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The full name of the study is “Present and regulatory future of UAVs: Rozas sandbox proposal”.
The different parts which it comprises are set out below, along with useful information about the study.
The organisation selected to conduct the study was the Telecommunciations Technology Centre of Galicia (Gradiant), whose website is: www.gradiant.org.
Gradiant has extensive experience in the aviation & aerospace industry, with more than a dozen projects , including FP7 and H2020 funded European projects, regarding both civil and military applications, such as video surveillance, ground-air and satellite communications, photogrammetry, land and maritime security and defense , among others.
The experience of Gradiant’s team of specialists allows them to successly confront the challenges related to communications, navigation and the design and development of payloads for different missions.
Gradiant’s contributions to the space sector address the following categories:
The research team is made up of people with high excellence and great experience in the sector. Specifically, the members who will participate in this project are the following:
Silvia Abalo Bóveda is a Telecommunications Engineer, specialising in Image and Sound, from the University of Vigo and holds a Master's degree in Artificial Vision from the Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. Since 2019 she is an engineer-researcher at Gradiant in the Video Analytics area, of which she is currently responsible, and in which she has participated in the development of image and video analysis algorithms, in the management, planning and monitoring of different national and international projects, as well as in the preparation of proposals and the search for new national and international projects.
Alfonso Lorenzo Rodríguez holds a degree and European PhD in Physical Sciences from the University of Santiago de Compostela, a Specialist in IT Department Management from the Polytechnic University of Catalunya, a Master in Business Administration from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and a Master in Big Data and Data Science from the University of Nebrija. With more than 20 years of professional experience. He held positions of responsibility in different companies in the field of development and innovation (Project Manager, Director of Innovation, Director of Development and Innovation, Director of Innovation Programmes, ...) before joining Gradiant in October 2019. In 2020, he obtained the RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) certification in recognition of his skills in technology transfer to the market. Among other activities, he collaborates in the identification and definition of Gradiant's own products (Chief Product Officer) and in the management of aeronautical projects within the Multimodal area of the centre.
José Antonio Rodríguez Negro obtained the Telecommunications Engineering degree, specialising in Communications-Radio in 2013 and the Master's degree in Signal Theory and Communications in 2014, both from the University of Vigo. He developed his final project at the Instituto de Telecomunicações de Portugal and at the University of Aveiro, during this period he focused his activity in the development of radio channel measurement systems and in the study of algorithms for the calibration of antenna arrays.
Since 2012 he is part of the Advanced Communications area of Gradiant, currently he is the Head of Autonomous & Unmanned Systems, combining project management and strategic definition of the line of work with engineering tasks. His experience focuses on the design and development of communications, positioning (both for indoor and outdoor environments) and navigation subsystems for unmanned vehicles, especially UAVs and USVs, as well as maritime communications systems (AIS and VDES). It also has extensive experience in the design, manufacture and integration of hardware equipment.
Lucas Val Terrón, born in Foz (Lugo) in 1992, obtained respectively in 2015 and 2017 the Bachelor and Master degrees in Telecommunication Engineering from the University of Vigo, specialising in telecommunication systems (signal) and radiocommunications. In January 2014, he started a collaboration with the Aerospace Group of the University of Vigo focused on the design of the telemetry and telecommand system of the femtosatellite "FemtoXat". Subsequently, in March 2016, he combined his training in the Master's Degree with research work in the Image Processing and Virtual Reality Group of the University of Vigo (Life-Demowave project), in which he developed a high-precision positioning system (RTK) and low cost. In November of the same year, he joined Gradiant to carry out the internship and the Master's final project under the theme of "Design, development and evaluation of techniques applied to drone neutralization". Currently, Lucas is a Researcher-Developer in the Advanced Communications Area of Gradiant within the UAVs line. His work focuses on the design and implementation of UAV detection and neutralisation systems based on signal analysis and processing techniques through SDR platforms.
A regulatory sandbox, also known as a “controlled test zone” or “experimental environment”, is a flexible and experimental tool that allows innovative companies to test and develop disruptive solutions in a controlled environment, with the aim of fostering innovation, consumer protection and the advance of the sector in question.
In a regulatory sandbox, regulatory authorities establish a specific time and geographic framework in which permits are granted and certain regulations are relaxed to allow for innovation and experimentation in a given sector. This provides companies with the opportunity to test their solutions under real conditions, in a controlled environment where the authorities monitor and evaluate results and impacts. This allows companies to identify and address potential regulatory, technical or legal challenges before fully implementing their solutions in the market.
The design and characteristics of a regulatory sandbox may change by sector and jurisdiction, but generally involve the definition of eligibility criteria, the identification of specific exemptions or adaptations to existing regulations, collaboration between participants and authorities, and the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the tests performed.
The final report will serve for the design of a specific regulatory Sandbox for the drone sector in the Galician Community, which will help to improve the competitiveness of the drone sector and can be a reference at regional and national level.