Leaders gather for transportation event in Northwest Arkansas

June 7, 2022 at 12:04 p.m.

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Craig Western, mechanical engineering lead for Venturi Astrolab, shows off the companyís FLEX lunar rover Sunday June 5, 2022 on the square in Bentonville. The unit is designed for various lunar applications and is expected to be in use on the moon by 2025. The rover was in the area for the UP Summit 2022 sponsored by sponsored by Runway Group that featured next generation vehicles and interactive technology. For more information about the FLEX rover visit https://astrolab.space/flex Visit nwaonline.com/220606Daily/ for daily galleries. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler).
Craig Western, mechanical engineering lead for Venturi Astrolab, shows off the companyís FLEX lunar rover Sunday June 5, 2022 on the square in Bentonville. The unit is designed for various lunar applications and is expected to be in use on the moon by 2025. The rover was in the area for the UP Summit 2022 sponsored by sponsored by Runway Group that featured next generation vehicles and interactive technology. For more information about the FLEX rover visit https://astrolab.space/flex Visit nwaonline.com/220606Daily/ for daily galleries. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler).

Northwest Arkansas is hosting a private conference this week attended by some of the biggest movers and shakers in the transportation industry.

More than 250 are expected to attend the Up.Summit, which began Monday, including chief executive officers of major companies, start-up founders and investors. The event runs through Wednesday.

"Think Sun Valley meets CES meets the Oshkosh Airshow meets Burning Man meets TED meets Davos," the summit's co-creator and Arkansas Future Mobility Council Chairman Cyrus Sigari said in a statement. "The world's industry leaders are coming together for three days of airshows, first-time product reveals, major announcements and inspirational speakers."

This is the fifth year for the summit, hosted by the investment firm UP.Partners, Tom and Steuart Walton and Ross Perot Jr., according to a release. The event rotates between Bentonville and Dallas annually.

Representatives from Airbus, Alaska Airlines, Boeing, Beta, Ford, Canoo, Gatik, J.B. Hunt, Walmart and Zipline, are among the organizations expected to attend.

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