The drone technology has been under scintillating development in recent years and drone use has been creeping into all walks of life sectors, from monitoring maritime polluters, to inciting unrest at football games. And now, it's on the brink of making an impact indoors as well.
The Danish innovation fund Innovationsfonden has earmarked 11 million kroner to a project called UAWORLD, which is geared to the development of autonomously-operated indoor drones.
The project, which is due to last three years, is being developed by the Holstebro-based company GamesOnTrack in co-operation with Aalborg-based RESEIWE, Støvring-based Sky-Watch and the Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University (ESAAU).
“Our goal is to pave the way for a massive deployment of drones in a number of different areas and applications where they do not exist today,” Henrik Schiøler, an associate professor from ESAAU, said in a press release.
“It may be as part of a flexible logistics company production or quality control in hard to reach places.”
READ MORE: Danish drone could help bust maritime pollution sinners
A head start
Danish tech companies and researchers have predicted that indoor drones will play a massive role in the future, whether it is in aerial photography in large buildings, assisting at elderly homes and other places where there are smaller transportation needs.
Jonas Johansen, the head of Sky-Watch, has huge expectations to indoor drones, which he contends will prove invaluable in the future.
“Currently, there are 176 European drone manufacturers and 100 US, but virtually all focus on outdoor applications,” Johansen said.
“The integrated solution for indoor use in our project can give us a clear lead. To begin with, indoor drones will be a niche market, but in the long term, we believe that it will become a part of everyday life in all relevant industries and services.”
The indoor drone project is among 17 projects that Innovationsfonden was decided to fund for a total of 167 million kroner.
