Boeing opens UAV research lab

4th July 2016 - 09:30 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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Boeing has opened a research laboratory in Missouri to test software and hardware that will allow autonomous land, sea and air vehicles to work together in teams or units, the company announced on 30 June.

The Collaborative Autonomous Systems Laboratory (CASL) spans 8,100 square feet and is dedicated to the development, validation and maturation of autonomous and multi-vehicle collaboration technologies in association with academic institutions and research partners.

The lab features an 80,000-cubic-foot motion capture system that allows simultaneous operation of multiple UGVs and UAS.

The indoor flying test range has a high-resolution blended projection system to develop and test vison-based technologies, such as moving object detection and image processing algorithms. The projection system can work with the motion capture system and high-fidelity simulations for supporting live-virtual testing in realistic simulated scenarios.

The facility also features an enclosed, vented area that allows access to GPS and other signals used for ground testing and static engine runs of small UAS.

Nancy Pendleton, leader of the Boeing Research & Technology Missouri research centre, said: ‘Collaborative technology is at the forefront of innovation for taking advanced vehicles that already carry out dull, dirty or dangerous work, such as assisting in search and rescue, firefighting and military missions, and making them even more effective.

‘This lab provides us an outstanding environment to experiment and innovate with a variety of autonomous vehicles and the systems and sensors that drive them, from small UAS to unmanned undersea vehicles.’