ORLANDO, Fla.—Although there was an absence of “big” news at the AUVSI Xponential conference, and most of the announcements were made elsewhere, several large companies displayed location technology for drones and other unmanned vehicles here.
Honeywell [HON] demonstrated several advanced alternative navigation technologies that ensure seamless navigation when GPS signals are blocked or unavailable. Honeywell, along with InfiniDome, which provided the anti-jamming GPSDome, demonstrated inertial navigation systems that showed improvement of position accuracy and integrity performance.
Honeywell did show off its HGuide o360 INS/GNSS navigator, which contains a dual-antenna, multi-constellation, RTK-capable GNSS receiver. Honeywell said its sensor blends the IMU, GNSS and Magnetometer data to deliver navigation service.
Another company at Xponential, Septentrio, partnered with UAV autopilot manufacturer MicroPilot for GNSS positioning modules. Septentrio’s mosaic modules and its AsteRx-m3 OEM board will support MicroPilot’s autopilot ecosystem’s positioning and orientation, the company said.
While the announcement was not made at the conference, Hexagon’s AutonomouStuff division publicized autonomy software that combines by-wire and sensors for navigation on Ford Transit vehicles.
The Ford Transit platform includes a drive-by-wire system for electronic control, GNSS positioning and Lidar and Radar. The technology was recently tested and validated during an ongoing project, the company said.
In one of the few land vehicle displays, Ottonomy.io showed off its delivery vehicles that are the first that navigate autonomously in both indoor and outdoor environments. Ottonomy.io said that new pilot projects are beginning at the Rome and Pittsburgh airports. More delivery pilots will roll out in 2022 across Europe, the Middle East, United States and Canada, the company said.
