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Conference

Of Rockets and Robotics: The Regulation of Emerging Aerial Technology

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Date and Time
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Location
Hayek Auditorium, Cato Institute
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Featuring
Richard Aboulafia
Jason Snead
Jake Laperruque cropped
Jake Laperruque

Deputy Director, Security and Surveillance Project, Center for Democracy and Technology

Matt Voska

Innovations in aerial technology present regulators, lawmakers, and entrepreneurs with numerous challenges and opportunities.

Although there have been advances in supersonic engine technology, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) 1970s ban on overland supersonic flights remains in place. Flytenow, an online flight-sharing company seeking to establish an “Uber of the sky,” has been grounded thanks to the FAA regulations. Restrictions on unmanned aerial vehicle flights have hampered the growth of the commercial drone sector, with American companies such as Ama​zon​.com testing delivery drones abroad. Meanwhile, police departments are increasingly interested in pursuing drone technology as well as counterdrone technology, which raises significant civil liberty and safety concerns.

Our panelists will discuss these and other issues and consider how lawmakers and regulators can best foster innovation while protecting our safety and privacy.

10:00 — 10:15AM INTRODUCTION
10:15 — 11:15AM BREAKING BARRIERS: THE FUTURE OF SUPERSONIC FLIGHT

Richard Aboulafia, Vice President of Analysis, Teal Group
Alan McQuinn, Senior Policy Analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Moderated by Caleb Watney, Fellow, Technology & Innovation Policy at the R Street Institute


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11:15 — 11:30AM BREAK
11:30AM — 12:30PM GROUNDING “UBER OF THE SKY“

Christopher Koopman, Senior Director of Strategy and Research at the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University
Matt Voska, CEO and Cofounder of Flytenow
Moderated by Randal J. Meyer, staff attorney at BakerHostetler


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12:30 — 1:30PM LUNCH
1:30PM — 2:30PM COMMERCIAL DRONES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Brendan Schulman, Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs at DJI
Diana Marina Cooper, Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategy, PrecisionHawk
Rob Hawks, Manager of the Operations Law Branch at the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Chief Counsel
Moderated by Peter van Doren, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute


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2:30 — 2:45PM BREAK
2:45PM — 3:45PM EYES IN THE SKY: POLICE USE OF DRONE TECHNOLOGY

Jason Snead, Policy Analyst at the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, Heritage Foundation
Rebecca Lipman, Assistant Corporation Counsel at the New York City Law Department
Jake Laperruque, Senior Counsel, Project on Government Oversight
Moderated by Matthew Feeney, Director, Project on Emerging Technologies, Cato Institute


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3:45 — 4:45PM RECEPTION