What do you get when numerous hardware and software developers, organizations, services, non-profits and even schools in the commercial drone sector are nestled in one location, between the Swiss Alps and Geneva?
A thriving drone ecosystem.
Lausanne, and Switzerland in general, has already been recognized for its high concentration of drone companies and innovation in the drone development sector. The presence of world-renown tech universities (like ETH Zurich and EPFL), a history of excellence in tech miniaturization, and forgiving government legislation on drones all play a part in this.
“People recognize that the canton of Vaud not only has a lot of drone activity, but also an ecosystem of people that speak to one another,” says Simon Johnson, who founded the online executive forum DroneApps in 2015 with Benoit Curdy.
Earlier this year, Johnson and Curdy organized a European UTM (UAV Traffic Management) conference in Geneva, where nearly 100 drone-industry leaders gathered to discuss how to better work together as an industry.
Then and there, conference members decided that a global, not just European, association was needed to represent the drone industry in tackling flight and regulation standards. Switzerland was chosen as the most neutral and logical location from which to run a global drone traffic association. A few months later, the Global UTM Association opened its doors at the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne.
“It’s not about defining the rules,” said Johnson, who helped found Global UTM with its now-Secretary-General Benoit Curdy. “It’s about working with regulators to decide what rules should be there, how they should be implemented, and how they should be enforced.”
Unlike the development of a technical UTM platform, Global UTM will work with drone companies around the world (e.g. DJI, Parrot, and Skyward) to understand what is needed and come to an agreement on standards…The integrity of data exchange, registration of drones, and the identification of technical solutions for the development of UTM systems, for example.
“If you have an accident with your drone on a windy day, how do you prove you were flying in acceptable wind speed?” says Johnson. “How do you prove to the authorities that you were respecting the rules? These are things that have already been defined for traditional aircraft, and now need to be done for drones.”
Global UTM currently has 30 members from 15 countries and represents six industries: air navigation service providers, UAV manufacturers, UAV operators, UTM software and infrastructure providers, regulatory bodies, and academic experts.
Christoph Strecha, founder of drone mapping software company Pix4D, also based in Lausanne at the EPFL Innovation Park, said company business is directly related to the health and freedom of the drone market.
“Of course legislation is slow to change. But if those in the drone industry push for change through responsible action, like helping establish standards, it will come faster.”
Strecha says the company’s close proximity to the Global UTM Association will facilitate Pix4D development. “Our flight planning app, Pix4Dcapture, is used by drone pilots around the world to create professional maps. By making sure it’s compliant with the latest regulations, we’re helping our users be compliant.”
So, what about opening your drone startup in Lausanne? ;-)
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