Image: Copilot AI

What’s new: A system for landing drones on ships without GNSS

Why it’s important:

• Shipboard landings can be many times more difficult than landings ashore. The landing area is almost always moving in all three dimensions and weather can be more severe.
• Highly resilient systems to bring UAVs in for precise landings independent of vulnerable GNSS signals will be needed everywhere if UAV operations are to become ubiquitous. Shipboard seems to us to be the most difficult use case.

What else to know: Commercial success will depend upon development of equipment standards (commercial aircraft can all use the instrument landing systems at airports, the same needs to happen for droneports), and how far down providers can get the SWaP-C.

Agilica Pushes Forward Alternative PNT for UAV Shipboard Landing