Amsterdam opens urban test center for drones

An urban test center for drone applications will be created in the center of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, said Sharon Dijksma of Traffic and Transport during the opening of the Amsterdam Drone Week 2020, which will be held completely virtually this year. The goal is to gain more experience flying drones above the urban environment.

Amsterdam opens urban test center for drones

Amsterdam Drone Lab

The new test center will be called the Amsterdam Drone Lab and will be located on the Marineterrein Amsterdam. The goal is to experiment with drone flights within and out of the pilot's view. For example, carrying out inspections or transporting emergency medical supplies. Such future applications of drones are also referred to by the term Urban Air Mobility.

According to Thijs Meijer, director of Marineterrein Amsterdam, the area is ideal for testing urban drone applications. “Quays, buildings, meadows and trees, harbor, workers, recreational facilities, and logistics: it is all present here.”

The Amsterdam Drone Lab offers participants a take-off and landing platform, workshops, and living areas, among other things. Because the site is not accessible to the public, test flights can be carried out in a safe but realistic way, according to the initiators.

Meijer: “The unique properties of Marineterrein Amsterdam allow drone operations such as construction and site inspections and medical transports to take place under credible conditions. Step by step, we work together with the community to conduct VLOS and BVLOS flights here and solve urban challenges. We welcome all interested parties to participate in our future field lab for Urban Air Mobility field lab.”

Partners

Partners of the Amsterdam Drone Lab include the Municipality of Amsterdam, AirHub, and KPN. Because the site is light within Schiphol's controlled airspace, all test flights will have to be coordinated with Air Traffic Control the Netherlands.

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This article first appeared on dronewatch.nul and is written by Wiebe de Jager who is also a DroneXL contributor.