Amsterdam Drone Lab is a public-private partnership of several parties (including the initiator, the City of Amsterdam), which investigates the possibilities of unmanned aviation for the city, develops policy, and aims to ensure safe and sustainable (drone) traffic in the city and region of tomorrow. Questions to be addressed include: how to optimally organize lower airspace to complement national infrastructure? What applications with unmanned, autonomous transport are conceivable? Where does the city benefit most?
Amsterdam Drone Lab essentially fulfills four roles: those of user, facilitator, regulator and patron. As user, test flights and research are carried out. In collaboration with urban planners and architects, research is being conducted into what the advent of unmanned aviation means for the layout of the city, traffic flows, the design of areas and buildings. Weather implications and acoustic effects, such as noise and visibility pollution from this new form of mobility, are also being considered. Furthermore, companies and institutions are facilitated in testing and research. This helps develop rules and policies to minimize nuisance to citizens. A city-wide drone detection network is also operational, monitoring lower airspace 24/7 to monitor safety and social acceptance among citizens. This also provides increasing knowledge about where citizens and businesses are now flying and creates a picture of what may become hotspots in the future.