They are the future, but they are already very present, and they can be much more. It’s about sharpening your hearing, looking up and being able to see and hear a drone. Not just for leisure or capturing bird’s eye images without flying. Also in the … the business sector is part of everyday life. Industry, defense, agriculture, logistics and energy have these small unmanned aerial vehicles as a “model” with great potential in an esteemed sector. “thousands of professionals will be needed in the years to come”. And there, Castilla y León wants to be “prepared to respond to this demand” and to do so by also “leading” the development of this sector “with talent and opportunities for the future, especially for young people”. It has already taken steps in this direction, recently inaugurating the Joint Drone Technology Research Unit (JRU Drones) from the University of Burgos.
A space funded by the Government of Castilla y León which seeks to “position the community as a reference for innovation and industrial development” of these unmanned aerial vehicles and which has already taken off with certain projects such as a prototype presented within NATO. New industrial and dual-application (civil and military) models powered by green hydrogen are also underway, others capable of early detection of forest fires and carrying out “in situ” suppression tasks, “seeking to reduce the development” of fifth and sixth generation fires.
The particularity of this space is its collaborative character, since researchers from the University of Burgos and the rest of the centers in Castilla y León will work together “to expand the offer of services and access large-scale projects in collaboration with the productive fabric. It also offers specialized training in the design, manufacturing and maintenance of drones.
A direct way of knowledge transfer and collaboration between universities and companies, but not the only one in which the Junta de Castilla y León engages, with particular attention to strategic sectors. This is also the case of the “Space Testing Infrastructure” to which the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment has injected a grant of 500,000 euros to the University of León for the launch of a project deemed “strategic and pioneering” in the Community to “stimulate” the development of the aerospace sector.
And why the León Higher Education Center? Well, because it is the only university in Castilla y León that teaches the Aerospace Engineering degree and the Master in Aeronautical Engineering. So, with this new infrastructure, it becomes “a reference in advanced engineering and in the space economy. The project involves the installation of a medium-sized vacuum chamber, equipped with thermal control circuits, solar flux lamps and other means to simulate the extreme conditions of space flight around the earth and in space, which will allow ground tests to be carried out and advance the field of research, development and testing of the aerospace sector. Until now, no Community center had this testing capacity, which limits research capacity, forcing them to use external services to validate their prototypes. But they will now have the option of internal certification, as well as testing of space hardware in space-like conditions, simulating vacuum conditions and extreme thermal ranges. “This will contribute decisively to the irevitalization of the space sector in the Community», underlines the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment, which believes that this will also “facilitate” the access of SMEs and startups to the “New Space” market.
Sectors with high added value
And in this commitment to the technological future in an alliance of the Council, training centers and companies, “Zamora FutureLab”. In reality, a space of three laboratories on the Viriato campus of the University of Salamanca in the capital of Duero – also supported by the Chamber of Commerce – equipped with cutting-edge technologies to promote research, entrepreneurship and talents. In sectors with high added value and high potential such as video games, heritage, education, health and tourism to make the center a “solid bridge” between businesses and the university. It will have an advanced 3D printing laboratory and high-precision scanners, robotic manufacturing and even space for interactive projects and video games with motion capture capability, virtual production, simulators…
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