Result description
This KER is about an aerial robot that is able to navigate without the need of GNSS as the primary navigation system in large areas (for example a viaduct or bridge). The aerial robot will be also able to follow pre-defined missions and automatically follow the corresponding flight plans.
Addressing target audiences and expressing needs
- Grants and Subsidies
- Business partners – SMEs, Entrepreneurs, Large Corporations
- Other type of Investment
In the short term, PILOTING is seeking for this KER to find a sponsor that could help to increase the TRL of our solution. Maybe the 1st early adopters could be new EU research projects running beyond the timeline of PILOTING.
- Public or private funding institutions
- Other Actors who can help us fulfil our market potential
- Private Investors
R&D, Technology and Innovation aspects
At present, an initial version of the system has been developed. For the initial tests, a series of experiments have been carried out in controlled environments such as CATEC’s facilities, where a VICON motion capture system is available to check the veracity of the results. In this phase, outdoor flights have also been performed with the help of a total station to obtain the ground truth and perform the system validations.
After an initial development, a first phase of improvement started and concluded in July 2022 with experiments on a real viaduct that allowed validating this technology in a realistic and relevant environment for its application. These experiments were successfully carried out with the help of relevant civil engineering companies in infrastructure maintenance that gave continuous feedback to the operations.
Currently, the system is currently undergoing a second phase of improvement following this validation in a real environment. After analyzing the lessons learned, new improvements have been proposed and are being developed and implemented. These new works will improve the accuracy and safety of the system, opening the range of situations where it can be used and improving its security.
Within the project, an Exploitation Plan has been elaborated and promoted to identify which Key Exploitable result are most promising to the PILOTING solutions end-users. Different PILOTING stakeholders have been invovled in order to get early feedback on the feasibility and commercial value of the proposed solutions from the industry. This means that the results of the project are aligned with the needs of the industry. Within this exploitation plan, a series of proposals have been selected to develop Value Proposition Models (using the CANVAS template). This technology is one of the value propositions developed within PILOTING. In the next months, business models will be generated for the more interesting one and an industrialization plan will be defined to reach the market within 2 years after the end of the project, will be developed.
This system can also be used for aerial robots in urban environments where the safety of operations must be fully assured. In these environments the buildings themselves can block these signals, so to ensure the operations of vehicles flying at low altitude it is necessary to have a system like this to obtain an accurate location.
Within the project, an Exploitation Plan has been elaborated and promoted to identify which Key Exploitable result are most promising to the PILOTING solutions end-users. Different PILOTING stakeholders have been invovled in order to get early feedback on the feasibility and commercial value of the proposed solutions from the industry. This means that the results of the project are aligned with the needs of the industry. Within this exploitation plan, a series of proposals have been selected to develop Value Proposition Models (using the CANVAS template). This technology is one of the value propositions developed within PILOTING. In the next months, business models will be generated for the more interesting one and an industrialization plan will be defined to reach the market within 2 years after the end of the project, will be developed.
As was mentioned, in the short term, PILOTING is seeking for this KER to find a sponsor that could help to increase the TRL of our solution. Maybe the 1st early adopters could be new EU research projects running beyond the timeline of PILOTING.
- Europe

