Under the U-Space concept by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, testing of the first drone traffic is taking place at the Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest seaport by volume.
This system is a network of services and procedures that will allow flights in areas with a high volume of drones to be carried out easily, safely, efficiently and in coordination with manned air traffic. This is the idea behind U-Space, which the EU member states have to implement by the beginning of 2023.
Therefore, German drone company Droniq GmbH and its parent company DFS, the German air navigation service provider, are putting the idea into practice for the first time setting up a U-Space Sandbox in the Port of Hamburg. The project has a volume of approximately one million euro and is being funded partly by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI).
As explained, the system seeks to solve challenges related to lengthy flight approval processes as it allows special rules and procedures to coordinate drone traffic. Drone flights can be carried out quickly, safely and without a long approval process – even beyond the pilot’s line of sight.
Our drone traffic systems puts us in an excellent position internationally, providing a solid foundation for the integration of drone airspace. In this way, we are enabling fast and uncomplicated drone operations. This is an important step towards digital aviation, combined with a proven safety standard,
…explains Friedrich-Wilhelm Menge, Managing Director Technology at DFS.
The implementation of the U-Space Sandbox is being carried out with several project partners, including the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), HHLA Sky GmbH, the Hamburg Ministry of Economics and Innovation, Hamburg Aviation and the project consortium UDVeo.
The future of drones in Germany will be innovative, intelligent and interlinked. We are about to launch Germany’s first drone airspace test bed in Hamburg, laying the groundwork for the transport system of tomorrow…Drones are a clean, fast and smart mobility solution, especially in the logistics sector, for supporting emergency services or delivering supplies to rural areas. The Uspace real-world laboratory will enable us to grow German-engineered drone innovations from their niche market and help them take to the skies,
…noted Federal Minister Andreas Scheuer.
