Successful Nighttime Operation from Moving Vehicle
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Small UAVs can safely be operated in close proximity to a high volume of military air traffic, and this will continue to be the case as small UAV become proliferated more widely with operating forces.
This has been demonstrated recently by a new sUAV which was granted test flight authorization in controlled airspace and at night by the US Marine Corps.
Planck Aerosystems’ Shearwater sUAV repeatedly performed successful autonomous takeoffs and precision landings onto a moving, off-road ground vehicle with centimeter-level accuracy in complete darkness without the need for GPS or a pilot in the loop.
Nighttime operations from moving vehicles represent a major step forward in demonstrating the maturity of Planck’s vision-based navigation solution.
On any given day or night, the airspace includes fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft performing training flights, including the C-130, V-22, CH-53E, AV- 8B, F/A-18 and F-35B, according to the announcement on the company website. The technology enables fully autonomous drone operations from moving vehicles, both offshore and off-road, with minimal installed hardware.
The core technology uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, and advanced control systems, all of which have been validated through rigorous field testing. Key technologies include precision launch and landing of small UAVs, real-time object detection and tracking, and real-time image processing tools.
Josh Wells, CEO and Co-Founder and a former US Navy Pilot, said: “Through close coordination with Air Traffic Control leads from the Marine Corps, we were able to demonstrate that our technology could perform safe, autonomous missions, from moving vehicles, in national airspace – not only during the day but also at night. The team from MCAS Miramar and Marine Corps Installations Command is leaning forward and breaking down barriers to adoption of advanced new solutions that enhance capabilities for surveillance, reconnaissance, real-time situational awareness, and force protection within DOD.”
