Denmark launches first long-range drone delivery service
health drone project
a european first
The Minister of Transport Trine Bramsen was present in Svendborg, where she sent of the drone via radio connection. It flew the 50 kilometers considerably faster than a car, promising a efficient, more flexible solution for the future.
The event is a particular achievement in a European context, because the flight did not shutdown the airspace. Naviair, Unifly, the Danish Transport Authority and SDU have developed a method for tracking helicopters and aircraft so that drones and other aircrafts can share airspace.
The project manager from SDU Kjeld Jensen highlighted that; “it is exceptional in a European context that we fly with the drones without shutting down the airspace".
Together with Naviair, Unifly and the Danish Transport Authority, Kjeld and his team at SDU have "developed a method for tracking helicopters and aircraft so that we can maneuver around them. The air traffic control at Naviair can see on their screens when a drone flight is in progress and will act if e.g. a rescue helicopter needs the airspace. We have paved the way for this to be possible”.
danish drone ecosystem
The Danish drone ecosystem has great test and development facilities as well as a strong talent pool. UAS Denmark Test Center offers production and test facilities in their 1,900 km2 segregated airspace. The center is placed at H.C. Andersen Airport in Odense, where Danish and international companies, research institutions, and the Danish Defense can test and develop their UAS operations.
Science Park at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) holds the leading deep tech-community that works as a network for deep tech companies and combines innovative research projects with sustainable business models. Likewise, Aarhus University (AU) offers 2.100 square meters of research facilities for deep tech research. The Deep Tech Experimental Hub at AU includes one of the largest drone cages in Denmark, robot facilities, a climate lab, makerspaces for engineers, experimental wind tunnel labs and a number of other labs and study places for research in intelligent products, construction and infrastructure, metamaterials etc.
Denmark is also home to a strong national cluster for robotics, automation and drones named 'Odense Robotics'. Odense Robotics is the collective term for the high-tech ecosystem consisting of robot and automation companies, suppliers, education and research facilities, investment capital and public actors in and around the city of Odense, Denmark. As the cluster organisation behind Odense Robotics, they work to develop and support the ecosystem by delivering platforms and tools for recruitment, business development, start-up consulting, market insight, and investor relations.