SWISS DRONE BASE CAMP HELD ITS FIRST PUBLIC EVENT
16/05/2023
Author: Innovation Park Ticino
On May 16, 2023, the first public event “Drones: rules and opportunities. Meeting between FOCA, academia and industries” by Swiss Drone Base Camp, organized in collaboration with the University of Lugano (USI) and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) at the USI-SUPSI East Campus in Viganello.
The conference, divided into three sessions, touched on some of the key topics for this field thanks to expert speakers: counter-drone technology, regulation and security, artificial intelligence, autonomous Nano-UAV navigation, and autonomous robotics.
During the first session after a presentation by the Swiss Drone Base Camp competence center in Lodrino, space was given to two of the center’s member companies: Paolo Bellezza, COO of RR Engineering, spoke about some of the applications developed and produced by his company that enable them to support law enforcement agencies and institutions in their activities, such as in the transportation of blood with drones, while Adriano Basile, CEO of Abintel, told the audience about his counter drone technology applied to drones, supporting law enforcement, military and government institutions in their activities to protect and support the population.
The second space was dedicated to research, with two presentations given by the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Studies (IDSIA). Prof. Alessandro Giusti and Dr. Daniele Palossi spoke about the research carried out by IDSIA on the topics of autonomous driving and robotics. Thanks to the latest discoveries, it has been possible to develop very innovative sensors and autonomous drones that can automatically learn to follow a path and perceive obstacles without human intervention.
After a short coffee break, it was time for the regulator: the Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) brought an interesting and detailed talk on the new European rules adopted by Switzerland from January 1, 2023. The two speakers, Markus Farner, Head Trends & Insights, and Tristan Maitre, UAS Authorization and Oversight, explained the main changes and cornerstones of the regulations by bringing concrete examples of usage situations. It emerged from this talk that the new law has many facets and details, which is why it is very important that drone pilots are aware of their surroundings and are properly trained to use these systems. As the law is still being finalized, FOCA opened its doors to drone users, inviting them to ask questions and communicate any needs or concerns they may have, with the aim of co-constructing a regulation that is solid, workable and usable.
At the end of the conference, during an aperitif, participants were able to visit the information booths and learn more about other Swiss Drone Base Camp member companies active in training, service provision, consulting and jamming solutions. In addition to this, guests engaged in constructive discussions on the day’s topics, forged new partnerships and made useful contacts for their future activities.