RAWFIE · Project

Test Your Drones and Robots Across Land, Air, and Sea Remotely

digitalTestedTRL 5

Imagine you've built a new drone or autonomous robot and need to test it in real conditions — on roads, in the air, or on water. Instead of building your own expensive test facility, RAWFIE created a shared online platform where you can remotely book and run experiments using fleets of unmanned vehicles across Europe. Think of it like renting cloud computing, but for physical robot testing. You upload your experiment, the platform drives the robots, and you get the data back — all from your desk.

By the numbers

EUR 6,995,729

EU funding for platform development

consortium partners across the project

countries represented in the consortium

SMEs involved in development

deliverables produced

46%

industry ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Testing autonomous vehicles — whether drones, ground robots, or maritime craft — is expensive and logistically painful. Every test campaign requires dedicated facilities, field crews, safety protocols, and specialized equipment. Companies developing these technologies, especially SMEs, often cannot afford to maintain their own multi-domain test infrastructure across different environments.

The solution

What was built

A working prototype of a federated testing platform that connects ground, air, and maritime testbeds under one booking and control system. The platform enables remote experiment design, automated vehicle control via auto-pilots, over-the-air programming, and centralized data collection — delivered across 32 project deliverables including the architecture prototype released in multiple development phases.

Audience

Who needs this

Commercial drone manufacturers needing multi-environment flight testingAutonomous vehicle startups that cannot afford dedicated test tracksMaritime robotics companies developing unmanned surface vesselsDefense contractors evaluating multi-domain unmanned systemsSmart city solution providers testing IoT sensor networks on mobile platforms

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Drone and UAV Manufacturing

SME

Target: Companies developing commercial drones or autonomous aerial systems

If you are a drone manufacturer needing to validate flight performance across different environments — this project built a remote testing platform that lets you run experiments on unmanned aerial vehicles without deploying your own field teams. The platform was developed by a 13-partner consortium across 8 countries and delivered a working prototype covering ground, air, and maritime testing.

Autonomous Vehicle Development

mid-size

Target: Companies building self-driving ground vehicles or delivery robots

If you are developing autonomous ground vehicles and struggling with the cost of repeated field tests — RAWFIE created a federated testbed where unmanned ground vehicles can be remotely programmed and controlled over the internet. The platform handles experiment scheduling, auto-piloting, and data collection, cutting the need for on-site test crews.

Maritime and Offshore Operations

any

Target: Companies deploying unmanned surface vessels for inspection, survey, or monitoring

If you are a maritime technology company needing to test unmanned surface vehicles in real water conditions — this project integrated maritime testbeds into a single booking platform with remote control and data analysis. With 6 industry partners and 6 SMEs in the consortium, the platform was designed with commercial use cases in mind from the start.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to use this testing platform?

The project did not publish commercial pricing. With EUR 6,995,729 in EU funding across 13 partners, the platform was built as a research infrastructure. Any commercial licensing or pay-per-use model would need to be negotiated directly with the consortium coordinator.

Can this platform handle industrial-scale testing with dozens of vehicles?

The project aimed to feature a 'significant number' of unmanned vehicle nodes across ground, air, and maritime testbeds. The architecture prototype demonstrated multi-vehicle orchestration with centralized control, but specific capacity limits are not stated in available project data.

Who owns the intellectual property and how can we license it?

The project was funded under Horizon 2020 RIA (Research and Innovation Action), meaning IP typically stays with the consortium partners who generated it. With 6 industry partners and 6 SMEs in the consortium, licensing terms would depend on which specific components you need. Contact the coordinator at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Is the platform still operational after the project ended in 2019?

The project closed in March 2019. Based on available project data, the platform reached working prototype stage. Whether testbed infrastructure remains accessible would need to be confirmed with the coordinator, as EU-funded testbeds sometimes continue operating under new funding or commercial models.

How hard is it to integrate our own vehicles or sensors into the platform?

RAWFIE was designed around the IoT concept with internet connectivity extended to mobile units for remote programming, control, and data collection. The platform supports over-the-air programming and virtualized experiment management, suggesting a software-defined integration approach. Specific API documentation would be available from the consortium.

Does this comply with current EU drone regulations?

The project ran from 2015 to 2019, before the current EU drone regulation (EU 2019/947) took full effect. Any commercial deployment today would need to be updated for current regulatory requirements. Based on available project data, regulatory compliance was not a primary deliverable focus.

Consortium

Who built it

The RAWFIE consortium has a strong commercial orientation with 46% industry participation — 6 out of 13 partners are from industry, and 6 are SMEs. This is notable for a research project and suggests the platform was built with real-world use in mind, not just academic papers. The 8-country spread (Bulgaria, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal) provides geographic diversity for testbed locations across Southern and Central Europe. The coordinator is the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a major Greek research university, supported by 3 research organizations and 2 universities providing the scientific backbone.

ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINONCoordinator · EL
ELLINIKI AEROPORIKI VIOMICHANIA ANONYMI ETAIREIAparticipant · EL
ROBOTNIK AUTOMATION SLparticipant · ES
CSEM CENTRE SUISSE D'ELECTRONIQUE ET DE MICROTECHNIQUE SA - RECHERCHE ET DEVELOPPEMENTparticipant · CH
ETHNIKO KENTRO EREVNAS KAI TECHNOLOGIKIS ANAPTYXISparticipant · EL
OCEANSCAN - MARINE SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGY LDAparticipant · PT
INTELLIGENCE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND SECURITY SRL IES SOLUTIONS SRLparticipant · IT
HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALEparticipant · CH
YPOURGEIO ETHNIKIS AMYNASparticipant · EL
ASSOCIATION PEGASEparticipant · FR

How to reach the team

National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece) — reach out to their IoT or networked systems research group

Order a report on this consortium See ETHNIKO KAI KAPODISTRIAKO PANEPISTIMIO ATHINON profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the RAWFIE team or a detailed technology brief? Contact SciTransfer — we connect businesses with EU research teams.

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