URF announces Global Partnership Agreement with Odense Robotics
- Sep 18
- 4 min read
[September 18, 2025 - Toronto, Canada and Odense, Denmark] - We are pleased to announce that Denmark's national robotics and drone cluster, Odense Robotics, recently signed a global partnership agreement with the Urban Robotics Foundation (URF). This agreement expands access for members of each organization to valuable advisory resources and to increased opportunities for funding, networking and project matchmaking.
“Odense Robotics is delighted to enter into this partnership with the Urban Robotics Foundation. Their work – including their work on ISO 4448 certification for outdoor mobile robots in shared spaces – is highly exciting, and we look forward to exchanging knowledge and building valuable networks together. We see great potential for synergies between our organisations, and we are eager to contribute wherever we can.” - Søren Elmer Kristensen, CEO, Odense Robotics
The mission of Odense Robotics is to help robotic, automation and drone companies grow and innovate. Co-funded by the Danish Board of Business Development, the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, and the European Union, as well as through a broad range of projects and partnerships, Odense Robotics is a national cluster organisation with headquarters in Odense and regional hubs across the country.
Odense Robotics first came to the attention of URF when Odense hosted R-24, a bi-annual tradeshow focused on Robotics, Automation and Drones with a large audience from the Nordic countries. In our February 2024 blog post, we shared about the history of robotics in Denmark and the goal for Odense to become the "World's Leading Robotic City".
History of Robotics in Denmark:
The robotics industry in Odense employs over 3,700 people - in a city with a modest population of ~200,000. Robots have long since been part of the identity of Odense since the successful founding and global expansion of collaborative robot makers Universal Robots and MIR (Mobile Industrial Robots) in the city. Today, both companies are part of Teradyne Robotics Group.
By fostering international relationships, Odense Robotics has unlocked new opportunities for cross-border knowledge sharing, research collaboration, and business development. These agreements are already paving the way for joint innovation projects, industry exchanges, and enhanced global visibility for Danish robotics companies.
Interested in Drones and UAS?
URF's Managing Director, Lee St James, recently visited Odense and she had the opportunity to meet the team in person while they were hosting the 2025 International Drone Show. Odense Robotics members work closely with the UAS Denmark International Test Center, at Hans Christian Andersen Airport (northwest of Odense), supporting companies in testing and developing cutting-edge drone solutions. This conference/ tradeshow provides valuable business development opportunities, funding insights, and industry networking.
Lee states: "One of the unique opportunities that URF members can leverage from this global partnership is Odense Robotics' expertise and involvement with drones and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Expanding the technology conversation beyond ground-based public-area mobile robots allows us to explore and learn how drones are being used to deliver services for urban, suburban and rural or remote locations." She continues:
"While the hardware innovations continue to grow, the need for developing standards and regulations for deployment and governance and to plan thoughtfully to ensure social acceptance and accessibility aligns well with URF's expertise."
Over 1000 industry stakeholders from 36 countries attended this year's event. Here are some photos taken at the Odense Robotics booth and a selection of the technologies that Lee captured as part of attending the event:
In the first photo, Lee is pictured with Odense Robotics team members (L to R) Frederik Ross, Business Development Manager, Region Midtjylland; Rasmus Festersen, Chief Commercial Officer; Denise Innocenti Guldbrandsen, Chief Marketing Officer.
The Avy Aera has a focus on lifesaving missions and applications. It combines vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) from any surface with fixed-wing mode when airborne to fly autonomously beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). The impressive Hecto Drone can operate in temperatures from +60 to -20 degrees C; it uses an innovative, modular generator system that enables up to 3 hour flight durations. Nanoping offers ultra-low-latency communications technology they demonstrated with side by side video feeds.
Regulatory Progress:
Denmark's government has recently made some significant changes to their regulatory framework for PMRs with valuable leadership from both Odense Robotics and Aarhus ITK. This LinkedIn post explains some of the highlights.
Frederik Ross, Business Development Manager at Odense Robotics (and with a dual role at Aarhus ITK), will be a guest speaker for our September 30th workshop: Smart Cities, Smarter Robots. Over the past 3 years, he has played a key role in shaping Denmark’s new legislation for outdoor mobile robots and will be sharing some of their key learnings. Please click here for more information and to register. The workshop is free for URF members and offers discounted tickets to our global partner members.
We also invite readers to follow Odense Robotics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/odense-robotics
About URF:
The Urban Robotics Foundation (URF) is a global not-for-profit organization (incorporated in 2021 in Canada). Members join URF to learn how public-area mobile robots will impact a city’s systems and its people. Whether you are looking to offset labour shortages in public works (eg. lawn maintenance, garbage pick-up, inspection services, floor cleaning in public buildings) or to enhance security, accessibility/mobility (wheelchair robots), or economic development (delivery), planning and preparation for this technology will be key to social acceptance and successful deployments.
URF is the global lead for drafting the ISO-4448 technical standard for deploying public-area mobile robots (PMRs) and the ISO-25614 technical standard for "kerbside management - orchestration for loading and unloading". URF also offers webinars and workshops, publications, and advisory services to help maximize the promised benefits of these technologies and help stakeholders anticipate and minimize any unintended consequences during pilot testing and early deployment.
Please contact us if you have any questions about advisory services or membership benefits.