NextGen Robotics

NextGen Robotics was initiated in 2022 and gathers companies, organizations as well as educations to create a collaborative community where people from multiple fields and with different backgrounds can share know-how about technology, labour and experience.

The vision is to create an international and world-class ecosystem for testing, developing and producing the next generation of robotics and autonomous solutions.

Infrastructure (phase 1)

NextGen Robotics is Funen’s new lighthouse project, which with more than 65 partners and a budget exceeding DKK 200 million is ready to boost Denmark’s robot and drone development.

With NextGen Robotics, UAS Denmark Test Center, HCA Airport and an array of recognised partners will take the drone test hub at the airport to a new level.

New improved test infrastructure and high-tech test equipment will pave the way for faster development and more advanced demonstration projects, where the technology must be compression tested under harsher conditions and for more purposes than previously.

NextGen Robotics is also part of the project “NextGen Drones”, which in the first phase has purchased an advanced 3D radar for developing the airspace of the future, a wind shaper for simulating wind conditions in the University of Southern Denmark’s laboratories at HCA Airport and developed a heavy lift drone capability at the University of Southern Denmark.

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Innovation (phase 2)

The Funen lighthouse project NextGen Robotics, which UAS Denmark Test Center and HCA Airport are part of, will receive DKK 43.5 million from the Danish Board of Business Development for continued development of this technological stronghold of the future.

Of these funds, DKK 13,9 mio. is dedicated to 3 innovation projects within UAS and C-UAS technology. These projects are headed by HCA Airport and partners are University of Southern Denmark and several Danish companies.

A short introduction to the projects that will be carried out from 2023 – 2026 is listed below.

1) Counter-UAS

The vision for the project is to lay the foundation for a future epicenter for C-UAS innovation. The project will develop test standards and scenarios and furthermore develop and test an integrated multi-sensor C-UAS system, based on solutions from the participating companies Bionic System Solutions, Circle Scope, MyDefence, QuadSAT, and Weibel. Data will be fused and advanced algorithms will be developed by University of Southern Denmark. The final project phase consists of several test and feedback loops with red-blue team exercises.

2) Jamming and GPS-denied test capacity

This project has two main ambitions: 1) To develop UAS Denmark Test Center with new services within jamming and GPS-denied areas to allow for drone testing under these conditions, 2) To develop project partner QuadSAT’s technology to identify and classify types of electromagnetic interference.

3) Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

The consortium of Copenhagen Helicopters, Copenhagen Air Taxi, HCA Airport, Skypuzzler and University of Southern Denmark aims to show the possibilities for commercially, socially, and environmentally sustainable transportation of passengers through electrified air transportation. Apart from analyzing user need, strategies for commercialization, and informing the public about this future mode of transportation, the project aims to analyze and demonstrate actual eVTOL platforms and the so-called vertiports in Denmark.