A recent partnership just turned into a new opportunity for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International to bring on new members.

This week, AUVSI announced it would open up membership to public safety professionals, both individually and through their organizations. The new offering came as part of its collaboration with the National Council on Public Safety UAS, which offers resources to encourage the adoption of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) by public safety agencies.

The partnership, announced in August, aims to help the public safety community keep track of emerging trends in the drone industry—whether related to technology, products, services, or research. The AUVSI membership supports the same goal, said NCPSU Chair Charles Werner.

“This initiative is an exciting opportunity for public safety professionals to engage with the wider UAS community and advance the use of UAS in their lifesaving work. One of the primary goals of the AUVSI-NCPSU partnership is to help these communities share information, best practices, and training efforts, and this membership initiative will help to achieve that,” Werner said in a news release.

The partnership will also benefit public safety officials in other ways. AUVSI will offer such officials a free one-day pass to the expo floor at the AUVSI Unmanned Systems—Defense. Protection. Security. (USDPS) conference in February. The association will also offer discounts on educational offerings for public safety professionals, and some of the event’s sessions will target that audience.

“The public safety community is an important voice in the UAS industry, and they are often at the front lines in testing the limits of what is possible with UAS,” AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne said in the news release. “We are looking forward to working with them through this initiative to help facilitate even wider adoption of UAS among first responders. We are committed to giving them the tools needed to do their jobs as safely as possible, while helping them save time, save money and, most importantly, save lives.”

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