Unmanned Valley, a field lab for sensor-related technologies and applications located at the former Valkenburg naval airbase, has accelerated the second phase of the development of ‘Building 356.’
As a part of the development, a ‘makerspace’ will be developed, and the field lab’s indoor drone centre’s R&D will be expanded as well.
“The development of a strong ecosystem is central so that companies can innovate more successfully and thus make more impact, also internationally,” says Theo de Vries, program manager at Unmanned Valley. “We have made great progress last year. We developed new offices, workspaces, and facilities. This has translated into a growing community at Unmanned Valley and the number of test operations. It is important to keep momentum and to get all the crucial elements as optimal as possible.”
The first companies moved last summer
Last summer, the Dutch Central Government Real Estate Agency sustainably renovated 3000m2 of the former aircraft workshop ‘Building 356’. Since then, the first companies – Aerialtronics, Deck180, Drone Flight Company, Dutch Drone Academy, Elkay International (Europe), and Marshall Netherlands, moved to the place.
According to De Vries: “I am pleased with the steps we are taking together with the Dutch Central Government Real Estate Agency, Do IoT Fieldlab, Leiden Instrument Makers School, University of Applied Sciences Leiden and Inholland University of Applied Sciences. By bringing forward the development of additional office space, creating a so-called maker space, and improving the R&D capabilities of our indoor drone centre, we increase the attractiveness of Unmanned Valley, stimulate collaboration between businesses and educational and knowledge institutions, and continue to build an important economic cluster.”
As a result of great interest, the agency has started the second renovation phase of Building 356 with an additional 1700m2 of space. As per the company’s claims, the first tenants are expected to move to the new units from the second quarter of 2021.
Partnerships
Together with the Leiden Instrument Makers School, a joint makerspace will be realised with basic equipment for maintenance and small modifications to drones and other sensor-related innovations.
For more complex projects the companies at Unmanned Valley will have access to the high-quality machinery and research equipment of the Leiden Instrument Makers School, the IoT Forensic Lab of the University of Applied Sciences Leiden, and the composites laboratory of Inholland University of Applied Sciences.
Ideal place to test drones
Unmanned Valley is an initiative of TU Delft and the municipality of Katwijk, partly supported by the European Fund for Regional Development (ERDF) of the EU. It is the ideal place for startups, established companies, knowledge institutions, and governments to research, develop and test drones and other sensor-based innovations.
According to Unmanned Valley, the airspace can be used continuously and flexibly, and a corridor to the sea will soon make BVLOS flying possible. Also, it has extensive indoor and outdoor test facilities, various location options, and options for meetings, training, and more.
As a part of the renovation, Hangar 1 will be turned into a multi-use indoor drone centre with a GPS repeater system, and – in collaboration with Do IoT Fieldlab – an ultra-modern 5G communication infrastructure will be installed. This extends the opportunities to perform experimental test work independently of weather conditions and other factors.
Furthermore, Unmanned Valley can be easily accessed by international parties since it’s near Schiphol and Rotterdam, The Hague airport.
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