The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, and the president of Ineco, Sergio Vázquez Torrón, supervised this morning in the natural environment of the Mirador de Triguás (Parada de Sil) the first real demonstrations of commercial services with drones of the ESCAI Ribeira Sacra project, a pioneering initiative in Spain led by Ineco and supported by the SIAM cluster (Spanish Cluster of Innovative Air Mobility).
Pedro Blanco highlighted this initiative as an example of public-private collaboration that directly drives the rural world “putting technology at the service of citizens”. In this way, “the Government of the response with advances and modernity to the challenges of the territory, taking advantage of its potential and improving the lives of people regardless of where they live”. Sergio Vázquez Torrón highlighted the relevance of the milestone that took place today, and stressed: “There is always talk of innovative air mobility as the eternal future that we never reach, but the reality is that, from a technical point of view, it is very advanced. The focus must be on social acceptance and the development of a regulatory framework that makes it viable and safe.”
The project was born as a response to the internal call for innovation promoted by the engineering and public consultancy Ineco, dependent on the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, among its team. ESCAI, Space for Innovative Air Commercial Services, aims to promote the safe use of drones for key services in rural environments.
At this stage of the project, real demonstrations were carried out with simulations of possible uses that this new form of mobility allows. Among other proposals, a case of logistical transport of packages was shown, which opens the door to a future in which businesses or individuals can send local products in an agile and sustainable way. Applications were also shown in precision agriculture, such as the dispersion of products with water to optimize resources, and in the maintenance of infrastructure prevention through aerial inspection of roads and power lines.
In addition, tests of plant cover analysis were carried out for the prevention and conservation of the landscape, and a search and rescue simulation with thermal camera in emergency operations.
Finally, an advanced technique of coordination of drone swarms, with applications in surveillance, was shown. This project, supported by AESA (State Aviation Safety Agency), DGAC (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and Enaire, is part of the road map marked by SIAM with the recently presented White Paper of Vertiports. Coordinated by Ineco, this strategic document establishes the bases for the development of these infrastructures essential for Innovative Air Mobility. The consolidation of U-space will allow the integration of manned and autonomous aircraft into an agile and safe system, while cities will adopt vertiports as strategic transport nodes.
A Ribeira Sacra connects innovative mobility with the rural environment
During the institutional event, it was highlighted that ESCAI Ribeira Sacra will be the first of a network of similar environments that will be able to #replicate in other territories, contributing to consolidate the leadership of Spain in the field of innovative air services (IAS) and generate a sustainable socioeconomic impact.
With a focus on air safety, administrative efficiency and operational standardisation, the Ribeira Sacra environment will serve as a reference for deploying operations that today face more technical difficulties, especially those related to essential services in the rural area.
Sustainability and efficiency for future mobility
The technology of the IAS (usually drones or, in the future, aerotaxis) represents a sustainable and efficient solution, capable of operating with low environmental impact thanks to the reduction of emissions, the lower level of noise and the decongestion of traditional terrestrial infrastructures. Its versatility allows it to be used in small spaces —from rooftops of buildings to installations or infrastructures integrated in logistics or sanitary nodes—, which makes them key allies for passenger transport, urgent delivery of goods, emergency management or environmental monitoring.
Technological advances in flight autonomy, reliability and overload times reinforce its position as a disruptive option for the future of mobility and other activities that are currently done by other means or, directly, not conceived. A transformation that will not only have an impact on modes of transport, but also on the design of cities, regional connectivity, territorial structuring and value chains of the benefited sectors.
The sector is already preparing for this new paradigm, and projects such as ESCAI mark the way to a safe, real integration and the scale of these air services in our daily lives.
About Ineco
Engineering and reference consulting in the field of sustainable mobility and digital transformation, Ineco has been designing comprehensive, innovative and technological solutions for more than 55 years that contribute directly to improving the quality of life of millions of people.
With a multidisciplinary team of more than 6,000 professionals, the company is present in all continents, where it deploys its experience and capacity to face technically complex jobs thanks to its specialized knowledge and the application of the most advanced and avant-garde technology. More information on Ineco in www.ineco.com.