Drones a hot topic at Warm Springs gathering

It’s been an uplifting couple of days in Warm Springs as the region’s largest conference on drones and unmanned vehicles wrapped up Thursday.

Thursday afternoon, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office demonstrated its field search robots as about 200 people gathered at Kah-Nee-Ta Resort for the biannual Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems conference.

The gathering was dedicated to moving an emerging industry forward: talking jobs, technology and shaping the rules of aerial air crafts.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the industry,” said AUVSI Cascade Chapter Executive Director Joe Gibbs. ” It’s rapidly maturing. The systems are getting smaller, lighter and less expensive.”

Kah-Nee-Ta was an easy choice to host the conference — Warm Springs was recently awarded approval by the Federal Aviation Administration as an unmanned aerial vehicles test site.

Gibbs is also the vice president of business for Northwest UAV . The company will soon begin testing the drone engines it builds at the site.

The first launch is anticipated for next month, and will draw potential clients looking for products that will give them a bird’s eye view.

The FAA is expected to announce rules governing drones in airspace in 2015.