The latest developments, regulatory issues and the sustainability potential of the technology were the focus of the Drone Forum 2024, organised by the Digital Development Centre of Széchenyi István University, Edutus University and Cloud For Intelligent Airplace (CloudIA) Ltd. on 14 November at the Győr Innovation Park. The organisation of the event was inspired by the aim of the current Hungarian Presidency of the European Union to bring together industry leaders, researchers and policy makers to shape the future of drone use.

Drone technology has developed very dynamically in recent years, and thanks to continuous innovation, new applications have emerged in fields ranging from agriculture to health, disaster management and infrastructure management. A key player in this process in Hungary is Széchenyi István University, the Digital Development Centre of which focuses its research and development on this area. The institution works closely with Edutus University, so it was a natural choice to organise the Drone Forum 2024 event with their jointly established subsidiary CloudIA Ltd., involving key players in the domestic and international drone ecosystem.

A group of speakers and organizers of the Drone Forum 2024 (Photo: Máté Dudás)

More than a hundred people from ten countries and three continents attended the event, which was hosted by renowned television personality and commentator Zoltán Szujó. Presentations were given by renowned experts such as Jakub Karas, President of the Czech Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Alliance, Dr Eduardo García González, senior member of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Bongseok Kang, Group Manager of the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), Emilien Watelet, Director of ID2Move in Belgium and Károly Ludvigh, CEO of ABZ Innovation Ltd. They shared their thoughts on the drone ecosystem, drone use regulation and the urban presence of drones. The day also included roundtable discussions on other topics, such as the role of drones in the entertainment and media industry, as well as drone detection and mitigation issues, with distinguished guests, including Austrian businessman Alexander Lena, co-CEO of OPREM Group, Zsolt Molnár, CEO of Rotors & Cams Ltd. and Gergely Tuzson, President of the Aerospace Association and one of the managing directors of Légtér.hu Llc.

The forum was hosted by Zoltán Szujó, a well-known television commentator (Photo: Máté Dudás)

At the opening of the forum, Dr Zoltán Horváth, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Informatics and Electrical Engineering at Széchenyi István University, emphasized that the University is committed to supporting industrial and social development through drone technology, IoT solutions and innovative platforms. He stated that the institution is at the forefront of drone technology development and application in Hungary. He noted that the forum will also provide an opportunity for participants to jointly shape the direction and future of drone technology development.

Julie Garland, President of the Joint European Drone Associations, also addressed the opening ceremony online, introducing the association, which was founded in 2021 and has members from 19 countries.

The Innovation Park of the Széchenyi István University was packed for the event (Photo: Máté Dudás)

At the event, Dr Balázs Szauer, CEO of CloudIA Zrt., emphasized that the European Union's regulations on drones and data protection are already sufficient, but it is also very important to increase users' knowledge on this topic. 

Péter Tamás Szilasi, Director of Corporate and International Relations at Edutus University, said that drones can be very useful in school education, as indicated by the fact that the World Robot Olympiad international robot building and programming competition will also include a drone category. He stressed that an important challenge is to prepare teachers to use new technologies. 

The forum, which also included a drone demonstration alongside professional programmes, provided an excellent venue for professional exchanges and contributed to promising national and international cooperation.

Drone technology has developed very dynamically in recent years (Photo: Máté Dudás)