Australian Assured positioning, navigation and timing (APNT) specialist Advanced Navigation and European missile house MBDA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-develop a resilient navigation system integrating MBDA’s NILEQ absolute positioning technology.
The co-developed solution will provide resilient absolute positioning for a multitude of airborne platforms, with the MoU seeing the companies foster joint research and technology development between the United Kingdom and Australia.
NILEQ’s technology is underpinned by the use of novel neuromorphic sensors to derive and match terrain fingerprints. Initially inspired by biological change detection processes, the sensing technology captures data of the changing terrain as an airborne system flies across it, matching it to an existing database of the Earth’s surface. Once a match is locked, the technology feeds updates of absolute positioning to the platform’s inertial navigation system, removing gradual drift error and the need for a GNSS.
The final Advanced Navigation/MBDA solution is set to enable systems such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to secure an absolute position fix over land with a solution that is passive and resistant to interference. The technology will enhance the safety of beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations, as the solution overcomes many of the conventional limitations of airborne image-based navigation technologies.
“In an increasingly uncertain world where interference is becoming ubiquitous, commercial and military sectors can no longer rely purely on GNSS for flight operations,” Advanced Navigation CEO Chris Shaw was quoted as saying in a company press release. “There is an urgent need for additional navigation aiding to supplement platform inertial navigation and GNSS receiver systems.”
“We look forward to seeing MBDA’s innovation-driven solutions form the cornerstone of future airborne navigation systems,” added Tom Tizard, MBDA Australia’s general manager. “NILEQ seeks to address the enormous demand for resilient absolute positioning information that will complement the existing navigation systems of airborne platforms. Advanced Navigation are an ideal Australian partner to help accelerate the technology towards market entry. Navigation technologies that are not simply accurate and precise, but also provide the ‘resilience’ against interference, is what propels this partnership.”
