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42 Technology (42T) and Omnisense have demonstrated a safer autonomous drone landing system when GNSS signals are unreliable.
The system uses a ground-based ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning technology. It was developed by Omnisense through its European Space Agency-supported DroneHome program.
Autonomous landing is a safety-critical phase for drone missions, particularly challenging when GNSS is impaired due to signal obstruction, reflection or interference (near tall buildings, in busy ports, or inside tunnels).
The DroneHome program uses terrestrial radio positioning as a complementary navigation layer within the overall navigation system, so a drone’s position remains stable and predictable even in GNSS-challenged environments. In practice, this means autonomous systems can maintain controlled behavior instead of experiencing sudden navigation failures.
One of the key technical challenges was extending the operational range of UWB positioning to make it viable for autonomous landing. 42T worked closely with Omnisense to design and develop the extended-range RF hardware used in both the ground infrastructure and airborne elements of the system. The front-end design incorporates a UWB system-on-chip with low noise amplification, power amplification, switching, and antenna integration to deliver the required range and performance.
Field trials and simulation-based analysis confirmed that the system maintained stable positioning within a defined envelope during GNSS-degraded operation, enabling reliable autonomous approach and landing.
The results from Omnisense’s DroneHome program are directly relevant across a wide range of applications, including airborne, terrestrial and maritime operations, infrastructure inspection, and autonomous systems operating in GNSS-challenged environments.
DroneHome was a focused development and validation programme exploring extended-range terrestrial positioning for autonomous navigation applications. The project was led by Omnisense in collaboration with Mozaero and supported by ESA under the NAVISP program.
