Grand Farm’s Autonomous Nation Conference to Connect Autonomous Industry and Policymakers

Fargo, ND – Grand Farm will host its Autonomous Nation Conference on Thursday, August 25, 2022. Autonomous Nation will bring together policymakers from the local, state, and national levels with industry entrepreneurs and innovators to help make our region the most autonomous-friendly area in the country. The conference will focus on the autonomous industry and the impact it can have across our region, solving issues such as workforce shortages, inefficiencies, and technology gaps.

“Thanks to a strong autonomous industry, innovative policymakers, ground-breaking university research and talent, we can push forward autonomy and help solve problems facing our state. Our region has been a leader for a decade in unmanned aerial systems. Now, I believe it’s our time to become a leader in all things automation,” said Andrew Jason, Grand Farm Ecosystem Director. “Autonomous Nation will showcase how industry leaders and policymakers in our region are doing this right now.”

Autonomous Nation is a full-day conference running from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The morning portion from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm will take place at Microsoft’s Fargo Campus and will include speakers and presentations. Over 20 speakers are set to present, including U.S. Senator John Hoeven, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer, North Dakota Department of Transportation Director Bill Panos, and Ginny Crowson, Director, Connected and Automated Vehicles for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. All speakers can be viewed here. Lunch will be provided.

Following the morning portion of the conference, attendees will travel to Grand Farm’s Hub Site located just south of Fargo (2549 124th Ave. S, Horace, ND) to view live autonomous demonstrations. Shuttles will be provided from Microsoft to the demonstration site. This portion of the conference is free and open to the public to attend. Demonstrations will be given by Airial Robotics, BWR Innovations, North Dakota Department of Transportation, North Dakota State University, University of North Dakota Research Institute for Autonomous Systems (RIAS), RDO Equipment, and Vigilant Aerospace. All demonstrations can be viewed here. A social hour will follow.