learn a lot from how aviation earns trust.
2026 Agenda
8–8:45 AM
Vendor Setup (Snow Family Grand Atrium)
8:45 – 9:10 AM
Atrium Welcome & Vendor Show
Coffee and pastries (Provided by Blue Ridge Mountain Drone Education, WING & ELON AI)
Asheboro City Schools – Drone Soccer Demo
Wendy Graham (Center, Snow Atrium)
9:15 AM
Move to Turner Theatre
9:20 AM
Welcome by Associate Dean Tony Weaver (Randy Piland)
9:25 AM
‘Preflight Checks for Intelligent Machines: What Drones Can Teach Us 鶹Ƶ Trustworthy AI’ – Dr. Sambit Bhattacharya (Turner Theatre)
10:10 AM
Low-Cost, Open-Source Drone Mapping for Disaster Response in Resource-Constrained Settings – Michael Berryann, NCCU (Turner Theatre)
10:40 AM
Drones in Agriculture Panel – Preston Cave, Matt Solomon, Seth Nagy (Turner Theatre)
11:25 AM
Leveraging UAS for Invasive Species Detection and Treatment in Parks – Al Cire, Raptor Drone Services (Turner Theatre)
Noon
ALOFT | Drone Sense | Versaterm Update – Kevin Teen, Allen Yanow (Turner Theatre)
Lunch
Move to Schar Center Rear Parking for Lunch and Demos
Demos
Raven Advisory (Schar Center Parking)
Pac Aerial App (Schar Center Parking)
Wilstair Drone Eng Solutions (Schar Center Parking)
