It is planned to create an area specially designed for testing automated aviation systems in the vicinity of Tartu. It would be the first test centre of this kind in the Baltic countries. One of the goals of test area would be to evaluate how u nmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can make our lives easier and more comfortable in the future, but equally importantly how it can be done safely and according to all the regulations.
The completion of the project is financed by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, whose tender was conducted by the international company ANRA Technologies. Estonian Aviation Academy, Tartu Science Park, Estonian Transport Administration and Estonian Air Navigation Services are the involved parties in carrying out the project.
Maiken Kull, Vice-Rector for Development at the Estonian Aviation Academy told ERR that: "Before introducing any new tech and services, their safety and security must be ensured; these are the main keywords in aviation."
"In order for these various technical solutions to be able to work in concert and to comply with regulations, for instance, all of this can be put in place beforehand, via the test area," Kull continued.
Maiken Kull used the example of package delivery – which need not entail one drone controller per package, but could see several drones centrally controlled by the one individual.
In any case, mapping the full potential of drones and other UAVs requires the right testing infrastructure, which in turn requires an adequate testing area, which in turn should also be in line with U-Space requirements.
Read the full article on ERR News website here.