Joint Development of the Drone-Based Municipal Services

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia

Date of latest update: 2026-04-13

Description

Description (EN):

COMMON CHALLENGES The project addresses the following common challenges faced by both Estonian and Latvian municipalities, which need to carry out infrastructure surveillance in their territories. Reactive response vs proactive response. Lack of staff and high labour costs. Limited coverage and accessibility. No real-time monitoring. Data accuracy and precision. Lack of practical experience in the given field, and early development phase of the ecosystem of the drone-based services in Estonia and Latvia. OBJECTIVE The aim of the project is piloting drone-based infrastructure surveillance in Tartu city and Valmiera municipality based on the commonly agreed criteria and requirements (pilot activities), and completing the common solution based on the pilot activities. MAIN OUTPUTS The main outputs of the project include the solution report compiled based on the test flights, jointly developed strategy and action plan for the development of drone-based services and 8 common ecosystem building events. The main beneficiaries of the outputs are the municipalities of Valmiera and Tartu, and other municipalities of Southern Estonia and Vidzeme. NEED FOR CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION Cross-border cooperation is necessary for implementation of the project for the following reasons. Sharing Expertise and Resources across the border Both partners in cooperation with the municipalities of Tartu and Valmiera, and external experts, will pool their knowledge and experience in drone technology, data analysis, and infrastructure surveillance and management to develop more effective and efficient surveillance systems. This exchange of expertise will accelerate innovation and reduce the time required to implement new technologies and solutions, compared to taking up such new challenges on their own. New knowledge and wider impact The joint development of the services and ecosystem building initiatives result in a wider impact due to the benefits gained through collaboration and spillover effects. This highlights the importance of cross-border cooperation in achieving recognition and reach. The project provides partners, municipalities, and other stakeholders to be part of a larger knowledge pool, gaining and contributing to the development of the drone-based municipal infrastructure surveillance and other drone-based municipal services in future. Individual efforts by each partner and participating municipalities would not produce outcomes of similar significance and extent. Harmonizing Regulations and Standards Working on drone-based municipal infrastructure surveillance services will be developed hand in hand with development of respective regulatory frameworks and requirements in Estonia and Latvia. The project will contribute to establishing common regulatory frameworks and technical standards that would apply for drone operations on both sides of the border. Harmonization will also eliminate potential barriers and ensure that in future drones can operate seamlessly across borders. Joint Workshops and Networking Activities Joint capacity-building initiatives will enhance the skills and expertise of all stakeholders of the drone ecosystem (service providers, drone operator educators, service contractors, regulators, intermediaries, etc), resulting in clearly regulated environments that support the use of drone applications by municipalities, including the solution to be developed within the current project. Joint Promotion of Regional Innovation and Technology Transfer Cross-border cooperation will foster a regional innovation ecosystem that encourages the development and adoption of advanced drone technologies for infrastructure surveillance and other drone-based services. This collaboration can lead to additional investments in the region, and attraction of expertise and talent, because the participating municipalities will act as test-beds for application of novel technologies.

Actual Achievements (EN):

The first period of the project helped to understand better all the legal requirements related to potential application of drone-based services. Those include the issues related to the possible personal data processing (GDPR), assessing ground risks (what are the optimal times for flying considering the population density on the ground) and possibilities to use BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) automated flights with the help of a drone-in-a-box solution in urban environment. It means flights with a permanently positioned drone (i.e. a box that houses a drone is located on a roof and the drone can take-off and land independently) completes a mission based on remote command and without being constantly controlled by the drone operator. During the 2nd period the partners continued with the work to understand all the legal requirements related to potential application of drone-based services. Those include the issues related to the possible personal data processing (GDPR), assessing ground risks (what are the optimal times for flying considering the population density on the ground) and possibilities to use BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) automated flights with the help of a drone-in-a-box solution in urban environment. It means flights with a permanently positioned drone (i.e. a box that houses a drone is located on a roof and the drone can take-off and land independently) completes a mission based on remote command and without being constantly controlled by the drone operator. During the 3rd period the partners continued with the work to understand all the legal requirements related to potential application of drone-based services. Those include the issues related to the possible personal data processing (GDPR), assessing ground risks (what are the optimal times for flying considering the population density on the ground) and possibilities to use BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) automated flights with the help of a drone-in-a-box solution in urban environment. It means flights with a permanently positioned drone (i.e. a box that houses a drone is located on a roof and the drone can take-off and land independently) completes a mission based on remote command and without being constantly controlled by the drone operator. VPR carried out the tender to find the service provider for carrying out the flights, while TSP is still working on the tender documentation package.

