skeyes sets up shop at DronePort

DronePort is a campus for technology companies active in the manned and unmanned aviation sector. Start-ups, growth companies, schools and knowledge centres will work together to conduct research, exchange experiences and take initiatives to stimulate the drone sector and bring it into line with traditional aviation practices. Given this situation, skeyes can and will be present at this innovative site.

skeyes is already participating in a number of projects that aim to exert specific influence on the development of the drone sector. Through such initiatives, the company wishes to acquire operational and technical knowledge that it can then apply to the operational integration of drones in our airspace. Together with its partners, skeyes is also preparing the impact at the national level of the latest European regulations that will meet industry’s pressing demand to be able to use drones more easily for a wide range of applications.

Incubator

The safety of air traffic is, of course, always the number-one priority for skeyes, and in this respect air traffic control is facing a challenge when it comes to drones. By making our knowledge of air traffic and airspace available to the various players and working with them to further develop the U-Space (airspace for unmanned vehicles), we want to realise our role in this area to its full potential, in the interests of air safety. Conversely, skeyes will obtain an even better insight into the sector’s expectations and needs, to be integrated in our Droneguide application. In this connection, the incubator at DronePort is the perfect location for this approach.

Tests

DronePort also offers skeyes the opportunity to play an active role in a wide range of test projects. This is useful, among other things, in the context of the SAFIR consortium, of which skeyes is a participant. In this connection, test scenarios in integrated drone traffic management will soon be implemented for an extensive range of drone activities in Antwerp during the second half of 2019. The purpose of the demonstrations is to help the EU develop its vision of the U-space so as to provide drones with safe access to airspace.

EUKA

At DronePort skeyes also finds itself in the company of other members of EUKA, a partnership between companies, knowledge institutions and authorities focusing on drones. In addition to exchanging experiences, EUKA’s partners are also working on the co-creation of business ideas that can help the drone sector move forward. EUKA is therefore rightly taking up its place at DronePort.

Johan Decuyper, skeyes CEO: “The integration of manned and unmanned aviation is just around the corner, and skeyes is preparing for this. We do this, as in other areas of our operations, by placing a strong focus on partnerships. We find many well-known as well as new partners at DronePort who help monitor and guide developments in the sector. By learning from each other, carrying out joint research and developing specific ideas and projects, we are not only putting our country on the map within the drone sector, but can also become a pioneer at international level.”