Our ATLAS Alpha facilities in Villacarrillo (Jaén) hosted the final demonstration of the GAVILANSO project, an initiative within the MISIONES 2024 Programme focused on developing advanced technological solutions in the field of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), in which CATEC also participated.

This project has been carried out through a consortium formed by the companies IDNEO, CT SOLUTIONS, ATYGES Ingeniería, IDBOTIC, and the technology centres CATEC and Circe, and has enabled the development of key technologies for the integration of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles in urban environments.

CATEC participated in the project as the entity responsible for developing autonomous task management algorithms in multi-UAV systems, as well as their integration into a simulation environment. In addition, it carried out the integration of the developed algorithms with communications and cybersecurity systems, and provided support during the validation tests carried out at our ATLAS centre.

During the final day, in which all members of the consortium participated, flight tests were carried out to validate the autonomous task assignment algorithms, using a fleet of three drones manufactured by ATYGES Ingeniería and equipped with secure communications using the encryption module developed by IDBOTIC. Finally, the experimental results obtained were compared with those previously generated in the photorealistic simulator from CT SOLUTIONS.

With the completion of this demonstration, the technical development of the project has been finalised, thus satisfactorily meeting the objectives set.

GAVILANSO has addressed some of the most relevant technological challenges identified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in the field of unmanned aircraft integration, including improving operational efficiency, optimising energy use and ensuring safety and sustainability in these new technologies.

The main objectives developed in the project, which are fundamental to advancing the development of UAM, include:

  • Design of a lightweight modular battery with a wireless management system (BMS) that can be configured in real time via software.
  • Improvement of the aircraft’s communication system and encrypted cybersecurity.
  • Improvement in automatic fleet management, using swarm technology and artificial intelligence, to optimise operations and reduce risks.