{"id":577308,"date":"2024-01-18T11:00:04","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/?p=577308"},"modified":"2024-01-18T11:01:01","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:01:01","slug":"kef-robotics-takes-modular-approach-aircraft-navigation-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therobotreport.com\/kef-robotics-takes-modular-approach-aircraft-navigation-autonomy\/","title":{"rendered":"KEF Robotics takes a modular approach to aircraft navigation and autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"KEF

Tailwind provides visual navigation to drones in GPS-denied environments. Source: KEF Robotics<\/p><\/div>\n

While autopilots have helped fly aircraft for nearly a century, recent improvements in computer vision and autonomy promise to bring more software-based capabilities onboard. KEF Robotics Inc. has been developing technologies to increase aircraft safety, reliability, and range.<\/p>\n

Founded in 2018, KEF said it provides algorithms that use camera data to enable autonomous flight across a variety of platforms and use cases. The Pittsburgh<\/a>-based company<\/a> works with designers to integrate these autonomy features into their aircraft.<\/p>\n

“Our company’s mantra is to provide visual autonomy capabilities with any camera, any drone, or any computer,” said Eric Amoroso<\/a>, co-founder and chief technology officer of KEF Robotics. “Being flexible and deployable to drones changes the integration from days to hours, as well as providing safe, reliable navigation,” he told The Robot Report<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Think of us as an alternative to GPS,” said Olga Pogoda<\/a>, chief operating officer at KEF Robotics. “The situation in Ukraine shows the difficulty of operating without GPS and true autonomy on the aircraft.”<\/p>\n

KEF Robotics enables aircraft to operate without signals<\/h2>\n

“We founded KEF while entering a Lockheed Martin competition, which whittled 200 teams down to nine<\/a>,” recalled Amoroso. “The drones had to be autonomous, which was a perfect test case for modular, third-party software.”<\/p>\n

Since then, KEF Robotics has worked with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA<\/a>), which uses drones<\/a> with multiple sensors<\/a> to search for weapons of mass destruction.<\/p>\n

The company said its Tailwind visual navigation software can use stereo cameras for hazard detection and avoidance and that it uses machine learning to localize objects and complete missions. This is particularly important for defense and security<\/a> missions.<\/p>\n

“Our long-term goal is to allow an aircraft to complete complex missions with a button push,” said Pogoda. \u201cAn operator can provide an overhead image of a building and a general direction.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Then, the autonomous aircraft can take off, fly to a location, and conduct a search pattern,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt can reroute based on hazards on the way, and then it can take pictures or readings and come back to an operator without transmitting any signals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

KEF Robotics said Tailwind<\/a>, which can work at night and long-range, GPS-denied flights, is in testing and on its way to availability. The software has been validated at speeds up to 100 mph and provides closed-loop autonomous operations with drift rates of 2% of the distance traveled. It has not yet been qualified for extreme weather or conditions such as dust, fog, or smoke.<\/p>\n