A drone autopilot decides that an aircraft should fly independently and not crash, and in order to operate over people, it needs to be certified. Embention, based in Alicante since 2007, develops autopilots and avionics for autonomous aerial platforms worldwide. In chapter 83 of “Toque de Ingenio,” Davide Talamazzini explains why certification has been their biggest technical challenge, and what’s still needed to see drone delivery, U-Space, and air taxis operating in European cities.
Guest: Davide Talamazzini, who was introduced in the episode as a member of the Embention team. Interview published: July 22, 2026. Episode: 83. Duration: 1 h 24 min.
In this episode:
- How a guidance system for fighting forest fires led to the development of autopilot systems.
- Why certifying the system across multiple markets impacts the design, testing, and organization.
- What stands in the way of drones and air taxis becoming commonplace in Europe: regulation, infrastructure, and public acceptance.
From the Flamingo project to autopilot: the origins of Embention.
Davide traces the company’s origins back to 2007, when its current CEO, David Benavente, founded it following a collaboration with Airbus Military. The project, named Flamingo, involved a bomb approximately two meters long, designed to carry a liquid for extinguishing forest fires.
According to the report, the bomb was travelling in cargo planes belonging to the Armed Forces, and was released through the rear door while flying over the fire. Equipped with control surfaces on the tail and guided by Embention’s technology, it was intended to reach the center of the blaze and release the liquid over as large an area as possible.
The system was tested, but it wasn’t commercialized due to reasons outside of the team’s control. Davide considers it a precursor to the current autopilot system, as following that work, the company decided to focus on control systems for autonomous aircraft.
At the time of the interview, Embention is working with approximately 700 clients worldwide. The product catalog has grown organically, expanding to include versions for every type of platform, avionics, navigation, and visual detection and radar systems.
Certifying a drone autopilot: the biggest technical challenge.
When asked about the issue that his engineers have been struggling with most, Davide didn’t talk about an algorithm or a component. He spoke about achieving certification for the entire range of products for high-risk operations.
“Achieving a product ecosystem that can be certified”.
Davide Talamazzini 33:19.
The initial challenge was deciding which regulations to follow. An autonomous vehicle sold in multiple countries had to comply with the regulations of each region – in Europe, Africa, Latin America, or the United States – and the company had to find a common basis that would serve all its clients.
From that point on, each product is designed, tested, and validated against software standards, hardware design standards, and electronic standards, as well as tests for resistance to humidity, vibration, dust, and electromagnetic fields.
Davide explains that in the early years, there was no established process. They had to speak with national and international bodies to understand how to do it, and then create an internal structure to speed up subsequent iterations. Today, dozens of people within the company are dedicated to testing both hardware and software, and to analyze and influence regulations.
This part of the story is interesting to any team. Electronic engineering “We need to design an embedded system. Certification isn’t a final step, but rather a condition that defines the architecture, testing plan, and the company’s organization.”
Drone distribution in Europe: technology, regulation, and infrastructure.
Edgar raises the question of why Amazon uses drones for deliveries in Texas or Georgia, but not in Europe. Davide responds that in the United States, deliveries have already moved beyond the pilot program phase, and that in Europe, flights have begun in the United Kingdom.
To assess when that service will become widespread, I suggest looking at three key components. Firstly, the technology – companies like Embention have been consistently meeting very strict safety regulations.
The second aspect is regulation. EASA establishes a European framework that each country adopts and implements, in Spain through AESA. The population density of Europe implies a different risk and stricter rules, which, in turn, ensure that every operation is thoroughly demonstrated. Davide considers AESA to be among the five most advanced European regulators.
The third element is infrastructure. The American home with a garden allows for packages to be delivered to a secure drop-off point; European cities will require dedicated spaces for collection and operation – “vertipuertos.” Their expectation at the interview is to see active operations in Europe within approximately five years.
U-Space: sharing airspace with manned aviation.
Davide describes U-Space as a fundamental concept for scaling drone operations: sharing airspace between manned aviation, including helicopters and commercial flights, and unmanned aircraft.
