Unmanned airspace and mission management systems provider Anra Technologies is establishing a company in Estonia to enable it to participate in trials and tests of autonomous drone in Europe.
The formation of the company will allow Anra to participate in member activities as a business based in the European Union (EU). The company, which was founded in 2015, has sites in Washington DC, USA, New Delhi, India and has had an office in Cranfield, UK since 2019.
Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of Anna Technologies said, “We have been waiting for the appropriate time to establish our business in Europe and believe now is the right time to invest in the EU to expand our portfolio. Estonia is a terrific fit for Anra and we have already begun to engage and collaborate within the EU.”
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is developing an air traffic management system for drones called U-Space which is planned to come into force in January next year.
Anra is participating in an EASA demonstration for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) as part of a consortium called AMU-LED, as a provider of U-space services for Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft.
AMU-LED will test real UAM operations in a U-space eco-system for coordinated flights of several types of drones in different scenarios with use cases and applications including inspections, logistics and mobility using air vehicles. Live flight operations will occur in Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Anra is also supporting the European Space Agency feasibility study Space for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) with their Estonia partners Skycorp and the Estonian Aviation Academy. This effort will assess space-based services for safe and efficient UAM operations for urban areas with Tartu in Estonia being one of the main cities supporting the user-driven approach.
“ANRA is positioned as an international thought leader while leading standards development, participating in aviation rulemaking efforts, and building world-class software platforms,” said Dr Ajay Modha, Anra’s head of business for the UK. “We can help with the harmonization of aviation digitization for the EU and globally for autonomous aircraft.”
“Estonia already has low air traffic density and open airspace, which makes us one of the most thriving drone ecosystems in Northern Europe,” said Kristo Reinsalu, general manager of the Estonian Aviation Cluster. “Innovators like ANRA will play a key role in helping us to set up a U-Space Sandbox, which paves the way to be 100% ready for commercial use of drones.“
