UAV Navigation Integrates DAA Software into its VECTOR Autopilot

UAV Navigation has inked a partnership with Iris Automation to integrate its Detect & Avoid ‘Casia’ software into Iris’s advanced autopilot solution ‘VECTOR’. With this combined set of capabilities, UAVs will have the opportunity to detect and avoid potential airborne targets autonomously. 

UAV Navigation specializes in the design of guidance, navigation and control solutions for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) also known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) or drones. UAV Navigation’s flight control solutions are used by a variety of top tier aerospace manufacturers including high-performance tactical unmanned planes, aerial targets, mini-UAVs and helicopters. The company’s autopilots carry out advanced functions, such as controlling multiple target drones at 700 km/h, executing a fully automatic net landing of a drone onto a moving vessel at sea, and even converting a twin prop manned aircraft or turbine helicopter into a drone.

“The pace of innovation around autonomous aerial vehicles is rapid as the industry recognizes the potential for creating value. Integrating Iris Automation’s Casia detect and avoid technology into our VECTOR autopilot is another important step in the safety of autonomous flights for commercial operations. Our customers can now automatically command the drone to perform appropriate avoidance maneuvers, resuming their original flightpath once completed,” said UAV Navigation Head of Commercial, Carlo Lazaro.

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.

James Howard, co-founder and VP of Technology and Innovation at Iris Automation, commented on the partnership, “Partnering with UAV Navigation brings together two significant breakthroughs in safe, autonomous flight. Integrating autopilot systems with true detect and avoid, inclusive of uncooperative aircraft, is critical to enabling commercial operations at scale. Given the wide deployment of UAV Navigation’s autopilot solution this is major progress in opening up the skies.”

Why it matters: Detect and avoid software is a critical step in developing safe autonomous autopilots for aerial mobility applications. With its successful implementation, eVTOL vehicles can operate in dense urban environments with the ability to safely navigate the airspace. Expect to see UAV Navigation, Iris Automation, and others come into the spotlight as autopilot technologies mature and find their way onto commercial platforms.

Source: UAV Navigation Press Release