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Engineers will show off the world’s first self-landing drone during a military exercise in October.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will attempt to land on a moving ship using vision technology during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise off Scotland.
The Autoland technology, which was developed by Roke Manor Research with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), uses cameras and modelling to self-land without the need for human assistance or more technology.
While other UAV landing systems must rely on a signal from a ship’s beacon to identify the landing site or easy-to-jam GPS, Autoland intelligently identifies obstacles on the ship’s superstructure to land safely.
A team of three Roke engineers will be at sea for three weeks, testing the technology in a variety of sea states and weather conditions during day and night.
Rebecca Robinson, engineer on the project said: “Landing on a moving platform is the most hazardous part of operating UAVs at sea. If it goes wrong, recovery is both complex and costly. It’s also one of the main reasons UAVs are not yet widely adopted into naval operations
“While Autoland is technically advanced, it is also extremely simple to use, allowing UAVs to become a safe and reliable part of search, rescue and reconnaissance operations at sea.”
The event, part of the twice-yearly multinational Joint Warrior exercise staged off western Scotland, is thought to be the largest unmanned systems event of its kind, with more than 50 vehicles, sensors and systems operating in a number of themed activities.
Fleet Robotics Officer Commander Peter Pipkin said: “Unmanned Warrior is about seeking innovative ways to operate on the leading edge of technology; it’s not about removing humans from the decision chain or replacing every bit of our current capabilities with unmanned systems.
“If it’s unmanned and it can operate in the maritime environment then we are working hard to find a way of incorporating it into the programme.”
Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, said: “Unmanned maritime systems will change how we operate, but they’re just the start. Our pursuit of new technologies and ideas – from big data to 3D-printing – will ensure we remain one of the most capable and successful navies in the world.”
