Autonomous Systems
CATEC is the main national technological center for the development of technologies related to highly automated functionalities and autonomous operations with aerial platforms.
CATEC’s main capabilities in autonomous systems are oriented towards:
- Non-GNSS navigation systems
- Detection and avoidance systems
- Increased situational awareness
- Swarms
- Formation flight
- On-board detection, tracking and classification
- Advanced aircraft guidance and control
- Air contact operations
- Automatic precision landing
- Trajectory planning
- Automated decision-making
Detection and Avoidance (DAA)
CATEC designs and develops non-GNSS navigation systems based on onboard sensors, both indoors and in urban environments, or in GNSS-denied environments. CATEC has extensive experience in the following technologies:
SLAM-based technologies
2D and 3D Map-matching
Visual odometry and lidar
Multisensory fusion and dynamic reconfiguration algorithms
CATEC designs and develops automatic collision detection and avoidance systems for:
For aircraft based on onboard sensors (with non-cooperative aircraft) and/or with information from cooperative aircraft (ADS-B, ADS-L, FLARM, etc.)
For obstacles and infrastructure on land
CATEC has experience in the design of automatic aircraft detection algorithms using EO/IR and radar sensors.
While with obstacles and infrastructure on land it usually works with LIDAR and cameras (EO/IR and 3D)
He also has experience developing collision avoidance algorithms and automatic real-time trajectory replanning.
CATEC designs semantic 3D mapping algorithms
This allows for increased situational awareness of the pilot or input service to an on-board intelligent decision system.
Swarms
CATEC has significant experience in swarm design that enables UAS to work together collaboratively to achieve a common goal.
CATEC designs formation flight algorithms that allow a single operator to easily control a fleet of UAS, maintaining flight topology and even automatically adapting to changes in the environment.
Onboard and real-time AI
CATEC has extensive experience in the design and development of algorithms for detecting, tracking, and classifying objects of interest using both EO/IR and LIDAR sensors.
CATEC specializes in the design of algorithms that run in real time and do not require extensive computing power, and can therefore be implemented even onboard computers of reduced weight and size.
Air contact operations
CATEC is an international leader in the development of UAS with aerial manipulation capabilities and the ability to maintain contact in flight.
This allows UAS to be used not only as a mobile sensor, capable of obtaining data from a distance, but also to perform precision measurements (requiring contact) or carry out manipulation operations at height.
Landing, trajectory planning and onboard decision-making
CATEC designs high-precision, GNSS-independent automatic landing systems for both static and mobile platforms, even in unstructured environments.
CATEC specializes in precision automatic landing systems that require no external infrastructure and use only onboard sensors.
CATEC designs real-time trajectory planning algorithms (3D and 4D) with tactical replanning capabilities.
He also has experience in designing algorithms that allow him to optimize parameters of interest and take into account the aerodynamic restrictions of the aerial platform and meteorological conditions (wind).
CATEC designs automated decision-making systems that enable UAS to increase operational safety and efficiency in dynamic environments.
Furthermore, these technologies are essential for increasing the level of automation of operations and, therefore, allowing the operator to interact with the UAS(s) at the target level and even specify high-level missions.