The 2025 Tennessee Drone & AAM Symposium on the Vanderbilt Loews Lodge in Nashville underscored the state’s push towards a “three-dimensional” transportation ecosystem that integrates floor, air, and digital networks. Hosted by Vanderbilt College with the Tennessee Division of Transportation (TDOT) as Grasp of Ceremonies, the occasion introduced greater than 300 contributors collectively to look at how drones and superior air mobility (AAM) will likely be deployed throughout public security, analysis, and infrastructure planning within the coming years.
Technical Focus on the Tennessee Drone & AAM Symposium
A central thread all through the convention was the significance of rigorous, data-driven deployment requirements and clear operational frameworks for each drones and rising AAM platforms. Consultant Ed Butler urged trade stakeholders to take care of clear accountability as methods scale, emphasizing that practices and procedures “have to be formidable, sensible, and humane” to maintain public confidence. TDOT Deputy Commissioner Preston Elliott expanded on a imaginative and prescient for autonomous aerial transportation, which highlighted regulatory architectures designed round security, innovation, and public belief.
Elliott described a future operational idea during which automated plane transfer inside a “three-dimensional” grid that mixes highway, airspace, and digital connectivity layers. On this mannequin, autonomous and remotely piloted methods depend on built-in communications, navigation, and data-sharing infrastructure to assist routine operations, together with corridor-based routing and dynamic airspace administration. JP Saalwaechter, TDOT’s Director of Aeronautics, expanded on the strategic function of public companies in enabling protected airspace use and accelerating adoption of those applied sciences throughout Tennessee.
BVLOS, DFR Applications, and AAM Integration
Public security and past visible line of sight (BVLOS) operations featured prominently within the technical discussions. Native and state “drones as first responder” (DFR) applications are scaling every year, pairing home {hardware} with superior software program to assist BVLOS workflows as proposed Half 108 laws progresses. These applications goal to standardize repeatable procedures for launch, command-and-control, information administration, and group engagement, whereas sustaining excessive ranges of situational consciousness and traceability in flight operations.
The addition of the AAM element to this yr’s symposium title displays rising momentum in superior aviation ideas, from drone package deal supply to thin-haul passenger and cargo operations in underserved markets. TDOT Aeronautics continues to check the place vertiports, drone hubs, and associated infrastructure could also be deployed, working with universities and trade to align analysis, workforce growth, and system design. Exhibitors showcased unmanned plane, information analytics platforms, and enabling infrastructure, giving attendees direct publicity to the instruments that may underpin Tennessee’s built-in, research-driven aerial mobility community.
Extra info on the symposium and TDOT’s AAM tasks is accessible right here.
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Ian McNabb is a journalist specializing in drone expertise and way of life content material at Dronelife. He’s primarily based between Boston and NH and, when not writing, enjoys mountain climbing and Boston space sports activities.
