# LINA’s testing infrastructure enables AI to take-off in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how AI can be safely integrated into drones using testing infrastructure like LINA, which supports development and regulatory acceptance.

## Contribution

The paper introduces LINA, a testing infrastructure for UAVs that enables systematic validation and regulatory learning for AI-enabled autonomous systems.

## Key findings

- Traditional risk assessment methods are inadequate for adaptive AI systems in UAVs.
- LINA provides a platform for validating autonomous functions under realistic conditions.
- Testing infrastructure is critical for building trust and enabling safe AI deployment in aviation.

## Abstract

The development of autonomous aerial robots capable of safely navigating complex real-world environments without or with little human intervention represents a major milestone in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). While rapid advances in AI-enabled decision-making, sensing, and control systems are unlocking new capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), their translation into safe and scalable real-life applications remains a major challenge. In this Perspective, we examine key AI technologies relevant to aerial autonomy and discuss early application scenarios in unmanned aviation and airspace management, with a focus on their assurance-relevant properties. We analyze regulatory obstacles that limit deployment, particularly for AI-enabled and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, and highlight why traditional risk assessment and certification approaches are need to be updated to account for adaptive, data-driven systems. Building on this analysis, we argue that testing infrastructure must be understood as a core scientific instrument, enabling systematic evidence generation under realistic and safety-critical conditions, validating autonomous functions, ensuring safety, and building trust among regulators and the public. As a concrete example, we introduce LINA, a scientifically-grounded, integrated experimentation and validation platform in Switzerland designed to support iterative, regulator-aware development of autonomous systems across technology readiness levels. We highlight how LINA function as sandbox for system-level science, regulatory learning, and trust building, thereby enabling the responsible and societally acceptable integration of autonomous aerial systems and strengthening Switzerland’s role in advancing aerial robotics research and innovation.