Uncrewed Vehicle Navigation

Uncrewed vehicles offer key advantages over crewed systems—such as reduced size, cost, and risk—by replacing human operators with automated guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems. Accurate navigation is critical, as it serves as the system’s sole source of feedback. Developing a reliable navigation solution requires careful consideration of the application’s specific needs and involves two core components: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a GNSS receiver. These components can be integrated via either an AHRS with GNSS or a GNSS-aided INS, with differences in software yielding varying performance levels. As uncrewed systems expand across air, land, and sea domains, robust navigation becomes vital to their success.

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