AIRlabs is pleased to introduce our latest infrastructure and collaboration with Robin Radar Systems in the field of drone research and development: The high-performance, variable-role, battery-powered Robin Radar System ELVIRA®.

This state-of-the-art technology is designed to provide a unique level of risk mitigation and serve as an additional safety net during drone operations.
This is an exclusive opportunity for our partners to utilize the exceptional ELVIRA® system for UAV development and validation. This enables new research opportunities, especially for operations in challenging alpine terrain, where unpredictable weather phenomena can pose a major challenge.
The system has advanced drone, bird and manned aircraft detection capabilities, ensuring comprehensive situational awareness.

In preparation for the approval of the Elvira® system by the Austrian Telecommunications Authority, the technical acceptance by the Dutch manufacturer Robin Radar took place on 27.06.2023 at the AIRlabs test flight site LO-R 9 Steinalpl.

Simultaneously with the technical acceptance, a special feature of the radar system could be tested – operation by battery. A major requirement for the radar is operation in the field, where access to the power grid is often not available. The runtime of the system in self-sufficient battery operation is over 15 hours, which is sufficient time to complete a day of testing.

After the successful acceptance by the manufacturer Robin Radar and the AIRlabs team, the radar could be tested for the first time. Since the radar can also be used for bird detection, birds were successfully identified after only a short time of operation. A subsequent drone flight also showed the full functionality of the radar.

The use of the mobile radar system for airspace surveillance and risk minimization will further increase the safety of flight operations in the AIRlabs flight areas and at the same time open up a new development and research area for the partners for testing unmanned aerial systems.

As soon as AIRlabs Austria has received frequency approval from the telecommunications authority, we look forward to making this new infrastructure available to our partners.

We would like to thank all participating functions for a successful acceptance and look forward to the upcoming test days!