ANRA Technologies Contracted for Development of U-space Sandbox in Estonia
by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
Leveraging funding from the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, the Estonian Transport Administration has initiated a project to establish a drone sandbox to be built in Tartu. This sandbox would provide opportunities for the wide-scale development and deployment of unmanned aviation technologies, paving the way for innovative aviation concepts and safety standards, and enabling safe testing of automated aviation systems.
“It’s important for the Estonian Transport Administration to ensure that all interested parties have access to modern and versatile infrastructure for testing and validating any necessary solutions for the development of various innovative technologies,” said Üllar Salumäe, Director of Aviation at the Estonian Transport Administration.
ANRA to Provide U-Space, CIS Technology for Estonia’s Drone Sandbox
A contract for the project was awarded to ANRA Technologies by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, signed on April 21st, 2023.
“This is a cooperation project aiming to procure an innovative solution in need of further development, as there were no ready-made solutions on the market. For the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, this is not only an opportunity to contribute to the development of breakthrough technologies, but also the next step in the advancement of activities to support innovation sourcing,” said Terje Kaelep, an innovation expert from the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency. “We decided to carry out the procurement ourselves instead of awarding a grant, and the result of the procurement will be handed over to the Estonian Transport Administration.”
“ANRA is thrilled to have been selected for this opportunity to advance the Estonia drone ecosystem by deploying our U-space and Common Information service solutions,” said ANRA Founder and CEO Amit Ganjoo. “This sandbox is just the beginning of other activities that will help unlock the vast potential for the region and greater Europe by providing a location to conduct validation and verification activities for U-space stakeholders.”
The long-term goal of the project is to establish an innovation environment for unmanned aviation covering all key stakeholders, such as airspace users, industrial companies and research institutions. The results of ANRA Technologies’ research are expected to be finalized by the end of September and will serve as the basis for the development of a sandbox in Tartu. The sandbox will serve as a sustainable development environment for current and future UAS-related technologies. With the participation of Tartu Science Park, the Estonian Aviation Academy and Lennuliiklusteeninduse AS, the project will be funded by the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020.
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Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.
Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.
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