VTI led three days of drone tests outside Dorotea

GNSS-free navigation, fake cargo drops to confuse the enemy and automatic charging at mobile charging stations – all of this was tested and demonstrated during three days of field trials with drones on Tavelsjöberget outside Dorotea.

A minor special test was to let a drone follow a dog that was tracking a missing person. Through the drone's camera, it was possible to follow exactly where the dog was and how it got around.

The field trial was arranged by VTI and Bussgods i Norr AB i Norr in collaboration with, among others, Aviant, Transportföretagen, the Swedish Defence University, Lund University and the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten. The NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO) is also part of the collaboration.

Study visits during the flights were made by, among others, FMV - the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, several municipalities, Region Västra Götaland and Region Jämtland-Härjedalen. In connection with the experiment, guest lectures were also held by representatives of, among others, Chalmers University of Technology and the companies Naviation, Canoda and UAS Intelligence.

"The tests have gone well in gloriously beautiful weather all three days. There has been great interest and we have had many visitors," says project manager Pia Kristiansson, adding that there have also been challenges.

"Flying without GPS turned out to be very difficult. There is a lot of forest that looks the same, which makes it complicated for the drone. It has been significantly easier on previous flights in, for example, Norway and Germany.

On the third day, the drone lost contact with the 4G network and was forced to descend and land. Pia Kristiansson says that it was a strange mishap as the 4G network worked perfectly for the first two days.

"We were surprised, but it also shows why you have to test more than one day. That's what we learn from," she says.

The regulations regarding the use of drones were also discussed. For the business community, it can often be perceived as an obstacle as it takes a long time, at least seven months, to get a permit. This can cause them to miss the entire summer and autumn season against customers for, for example, forest fertilization with drones.

For the company Nordluft, which participated in the field trial, the entire process leading up to commercialization has taken three years.

The tests were carried out within the project group Brevduvor. Read more (in Swedish) about the projects here: Brevduvor Below are some pictures from Tavelsjöberget. In the first picture: Lizette Strandberg, Pia Kristiansson and Ola Norman from VTI. Photo: Mats Jönsson/ Fyra punkter