Commissioned by the organizations of Innovation Quarter and Unmanned Valley
Valkenburg (RoboValley) we have worked on the proposition for UNMANNED VALLEY at the former Valkenburg airfield.
For the bidbook we organized substantive discussions with the various stakeholders involved in this project and process. We translated all strategic and substantive information into a concrete space plan. As well as for the physical indoor and outdoor testing facilities for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s), as well for feasible real estate developments at the site.
For the first phase of Unmanned Valley Valkenburg (UVV) we have calculated the real estate development and the exploitation of such. This resulted in a concrete proposition with which the neighbouring municipality of Katwijk, the Zuid Holland provincial government and the RVB (the National Real Estate Company) can progress further.
Eventually we assembled all substantieve input in a bidbook: an attractively designed paper which was handed over to the Katwijk Municipality and the Zuid Holland Provincial Government at the Innovation Year Event 2016, at which yearly event actual innovative developments and innovative companies are presented.
See here for the link to the bidbook.
client: Innovation Quarter & UVV
“We are now at the beginning of the Second Machine Age, in which intelligent robots of the
so-called unmanned systems will play an important role in our economy and which will have a great impact on our society. Dutch companies and research institutes are serious players in this revolution. Typical examples of this revolution are the smart robots by RoboValley, communication technology for autonomous vehicles by NXP, composites by Airborne, artificial intelligence by Leiden University, fully autonomous milking robots by Lely, ambulance drones by Delft Technical University and commercial drones by Aerialtronics.
This industry is much more extensive than just the producers of robots. The physical robot
is to be regarded only as a vehicle for processing tasks or for gathering information. When regarding the complete chain this runs from the developer and producer of chips and composites via software developers and companies which add artificial intelligence or provide service to the end-users.
Important to all parties in the UAV-chain is that the actual and future technology can be tested extensively. And such in particular in the Zuid Holland region, where the main manufacturers, suppliers, developers and research institutes reside.
To provide such required facilities the Valkenburg airfield is the only feasible location in this region, also known as the Randstad region. It provides the preconditions which this industry seeks and is in need of. Such as ample space for testing, the ability to test at longer distances above the North Sea and the necessary infrastructure for setting up businesses. It is located nearby attractive living places for staff and perhaps most important close to the companies and research institutes which define this industry.
Besides, Valkenburg is only 30 minutes away from Amsterdam International Airport and, in the light of the international character of this industry, ideal for companies which seek to establish their business here and for clients who like to see the technologies demonstrated.
The Valkenburg project will provide the opportunity for The Netherlands to profit from this emerging new mega-industry. Goldman Sachs forecasts that, within the coming five years, the drone market will grow to $ 37 billion on a yearly basis. This opportunity we must now seize before we loose the know how and the industry to foreign countries. More so, Valkenburg can so become the center in Europe where the industry will prefer to establish its businesses.
So to seize this opportunity collectively, the De Mannen van Schuim (The Men of Foam),
commissioned by Innovation Quarter and Unmanned Valley Valkenburg, have concretely translated this proposition in a bidbook. This bidbook is to trigger off a dialogue and a cooperation among all participating UVV and Valkenburg stake holders.”
