GPS World

Tag: Vector autopilot

  • UAV Navigation integrates avoidance system into autopilots

    UAV Navigation integrates avoidance system into autopilots

    Photo: UAV Navigation
    Photo: UAV Navigation

    Autopilot platform developer UAV Navigation is integrating Iris Automation’s detect-and-avoid Casia software into its advanced autopilot solution, Vector. UAVs equipped with Vector and Casia now can detect uncooperative crewed aircraft in their airspace and autonomously or manually take corrective action, avoiding potential collisions.

    The integration comes as Iris Automation releases Casia Software v2.2. The release also includes improvements to performance, track fusion and flight data uploads. Casia Software is embedded in all Casia systems and uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to detect and classify aircraft intruders, similar to human pilots.

    Vector autopilots are specifically designed to execute flight completely autonomously, even if the remote-control datalink becomes unavailable or fails. They are used by a wide range of commercial clients flying rotary wing, target drone, fixed wing, and VTOL uncrewed aerial vehicles, worldwide.

    UAV Navigation specializes in the design of guidance, navigation and control solutions for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Iris Automation is a safety avionics technology company pioneering detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems and aviation policy services that enable customers to build scalable operations for commercial drones.

  • UAV Navigation’s visual system reduces dead-reckoning error

    UAV Navigation’s visual system reduces dead-reckoning error

    UAV Navigation has developed a Visual Navigation System (VNS) that reduces the accumulated positional error during dead-reckoning navigation. The VNS leverages visual odometry techniques to determine the position and orientation of the aircraft by analyzing and processing the images captured by a camera installed on its underside.

    Initial testing in real-time flight conditions has been a success, reports UAV Navigation. The system integrates well with the company’s flight-control solution to improve navigation in GNSS-denied environments.

    Vector autopilot. (Photo: UAV Navigation)
    Vector autopilot. (Photo: UAV Navigation)

    UAV Navigation’s sensors are tolerant toward GNSS failures (typically, in GNSS-denied scenarios) and can operate in dead-reckoning mode without compromising flight safety. However, a prolonged GNSS failure can lead to a significant navigation drift, and this is where the VNS comes in.

    The VNS system includes a simple belly-mounted camera and image processing computer. Images from the camera are processed by a lightweight onboard computer, translating them into a relative change in the aircraft position. This information can be combined with the inertial sensors to reduce the overall drift to < 1% of the distance traveled, eliminating any drift associated with time.

    Combined with the Vector autopilot, the VNS components provide a complete and robust autonomous flight control and navigation solution.