The president of the Aerospace Technological District (DTA), Giuseppe Acierno, and the president of the Port System Authority of the Ionian Sea, Sergio Prete, have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and implement UAM/UAS applications (Urban AirMobility/Unmanned Aerial Systems ) through which to experiment the application of air mobility systems to maritime transport, allowing a long-term socio-economic development based on the inclusive protection of natural assets.

The collaboration between the parties is focused on the following objectives:

• contribute to the European strategy defined in aerospace and maritime policies whose principles can represent and guarantee correct coordination and complementarity with the activities of the Member States by continuing to pursue cutting-edge themes;

• enhance the integration of reciprocal scientific knowledge in the fields considered;

• create public value for the benefit of the socio-economic system (territorial and port);

• participate in innovation/acceleration programs and/or training activities capable of providing the necessary skills in the field of space and maritime innovation;

• participate in initiatives to support the innovative ecosystem of the territory and the port of Taranto;

• promote innovation in specific research fields in which aerospace and maritime solutions can represent common growth factors of the local aerospace and marine economy;

• support the design and testing of UAM applications, and U-space enabling services, and innovative services based on space technologies (SATEO, SATNAV, SATCOM).

In fact, the collaboration will make it possible to monitor the variations that have occurred on the various pollution sources in the port area and to experiment with the loading and unloading of goods in the port area in smart mode, through the use of drones which will be able to guarantee the transport of goods between the docks and ships waiting to dock in the port. The collaboration path, which will also involve the companies that currently manage the connection services between ships and the docks as well as other companies operating within the port of Taranto, will make it possible to use satellite technologies and drones for monitoring the area so as to ensure greater efficiency and safety in all operations. The collaboration between the DTA and the Ionian Sea Port System Authority will make it possible to further enhance the experimental activities developed in the Airport Test Bed of Grottaglie and in the House of Emerging Technologies of Bari, strengthening the development capacity of the drone and technology industry satellites and the offer of services in smart mode in the activities of integration between space, land and sea.

The contact person of the DTA for the implementation of the protocol is Antonio Zilli, the contact persons of the Ionian Sea Port System Authority are Giuseppe Lecce and Debora Marullo.

For the president of the DTA, Giuseppe Acierno, “the start of the collaboration with the Port System Authority of the Ionian Sea represents a further opportunity to increase the rate of innovation and the use of technology in the Apulian territorial system, to provide new solutions innovations based on the use of drones and satellites to those who operate in the ecosystem of the port authority and to continue the path that over the years has allowed us to build the capacity and credibility of Puglia’s propensity for innovation in this sector, making it emerge in the European aerospace context”

The President of the Ionian Port System Authority, Sergio Prete expressed “satisfaction for the start of this further collaboration which allows the Ionian Sea Port System Authority to continue and expand its current path of innovation and experimentation . Drone technology will be able to make an important contribution to the innovative evolution of the port of Taranto by concretely providing port operators with new tools to increase their productivity potential, in compliance with safety and security obligations”.