The civilian drone business is developing rapidly – one study sees the global market at $56 billion in 2030. Swiss research and industry stands out with particular UAV expertise. In Zurich, Radiate Engineering and Design AG offers a complete solution – from design and prototyping to certification.
Radiate Engineering & Design AG, based in Zurich, is founding the "UAV Division", a team focusing on lightweight construction, aerodynamics and structural optimization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAV Division is specifically focused on the needs of the UAV industry and brings together all the necessary skills and resources to design, engineer, prototype, test, and certify civil commercial UAVs.
The use of unmanned aerial vehicles is a key technology of the future and will profoundly change the economy and society in the coming years and decades. UAVs will be of critical economic importance and offer many opportunities for regions in Europe and beyond. Unlike other industries, this huge growth market is still in its infancy and has yet to scale, so there is great potential for companies to take a leading role in this industry. According to a recent study by Drone Industry Insights, the global civil drone market is estimated to reach nearly $56 billion by 2030.
Switzerland has become a center for drone technology and expertise. This is thanks to the country's leading universities, such as ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne, which have created a solid foundation for attracting qualified professionals in this field. Integrated into this ecosystem, Radiate Engineering & Design provides UAV companies with the necessary conditions to develop, test and deploy their products in the field.
Aerodynamic and structural optimizations for maximum performance and efficiency.
With a focus on aerodynamic and structural optimization, products are optimized for performance and efficiency. Aerodynamic dimensioning is often at the very beginning of a development process. With the ability to produce wind tunnel models in its own prototyping lab, coupled with many hours of wind tunnel testing experience in Switzerland and Europe, the UAV Division enables rapid iteration between CFD optimization and wind tunnel validation. For the structural optimization of an airframe, digital twins are tested and validated against real load cases, using state-of-the-art FEM, novel methods and specially developed tools such as machine learning algorithms.
Simulation-Driven Engineering ensures a fast development process.
At the heart of the development process, the UAV Division team combines digital and physical development and relies on simulation-driven engineering. When developing a completely new airframe, be it for fixed-wing, VTOL or copter, the UAV Division offers tailor-made services to meet the exact needs and requirements of its customers. In addition, Radiate Engineering & Design is able to produce, test and validate concepts quickly and efficiently in its in-house prototyping lab right in the heart of Zurich. The goal here is to accelerate the development process in order to validate concepts in practice and during test flights as early as possible.
In-depth knowledge of production processes and a broad network enable cost-effective and efficient production.
Thanks to many years of experience in industrialization and an extensive network in Europe and Asia, Radiate Engineering & Design offers its customers access to competent and reliable partners for the procurement, manufacture and assembly of airframes. Furthermore, the UAV Division team has extensive expertise in fiber composites, injection molding and additive manufacturing. The team's expertise allows them to explore the limits of materials and manufacturing processes to achieve optimal results for the purpose at hand.
Certification and business development with external partners.
Together with external partners and leading experts in the field of regulatory and commercial use processes, Radiate Engineering & Design provides legal and technical expertise to meet the requirements of today's regulatory agencies. The UAV Division considers the requirements for safe operation at an early stage of development to pave the way for flight approval. In close cooperation with its partners, the UAV Division team is able to accompany application procedures up to the granting of the operating license by the authorities.
Timothy Habermacher takes over.
The new UAV Division will be led by Timothy Habermacher, a Master of Science ETH in Mechanical Engineering with many years of experience in the UAV industry, lightweight design, structural simulation and composite materials.
"Innovation never ends. That's why our goal is to accompany our UAV customers through the entire lifecycle of their products: from the idea to design, prototyping, continuous improvement through extensive testing, and finally to industrialization," says Timothy Habermacher. "We enjoy making our customers' ideas fly," he adds.