Sweden and Japan discussed the development in drone technology
Cynthia Sassenroth, postdoctoral researcher and planetary geomorphologist, represented the University of Gothenburg at the Japan–Sweden Business Dual-Use and DeepTech Forum in February. The forum took place in Stockholm and focused on cooperation between the countries and the latest developments in drone technology and remote sensing applications.
Hello Cynthia,
What was your role at the meeting?
"I participated in presentations, panel discussions, and informal conversations with representatives from industry, government agencies, and organizations. As a representative of the university, I provided information about our current projects, research focus, and core competencies in remote sensing and related areas.
"I also had the opportunity to talk to people from Swedish and Japanese companies, members of Business Sweden, and officials from the Swedish and Japanese foreign ministries. It was rewarding to hear about ongoing developments, especially how drone and remote sensing technology are discussed and presented outside of academic contexts."
What were your key takeaways?
"In my opinion, a central takeaway for me from the meeting was how strongly drone technologies and remote sensing applications are emerging as shared priorities across business, policy, and security domains. These technologies are no longer discussed as niche or future concepts, but as concrete tools with strategic relevance for societal resilience, sustainability, and decision-making."
"The forum also highlighted that, despite geographical distance, Japan and Sweden are surprisingly well aligned in their approaches to technology development, collaboration, and governance, with a shared emphasis on transparency, fairness, and long-term sustainability. The bilateral framework provided useful insight into how national strategies are currently evolving in both countries and opened space to collaborate and reach goals together."
"Several speakers explicitly referred to the "triple-helix structure" of innovation, emphasizing the interaction between businesses, policy, and science. This framing was clearly reflected throughout the discussions. However, scientific representation at the forum was limited, which highlighted a clear opportunity and need for stronger engagement from academia in this areas. While it was evident that research and development are actively conducted within industry, there was also clear interest from business and policy actors in research institutions, particularly to contribute perspectives on data acquisition, quality, interpretation, validation, and long-term scientific and commercial contexts."
"Overall, the meeting reinforced the importance of positioning science also as an central pillar alongside business and policy in the development of remote sensing and drone technologies. For our department, this confirms both the relevance of our ongoing work and the potential for deeper involvement in future cross-sector and international initiatives."