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An international group of companies is set to test drones at the DronePort campus in Brustem, Belgium. Internet giant Amazon is among its members.
DronePort
DronePort Campus is located at the old military airport of Brustem (near Sint-Truiden, in the Eastern province of Limburg). The campus features offices, an incubator for start-ups and testing facilities where its members can experiment with drones in controlled test zones, both indoors and outdoors. Drone tests can also be combined with manned flights. All this makes the campus a unique location that catches the eye of companies around the world.
The campus will be opening officially next month and has already secured a partnership with the SAFIR syndicate, a group of domestic and foreign companies involved with drones. SAFIR stands for Safe and Flexible Integration of initial U-Space Services in a Real Environment, in which “U-space” refers to drone activities at low altitudes. Half of the budget comes from the partners themselves (like energy supplier Elia, Belgian flight safety board Belgocontrol and the Port of Antwerp) and the other half is from an EU fund.
One of the more remarkable members is Amazon Prime Air, a division created by the American online retailer to test drones for delivering parcels. This is a first for Belgium, but deliveries by drone are being tested in the UK for two years already. Amazon wants to move the tests to a more urban environment next year, more particularly the city of Antwerp.