That requires a regulatory framework with clear limits and numerous new services. For example, there’s a delivery drone that must safely override any existing operation if a helicopter needs to transport someone to a hospital. The operator needs to be absolutely certain that the drone will successfully carry out the maneuver.
Davide summarised the challenges into three: coordinating all users of the airspace, deciding who will manage the service – whether a state entity, a European body, or a private company – and determining when this will actually happen.
At the time of the interview, there are only preliminary applications for innovation projects and pilot programs running in controlled environments. One example cited is in the Valencian Community, where different types of aircraft are flying in the same location.
Navigation without GPS, fiber optic cables, and volume control: what’s changed the game in defense.
Embention has always focused on security applications, but Davide acknowledges an increase in the use of their products in defense over recent years. He asserts that there’s no significant difference between what a civilian system allows and a military one; the difference lies in how the platform is used.
The most noticeable change is in volume. As he explains, the discussion has shifted from referring to 20, 50, or 100 drones, to thousands of units per month. This increased demand has led to expanding capacity, with facilities in Alicante, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States, and the creation of a line of autopilots for patrolling munitions, optimized for single flights.
The pressure has accelerated functions with a civil impact. machine vision To navigate without GPS, obstacle and target detection, radar and radio frequency positioning. Davide describes the escalation of countermeasures: initially, jamming and spoofing, followed by visual navigation which compares the camera image with maps, and in FPV drones, optical fibre, which eliminates the interference-prone radio signal.
As a summary from the editorial, the passage illustrates a common pattern in embedded electronics: when an external signal, such as GNSS, becomes unreliable, the system requires alternative positioning sources.
Aerotaxis eVTOL: electrification, range, and social acceptance
Edgar questions the advantage of an air taxi compared to a helicopter. David explains that the impetus for the comparison comes from the need to reduce emissions, which EASA and other organizations are proposing as regulation, and from the minimal infrastructure required for an eVTOL: a small area for vertical takeoff and transition to horizontal flight.
The technical challenges outlined are specific. Current batteries do not allow for operation within the one-hour timeframe proposed, and some partners in the United States are currently flying between states using hybrid systems and a crew. Furthermore, all developments involve a test pilot, and fully autonomous flight is essential for the service’s viability.
There’s also a matter of social acceptance: the noise produced by a large propulsion system within a city. Therefore, public reaction is measured through studies and pilot programs.
As a reference, Davide cites his client, Lift Aircraft, based in Texas, which offers tourist flights with extremely short training thanks to autopilot, and also mentions Pivotal and Skyfly as single and two-seater aircraft, priced around half a million dollars. His outlook for the initial air taxi services is between seven and ten years.
What can another development team learn?
Ultimately, Davide reveals his biggest professional mistake: isolating himself in a lab to develop a system and assuming it would fit perfectly in the market as it was created. Once the product was finished, and it was determined who would use it, the modifications that should have been studied from the outset became apparent.
“We always emphasized to the client: “Tell me what you want, tell me what I can do for you.””.
Davide Talamazzini 1:22:55.
The Embention case offers four key lessons applicable to other embedded systems:
- Design to achieve certification from the very first day. Choosing the underlying regulatory framework before finalizing the architecture prevents the need to redesign the product for each market.
- To evaluate the environment, not just the function. Humidity, vibrations, dust, and electromagnetic fields are part of the validation process, not a subsequent phase.
- Do not rely on a single signal. If the system relies on an external reference, it’s advisable to plan for alternative sources of positioning and control.
- Leave the lab before the product is finished. Direct contact with users from the outset product development Reduce late modifications.
At the time of the interview, Embention is operating from Alicante, with production facilities in three countries, and a portfolio ranging from autopilots to radar and visual navigation.
At i-mas, we develop embedded electronics, control systems, and prototypes that must pass rigorous environmental testing and meet regulatory requirements. If your project requires integration of sensors, redundancy, or certification from the outset, Tell us about your project..
To continue reading: How does one develop an electronic product that must meet stringent regulations?.
Source of article: Interview with Edgar Guerrero on Toque de Ingenio with Davide Talamazzini. The excerpts cited link to the minute of the conversation. The project recommendations are an editorial summary from i-mas.
