The project will promote the application of unmanned aerial vehicles to urban mobility, favouring their intelligent and safe autonomy

The Regional Ministry of University, Research and Innovation and the University of Seville (USE) have taken a further step in their collaboration to promote the Centre for Innovation in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Urban Air Mobility in Seville (CUAM) with the acquisition of a 1,500 square metre warehouse in the Aerospace Technology Park of Andalusia, Aerópolis, intended to house this facility.

The purchase and sale operation between Aerópolis and the USE was carried out last February for a value of 814,677 euros. The warehouse, located in Wilbur and Orville Wright street, stands on a plot of 1,092 square metres, has fully finished interior infrastructures and a free height of approximately 9.5 metres.

This infrastructure, promoted by the Department of University, Research and Innovation and the University of Seville, will focus on generating knowledge that will allow Andalusia to maintain its scientific and technological leadership in unmanned aerial vehicle technologies for civil uses. In particular, for its application to urban air mobility, making possible the intelligent and safe autonomy of vehicles and systems.

Furthermore, it aims to promote the transfer of knowledge that will be generated through this initiative to companies, with special emphasis on SMEs, through a specific plan for the dissemination and transfer of results to promote research and innovation in the business fabric. With this, the centre will strengthen and accompany the Andalusian aeronautical industry, enabling it to diversify towards new products, all of them with a high added value far superior to the traditional manufacture of aerostructures.

The facility will be technically led by Aníbal Ollero, professor of robotics at the University of Seville and one of the leading European experts on drones. It will be developed in phases and will have different laboratories, including a bank of electric and modelling motors, a laboratory for sensorised structures for urban air mobility (UAM), one for coatings and nanostructures for UAM and another for clean propulsion systems. The centre will be completed with an additional headquarters for flight operations and training.

For its implementation and development, the CUAM will have a global budget of 20 million euros from FEDER Funds from the Department of University, which have been transferred since 2023 and will be completed in 2025. This amount includes, in addition to the purchase of the ship, the acquisition of unmanned aircraft and other equipment.

Andalusia, second community in the drone sector

The high-tech aeronautical industry made up of the so-called unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones is one of the segments with the greatest future projection, due to the multiple applications that these aerial robots have in fields as diverse as agriculture, surveillance, infrastructure inspection, transport or fire control, among many others. Its growth is also exponential, driven by the constant technological advances applied to improve its performance and extend its use to a large part of the productive and service sectors.

Spain is among the ten world powers in this branch of the aerospace sector and Andalusia is one of those responsible for this push, since after Madrid, the region is consolidated as the second relevant community both in operators and pilots, as stated in the Strategic Plan for the Development of the Civil Drone Sector in Spain 2018-2021. According to the document, there are more than 3,000 operators registered in the drone market across the country, of which 550 have an Andalusian seal. The plan also foresees that the fleet of drones for professional use will exceed 51,400 aircraft in 2035 and reach 53,500 in 2050. The economic impact of this growth is valued at 1.22 billion euros in 2035 and 1.52 billion in 2050.

For its part, the European Commission estimates that within 20 years the drone market will employ more than 100,000 people in the EU territory, with an economic magnitude of around 10 billion euros.

In this scenario, the Andalusian region is well positioned, since it has the knowledge, infrastructure, companies and professionals that place it in a prominent position. The sector, which is strategic for the community, also has the Andalusian Aerospace Strategy.

Andalusia is also a benchmark for this sector in the field of research, thanks, among other things, to the leading position it occupies.