CybAero, Astrium sign Letter of Intent for ATOL

16th May 2011 - 14:00 GMT | by The Shephard News Team

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UAV manufacturer CybAero AB and Astrium Satellites, part of the aerospace group EADS, have launched a partnership in the field of precise near-field navigation for automated UAV landing operations.

By applying the principles of Global Navigation Satellite Systems on a local scale, the Astrium "High-Precision Local Navigation System" will provide highly accurate relative position and attitude information to the CybAero UAV during its final approach phase. This system will now be tested on CybAero's unmanned autonomous helicopter APID 60, but can also be used to navigate manned helicopters in their final approach phase.

CybAero develops computer-controlled, unmanned helicopters, known as VTOL UAV, in cooperation with some of the world's leading defence technology and aerospace companies. Recently CybAero began a cooperation with Europe's leading satellite company, Astrium Satellites, on automatic take-off and landing systems.

- Our helicopter UAV:s are tailored for use on smaller vessels such as the Visby Class corvettes of the Royal Swedish Navy and Coast Guard vessels. The challenge has been to land on unstable sea vessels, says CybAero CEO Leif Erlandsson.

- Based on the Astrium Positioning Sensor, together we will be able to develop a unique system that controls the approach, automatic landing and lock-down on the ship's deck. The same technology can be used for mobile landing platforms at land. Our goal is to develop a system that can take-off and land on a moving truck, says Erlandsson.

Source: CybAero

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