The session was opened by Fernando Zárraga Quintana, manager of the University of Valencia Science Park Foundation, and Francisco Javier Sogorb Guerra, Deputy Director-General for Advancement of the Digital Society and Digital Enabling Technologies of the Generalitat Valenciana.
During his speech, Fernando Zárraga Quintana stressed that the day addressed a "key question for our present and our future", especially after the DANA of 2024, which "highlighted the vulnerability of our territory and how technology can help improve its resilience". He also stressed that, through this type of meetings, the UV Science Park aims to bring innovation out of the laboratories and connect existing technological capacities with the real territorial needs of the Valencian Community and the country as a whole.
The 2024 DANA highlighted the vulnerability of the territory and the need to apply aerial technology in climate emergency management
For his part, Francisco Javier Sogorb Guerra highlighted the role of science parks as necessary partners to ensure the transfer of knowledge in the face of major challenges such as climate change, responsible in recent years for episodes of DANA or large forest fires. In this context, he noted that the implementation of innovation and digital enabling technologies is essential to adapt to these changes and improve emergency response.
After the institutional opening, the day began with the block "Research and business: the role of UAS for territorial resilience", composed of a series of papers by research staff and representatives of companies in the aeronautical sector specialized in unmanned aerial systems.
The first speech was given by César Azorín Molina, senior scientist at the Center for Desertification Research (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA), who introduced the Meteo-Dron project, which focuses on the assessment of climate variability and change, especially in relation to wind and extreme weather events. The Meteo-Dron is conceived as a low-cost, high-precision operating system that complements traditional sounding balloons, which only offer two daily measurements. In contrast, the use of drones makes it possible to obtain much more frequent atmospheric profiles, even schedules, especially in the boundary layer, where most of the relevant meteorological phenomena take place.
Beyond weather forecasting, César Azorín Molina highlighted the utility of this tool in areas such as forest fire prevention, support for prescribed fires and potentially emergency management. "This is the first operational meteodrone in Spain. The Valencian Community has the opportunity to position itself as a benchmark in its applied use", he said.
Elisa Yuste Aguilera, pilot and flight instructor, professor at the UNED Chair of Drones and Civil Aviation in Teruel and marketing director of the Delsat Group, who focused her talk on the application of drones for territorial resilience. Yuste focused especially on rural areas, where she highlighted the usefulness of UAS in emergency and rescue operations, allowing quick access to isolated or hard-to-reach areas, supporting the search for people, Assess risk scenarios and transport supplies or medicines to undisclosed locations.
The following presentation was made by Ana Isabel Delgado Belmar, innovation officer in the Scientific Unit of Business Innovation (UCIE) of the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC), who explained what is the UCIE and the services offered by the IFIC, in addition to a call for collaboration with the participating companies. Among the capabilities of the institute, she highlighted the offer in advanced electronics, especially in prototyping and small series manufacturing, mechanical engineering services and advanced manufacturing, as well as advanced computing infrastructure oriented to artificial intelligence, enhancing the value of the Artemisa platform.
Next, Carlos Lázaro Echavarría, responsible for business development and marketing at UAV Navigation - Oesia Group, presented his company’s more than 20 years of experience in the development of unmanned aerial systems. Lázaro stressed that their technology is already in real use and operates in extremely hostile environments, such as the war in Ukraine, which requires an immediate response, high reliability and very long autonomies, with UAVs capable of flying for more than 10 to 15 hours.
Drone and UAS-based technology is now available and mature; the main challenge is its effective application in real emergency situations
The rapporteur concluded by pointing out that there is no single drone valid for all situations and that, depending on the scenario, fixed-wing platforms, unmanned helicopters or UAVs of great autonomy may be necessary. In this regard, he stressed that the technology is already available and mature, and that the main challenge now lies in its effective use in contexts such as damage, forest fires or complex emergencies.
Veronica Nieves Calatrava, head of the Ai4Oceans Unit at the Image Processing Laboratory (IPL), then explained that her team is developing an advanced extreme event prediction technique based on classification models using machine learning, have already been demonstrated in practical contexts. These developments are clearly useful for risk management, civil protection, spatial planning and meteorological services.
Nieves highlighted the potential for transfer and commercial exploitation of these solutions, which can be offered as software products to public administrations or companies linked to climate risk management and urban planning. However, she cautioned that in order for artificial intelligence to fully exploit this potential it is essential to have long and diverse historical series to train robust models and generate reliable predictions.
The last presentation of the block was by Antonio Bedmar González, CEO of Abionica Solutions, who pointed out that one of the main challenges in the aeronautics sector is its high level of regulation, which requires any technological change to go through complex evaluation processes, certification and compliance with standards. In this context, it highlighted the importance of close collaboration with universities, research centres and public administrations. Faced with these difficulties, he explained that his company offers specialized consulting services and its own products, such as open-architecture flight control systems.
The second part of the session was structured around the round table Air technologies in action: challenges and opportunities in emergency response, moderated by Kristin Suleng, Coordinator of Innotransfer in the UV Science Park and technician responsible for the Communication and Marketing Area of the University of Valencia Science Park Foundation (FPCUV). The debate was attended by César Azorín Molina, Elisa Yuste Aguilera, Luis Vicente Galindo Sánchez, institutional director of IMS Drones, and Carlos Lázaro Echavarría and they analyzed the main challenges for effective implementation of drones in climate emergency management.
Experts warn that Spain is lagging behind in the operational incorporation of drones into climate observation and risk management systems
In her speech, Elisa Yuste Aguilera underlined the importance of rapid decision-making and warned that while drone data capture is technically feasible, it often does not translate into concrete operational or policy decisions, being relegated to studies with no real impact.
For his part, Luis Vicente Galindo Sánchez pointed to legislation as one of the main obstacles to the development of a competitive and efficient technology, while calling for greater appreciation of talent and the Spanish technology industry, is already among the most advanced in Europe in this field.
See again the Innotransfer Conference "Innovation from the air: Drones and UAS face extreme scenarios"
César Azorín Molina warned that Spain is lagging behind other countries in the operational incorporation of drones into meteorological observation systems. He also stressed that the more observations are incorporated into numerical models, the more accurate the predictions and better risk management decisions are made, especially in the face of severe events such as damage, tornadoes, extreme winds or intense storms.
Finally, Carlos Lázaro Echavarría stressed that certification is a key element for the deployment of drones, especially large ones, since the authorities need confidence that an operation will not generate a greater risk than the problem it aims to solve. In this sense, he pointed out that it is not enough to accumulate flying hours, but it is essential to demonstrate operational safety against critical failures, linking certification and innovation as indispensable conditions in a highly demanding sector.
Collaboration between public administrations, the scientific community and businesses is key to ensuring that innovation reaches the territory when it is most needed
With this type of conference, the University of Valencia Scienc Park of the consolidates its role as a link between research, business and public administrations, promoting the approach to challenges such as climate change through technology and innovation.
Do not miss the photo gallery of the day with the best moments