This GNSS-free positioning system, developed entirely by our technology centre, is at the forefront internationally as it relies solely on on-board sensors and requires no prior knowledge of the surroundings, external infrastructure or communications with other systems.
CATEC is participating in this EU-funded initiative by deploying two autonomous aerial platforms and developing advanced tools for the inspection and repair of defects in civil infrastructure, such as railways and roads
This newly selected project is TRIDENT, an initiative coordinated by Thales, focused on the development of a new-generation European system for counter-battery capabilities, based on the integration of heterogeneous sensors, data fusion, decision support using artificial intelligence, and resilient fire control against emerging threats.
CATEC has made a significant contribution to this European project by developing a system comprising an autonomous drone and navigation and mapping algorithms, enabling safe inspections and the generation of real-time 3D maps that are extremely useful during tunnel construction.
The article, entitled ‘Autonomous UAV Pipeline Landing via Depth–LiDAR Fusion in GNSS-Denied Refineries’, addresses the solution to a very specific industrial inspection problem: landing a UAV with precision on pipelines in refineries without GNSS, where occlusions, interference and reflective surfaces make perception particularly challenging.
Our technology centre has collaborated on this initiative with a consortium formed by the companies Integración Tecnológica Empresarial (ITE), Surcontrol and IOVI - Intelligent Vision, providing infrastructure and capabilities to support the technological challenges of each partner and being directly involved in the technical execution and experimental validation of the prototype developed.
The climatic and geographical conditions and the existing infrastructure position Spain to lead High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) operations in Europe and become a benchmark in this new frontier of aviation with unmanned systems.
Our technology centre participated in the final conference of this project held in Mendaro, which highlighted the success of the work carried out and its novelty in the use of materials and techniques for this type of vehicle.