IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2017 - 14

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING

She Flies: Women in the
World of Drones
By Laura Margheri and Catherine Ball

L

ast August, Catherine Ball had
the opportunity to participate in
and give a talk at the first World
of Drones Congress (WoDC).
Held in Brisbane, Australia, from 31
August to 2 September, 2017, it included plenary and parallel sessions,
workshops, and an exhibition, with
representatives of major companies
and businesses in the field of aerial robotics. The congress was a big networking event and gave an updated
overview of the drones' global market,
core applications, and future trends. It
also allowed her to meet the growing
community of women in drones.
More than 2,000 people interacted
with the congress, the expo, the workshops, and the free public events across
Brisbane's South Bank. The event
included participation by the Gallery
of Modern Art, the State Library of
Queensland, and the Queensland Museum. It even showcased a live drone rescue simulation demonstration on the
Brisbane River with the Queensland
Police Service, the Queensland Fire and
Emergency Services, and the State
Emergency Services. The public
enjoyed the showcase, and the rescue
was recorded for later use as an emergency services training video. The congress had great speakers and sessions
that covered topics from venture capitalism and investment to environmental
protection and cyberresilience.
Ball says, "One key aspect I wanted
to curate was a fresh and new focus on

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2017.2757639
Date of publication: 13 December 2017

14

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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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EDITOR'S NOTE
This "Women in Engineering" column is based on an interview with Catherine Ball
(Figures 1 and 2), a technical convener, a well-known businesswoman in aerial
robotics, and the co-owner of the WoDC. Ball had the idea to organize the WoDC
about three years ago. She wanted to host the largest drone congress of the AsiaPacific region in Brisbane, Australia. Ball's intentions in creating this congress were
to engage and empower the community by addressing the technology's economic
opportunities, educational benefits, real-world applications, and user concerns about
privacy, security, and safety. She was successful.

the drone industry as a business proposition. I wanted the WoDC to accelerate
the existing drone community to a place
of serious economic potential, as it is
rather competitive and siloed at the
moment. I also used that aim for diverse
conversation to make sure and plan for

a diverse range of speakers; we were
50:50 in terms of gender diversity and
had speakers from all over the world. It
really was the most diverse drone congress I have ever seen globally." The
WoDC will run annually, focusing on
all parts of the drone economy and the

Figure 1. Catherine Ball at the WoDC 2017. (Photo courtesy of the WoDC.)

DECEMBER 2017



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2017

IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - December 2017 - Cover1
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