Delorean project in which the UPV, the Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies and the companies: Airbus, Correos, Geonumerics, Bauhaus Luftfahrt, and Pildo Labs participate
The partners of the European project for the use of drones in transport evaluate the results of the first flights in Benidorm
Benidorm, due to its ‘skyline’, has served as a ‘complex urban laboratory’ to test the project, focused on the distribution of goods
The partners of the European Delorean project, which seeks to lay the foundations for air transport through the use of drones, have evaluated today in Benidorm the result of the first flights, which were made in the city last April, as well as the progress in the development of the project. A project in which the Benidorm City Council participates as a partner, through the Local Police Air Unit.
The mayor, Toni Pérez; the Councilor for Citizen Security, Lorenzo Martínez; and the Chief Commissioner of the Local Police, Juan Fuertes, held a meeting this morning with those responsible for Delorean, prior to the meeting of the working group in which the progress of the project was shared.
Toni Pérez recalled that this project of the European Agency for Global Satellite Navigation System (GSA) arrives in Benidorm from the hand of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and prominent institutions such as the Advanced Center for Aerospace Technologies (CATEC) participate. and the companies Airbus, Correos, Geonumerics, Bauhaus Luftfahrt, and Pildo Labs.
According to the mayor, the Delorean project "seeks to lay the foundations for the air transport of the future, with drones (UAS) as the main protagonists." Through the project "the aim is to bring the use of drones closer to the whole of society in complex urban environments, for example for the transport of people - the so-called air taxis - and for the delivery of packages or goods".
In this context, he specified, “the appearance of the city, with its unique 'skyline', has made Benidorm to be chosen as a 'complex urban laboratory', the ideal environment to test and validate the systems that allow the navigation of the drones are not affected by the structures of tall buildings ”.
As they have transferred from the Air Unit of the Local Police, from the outset, tall buildings "can cause interference in satellite navigation systems." Precisely "to detect possible interference problems and establish solutions that allow them to be saved, last April the first test flights were carried out in Benidorm", specifically in the vicinity of Bélgica Street.
For his part, the UPV professor of Aerospace Engineering and president of the Drones Commission (COSIDANT), Israel Quintanilla, has ensured that “combining conventional means of transport with drones is not only feasible, but is the way to move towards more sustainable and friendly cities. It is the ideal alternative to road traffic congestion ”. Quintanilla added that "drones will make it possible to transport goods and people quickly, economically, without contact and free of greenhouse gas emissions."
