The Eurecat technology centre is taking part in the AutoDron project which has tested a new aerial transport system for materials and components using drones for the automotive industry with flights both indoors and outdoors. It lays the foundations for future last-mile logistics to replace road transport with a disruptive system powered by autonomous aerial vehicles.
Specifically, Eurecat has been instrumental in developing the algorithm and software which enable an autonomous aircraft navigation system (UAS) that delivers continuity in the aircraft’s location and control indoors and outdoors, and also in implementing the technical navigation strategy for the drones.
Over the course of the project, “several tests have been run on the autonomous navigation system with drones from inside industrial buildings to the outside on missions with complex routes,” says Julián Cayero, a researcher in Eurecat’s Robotics and Automation Unit.
The project’s final tests were conducted at Sesé’s facility in Abrera while the intermediate tests took place at the Eurecat Cerdanyola site and the CoEbreLab 5G Rural facility provided by Ribera d’Ebre County Council.
This new air transport system “can assist the production line from a nearby supplier in cases where a defective component is identified,” notes Daniel Serrano, director of the Robotics and Automation Unit at Eurecat. “Plus in the future it is expected to be able to cover a continuous logistics supply line, thus reducing the footprint and storage needs of the industry.”
The AutoDron consortium, coordinated by Contenedores y Procesos (CYP), is made up of EbreDrone, Eurecat, the Automotive Industry Cluster of Catalonia (CIAC) and Secpho, with the support of SEAT and Sesé. The project has been financed by European Union Next Generation funds and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in the 2021 call to support Innovation Clusters to digitalise industry.