Project outputs: Development of drone-based public services in Tartu and Valmiera and their surrounding regions. Strategy 2025-2029.(EN)
Development of drone-based public services in Tartu and Valmiera and their surrounding regions. Action plan 2025-2029.(EN)
Piloting drone-based municipal infrastructure surveillance in Tartu and Valmiera (EN)
The Solution Paper(EN)

Thematic information

ICT and digital society Governance, partnership Knowledge and technology transfer

Priority: (VI-A_EE-Lv_1) More cooperating cross-border regions and development of joint services

Priority specific objective: ISO6.2. Enhance efficient public administration by promoting legal and administrative cooperation and cooperation between citizens, civil society actors and institutions, in particular with a view to resolving legal and other obstacles in border regions (strands A, C, D and, where appropriate, strand B)

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO6 (ISO1) A better cooperation governance

Type of intervention: 173 Enhancing institutional capacity of public authorities and stakeholders to implement territorial cooperation projects and initiatives in a cross-border, transnational, maritime and inter-regional context

Partners (2)

Lead Partner: Tartu Teaduspark

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 998505391

Partner’s ID if not PIC: EE100296086

Address: Riia, 50411 Tartu linn, Estonia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: N.a.

Website: http://www.teaduspark.ee

Total budget: EUR 202 200.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 161 760.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 40 440.00

Vidzemes plānošanas reģions

Name: Vidzemes plānošanas reģions

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 986260596

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 90002180246

Address: Bērzaines, LV-4101 Cēsis, Latvia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Regional public authority

Website: http://www.vidzeme.lv

Total budget: EUR 172 120.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 137 696.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 34 424.00

Contractors:

Name: SIA "ĢEODĒZISTS"
VAT registration or tax identification number: 41203006878

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

Vidzeme Planning Region

Joint Development of the Drone-Based Municipal Services

Partners and Projects info

Tartu Science Park

Joint Development of the Drone-Based Municipal Services

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Joint Development of the Drone-Based Municipal Services

Project acronym: Smart Skies

Project ID: EE-LV00141

Project start date: 2024-09-01

Project end date: 2028-02-29

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

Flying Forward 2020 (www.ff2020.eu) (EN) | The focus of FF2020 project was on development of a new Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem by incorporating UAM within the geospatial data infrastructure of cities. With 12 partners from 7 countries, the project provided a thorough overview of current status of the drone sector, its’ main challenges and future potential. TSP was involved as a Living Lab and carried out use case testing for last mile delivery and critical infrastructure monitoring services at the TSP’s premises. The experience gained from within this project will set a baseline for further developments of the drone ecosystem for public drone services. (EN), ZeroEst NGO (EN) | ZeroEst NGO was created in 2021 by Tartu City, Association of Municipalities of Tartu County and Tartu Science Park with the main aim to build a community organisation focusing on unmanned aerial vehicle related topics for enabling future drone services in Estonia. The NGO partners will be involved throughout the project duration. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 374 320.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 299 456.00

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 80.00%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 299 456.00. Co-financing rate, 80.00%.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EUStrategyBalticSeaRegion The project aligns with the EUSBSR's emphasis on innovation by introducing advanced drone technologies to the region. This promotes technological advancement and supports the digital transformation agenda.
Additionally, drones offer a sustainable alternative for transportation and logistics, reducing carbon footrpint and aligning with WU green mobility goals.
Other By promoting sustainable drone technologies and their application within cities, the project aligns with the EU Green Deal’s objectives to reduce emissions and foster sustainable development.
Additionally, the project supports the EU's Digital Single Market strategy by fostering integration and deployment of digital technologies, such as drones, across borders.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 083 - Strategies and action plans jointly developed, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
RCR 079 - Joint strategies and action plans taken up by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSBSR

EUSBSR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSBSR Degree of compliance:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Estonia-Latvia

Latest month of project-partner-call data publication

2026-04

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

66 / 66 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

284 / 284 (100%)

Notes on the data

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Contact Form

Joint Development of the Drone-Based Municipal Services

Description

Thematic information

Partners (2)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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