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Aug. 6-9, 2012. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVSI) is the world’s largest nonprofit organization devoted exclusively to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community. AUVSI’s nearly 7,000 members worldwide came from government organizations, industry and academia. With more than 8,000 attendees and 500+ exhibitors from more than 40 countries, AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America is recognized as the leading event for the unmanned systems marketplace. the premier forum for reviewing, assessing and discussing the current state of the unmanned systems market. The event brought together the key leaders and decision-makers in the industry. Officials from government and user organizations around the world attend and participate in the symposium program. A move to make this a robots-only event was roundly defeated…
Editor’s Note: Check out some pictures we snapped while at AUVSI including our speaker’s corner.
Once you see all those black-and-yellow keyhole logos scattered around the convention center, you know you’re at a Security Industry event. ISC West is the International Security Conference and Exposition, and they’re there to remind you that you have plenty of stuff you want locked away and kept safe. There was much to learn about how to do that. There was a Security Cloud Computing panel, a discussion about how physical security applications can reduce cost and create value by leveraging the internet Cloud. Other panels explored novel techniques like video analytics, biometric technology and Personal Emergency Response Systems. Feeling secure now? You earned some out-of-town fun, like the scenic motorcycle and sports-car ride through the Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam area, raising funds for volunteer groups and publicly paid first-responders who take courses on safety-related issues. Stay safe, now, y’hear?
All of you truckin’ fools needed to git on down to the bluegrass state and climb aboard that big ol’ rig known as MATS, or the 2011 Mid-America Trucking Show. This here is the annual forum for the heavy-duty trucking industry, providing face-to-face interaction between industry representatives and trucking professionals. Attendees were “driven” to MATS “because they could efficiently research the latest products and services to provide their business with a competitive edge”. Exhibitors participated in MATS to introduce new offerings, increase brand awareness, promote products and connect with suppliers, customers, and prospects. But this wasn’t just about a business, more like the love-affair between big, beautiful trucks and the men (okay, occasionally female ladies too) that only feel happy at the wheel of something that pulls eighteen wheels. If Martians had landed at the show, they’d have concluded that humanity thinks of trucks as its gods…
Virginia, we were told, is for wine-lovers, and Richmond’s Wineries Unlimited show never lost sight of that message. Wineries Unlimited is a division of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, the leader in wine industry professional development and North America’s leading independent wine trade publication. Any idea how much stuff you need to be in the wine-making business? Think barrel and tank cleaning systems, cork supplies, bottling plant, label-printing, fencing, measurement and analysis tools, barrelage, vine-stock acquisition… The list goes on and on. Special Guest Speakers this year included Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, and Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Todd Haymore. Back by popular demand was Virginia native Andy Beckstoffer of Beckstoffer Vineyards, delivering the General Session Keynote. Oh, and you had to be over 21 to attend. May I see i/d please?
ACRL is the Association of College and Research Libraries, and it claims to be “peer-revered”, whatever that turns out to mean. Actually “peers” seem to be a big thing with this group, as in “ACRL 2011 features more than 300 thought-provoking sessions hand-selected by your peers. In today’s fast-paced and changing world, keeping current is more essential than ever”. You needed to be there to “access cutting-edge information, discover new ideas, and engage in conversations with academic and research librarians from around the world”. Not to mention finding new ways of getting people to return the damn books when they’re finished with them. You never imagined, did you, that people running libraries, of all things, would be making so much sheer noise about themselves…? Okay, all together now: Shhhhh!!!!
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