AiRT · Project

Affordable Indoor Drone System That Lets Film Crews Ditch Expensive Rigs

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Imagine you're shooting a movie or commercial inside a building and you want sweeping aerial shots — right now you need scaffolding, cranes, or cable rigs that cost a fortune and take hours to set up. Flying a drone indoors would be the obvious fix, but GPS doesn't work inside buildings, so drones can't figure out where they are and crash into things. AiRT built an indoor positioning system and safety features that let a drone fly precisely indoors, even avoiding people and obstacles — at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions that run around €200,000. Think of it as giving drones indoor "GPS eyes" so creative professionals can get Hollywood-quality aerial shots without Hollywood budgets.

By the numbers

900,000+

European creative industry firms that could benefit

€200,000

Cost of existing indoor positioning systems for drones

SME partners in the consortium

75%

Industry partner ratio in consortium

Total consortium partners across 3 countries

Total project deliverables completed

The business problem

What needed solving

Indoor aerial filming currently requires expensive equipment like cable cams, camera rails, jibs, scaffolding, and lifting platforms — all costly, slow to set up, and limiting creative freedom. Flying drones indoors would solve this, but existing indoor positioning systems either cost around €200,000 or have serious limitations like sensitivity to lighting, making them unaffordable for the vast majority of Europe's 900,000+ creative industry firms.

The solution

What was built

AiRT developed the first indoor drone system specifically designed for professional creative industry use, integrating an affordable indoor positioning system, 3D scene reconstruction, intelligent navigation with obstacle avoidance (both static and dynamic), and autonomous flight programming. A policy handbook on safe indoor RPAS operations was also published.

Audience

Who needs this

Film and TV production companies shooting indoor scenesLive event and concert broadcast crewsReal estate marketing firms doing property walkthroughsArchitectural visualization and virtual tour companiesAdvertising agencies producing commercial content in studios or large indoor venues

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Film and Video Production

SME

Target: Film production companies and video studios

If you are a film or video production company spending thousands on cable cams, jibs, and scaffolding for indoor aerial shots — this project developed an intelligent indoor drone with its own positioning system that can fly safely inside buildings, avoiding both static and moving objects. It replaces expensive auxiliary equipment while expanding your creative possibilities. Over 900,000 European creative industry firms could benefit from this technology.

Event and Live Broadcasting

mid-size

Target: Live event production and broadcast companies

If you are a live event broadcaster dealing with the challenge of capturing dynamic aerial footage inside arenas, concert halls, or conference centers — this project built an indoor RPAS with advanced safety features and autonomous flight capability. The drone can be programmed to fly set paths while you focus on camera control, eliminating the need for crane operators and rigging crews. Current indoor positioning alternatives cost around €200,000, making them prohibitive for most event companies.

Real Estate and Architecture

SME

Target: Real estate marketing and architectural visualization firms

If you are a real estate or architecture firm that needs impressive indoor walkthroughs of large properties, showrooms, or construction sites — this project created a professional indoor drone that uses 3D scene reconstruction and intelligent navigation. It can capture smooth aerial footage in complex indoor spaces where traditional drones fail due to lack of GPS. The system was specifically designed for professional creative use, not hobbyist applications.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

How much does this indoor drone system cost compared to current alternatives?

The project data states that existing indoor positioning systems suitable for drones cost around €200,000 or have major limitations like sensitivity to light conditions. AiRT was specifically designed to be affordable for creative industry SMEs, though a final commercial price is not stated in the available data.

Can this scale beyond one-off film shoots to regular commercial use?

The system was built as an Innovation Action with 3 industry partners and 3 SMEs in the consortium, indicating commercial intent. It was designed for professional repeated use by creative industry firms, with autonomous flight programming so operators can focus on camera control. Over 900,000 European CI firms represent the target market.

What is the IP and licensing situation?

Based on available project data, the consortium includes Universitat Politecnica de Valencia as coordinator with 3 industry partners across Spain, Belgium, and the UK. The IP arrangement would be governed by the consortium agreement. A policy handbook on safe indoor RPAS use was published as a deliverable.

Is this drone safe enough for indoor use around people?

AiRT specifically addressed safety with both active and passive safety measures, plus the ability to detect and avoid static and dynamic objects. A dedicated policy handbook on safe use of RPAS in indoor environments was developed as a project deliverable, covering ethical and security risk evaluation and best-practice guidelines.

Can the drone fly autonomously or does it need a skilled pilot?

According to the project objective, the AiRT system can be programmed to fly autonomously along predetermined paths. This allows creative professionals to focus entirely on camera control rather than piloting, lowering the skill barrier for indoor aerial filming.

What happened after the project ended in 2018?

The project closed at the end of 2018. Based on available project data, the technology reached demonstration stage with 10 deliverables completed. The project website at airt.eu may have further information on current availability or commercial follow-up.

Consortium

Who built it

The AiRT consortium is heavily industry-driven: 3 out of 4 partners are companies (75% industry ratio), all three classified as SMEs, with a single university coordinator (Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain). Partners span 3 countries — Spain, Belgium, and the UK. This composition signals a clear commercial push rather than a purely academic exercise. The university brings drone navigation and positioning research expertise, while the SME partners bring market access in the creative industries. For a business looking to adopt this technology, the SME-heavy consortium means the partners understand commercial constraints and have built-in motivation to bring this to market.

UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIACoordinator · ES
POZYX LABSparticipant · BE
AEROTOOLS UAV SLparticipant · ES

How to reach the team

Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) — SciTransfer can facilitate an introduction to the project coordinator.

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore licensing the indoor drone positioning technology or partnering with the AiRT team? Contact SciTransfer for a warm introduction to the consortium.

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