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Patented software visual-inertial cooperative navigation technology has potential to target defense, counter-drone (C-UAS), electronic warfare, and autonomous unmanned aircraft systems markets
NorthStrive Defense Tech LLC has secured a license option in connection with a proprietary U.S. patented autonomous navigation technology through an exclusive option agreement with a corporation.
The technology is designed to enable autonomous positioning and navigation for unmanned aircraft systems and drones operating in GPS-jammed, GPS-spoofed and GPS-denied environments, addressing a core capability gap identified by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and allied defense programs worldwide.
NorthStrive Defense Tech LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PMGC Holdings Inc.
The option agreement provides NorthStrive Defense Tech with an exclusive option, within the aerospace and defense technologies field, to obtain an exclusive license as to certain patent rights for U.S. Patent No. 12,277,716 B2, covering a cooperative navigation system for unmanned aircraft systems, also known as drones, operating in GPS-denied and GPS-degraded environments.
The option is also for a non-exclusive license in the field as to certain know-how connected to these patent rights, as further set in the option agreement. On NorthStrive Defense Tech’s exercise of this option, the parties will enter into negotiations for a definitive license agreement.
The technology has the potential to enable drones to navigate accurately without GPS by using onboard cameras and inertial sensors to estimate position relative to the local environment. The approach applies visual-inertial odometry (VIO) and sensor-fusion techniques, including an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) for real-time state estimation and cooperative multi-vehicle data sharing, which together represent foundational building blocks of next-generation autonomous systems.
When multiple drones operate, they share positional data in real time to collectively improve each vehicle’s accuracy, with performance formally evaluated under real-world GPS-denied conditions.
GPS-denied navigation has emerged as one of the most urgent challenges in modern drone operations. Conflicts in recent years have demonstrated that GPS signals cannot be relied upon in contested environments, where jamming and spoofing are routinely deployed to disable unmanned systems.
Vulnerabilities in GNSS signals have made anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities a top priority within U.S. defense modernization programs, the Pentagon, the DoD and allied NATO forces. That operational reality has driven substantial investment across the defense sector, with the GPS-denied drone navigation market projected to grow at a CAGR of 31.7% through 2030, according to Technavio.
Key potential capabilities include:
- Vision and inertial-based navigation requiring no GPS signal (visual-inertial odometry / VIO with Extended Kalman Filter (EKF)-based state estimation)
- Cooperative swarm localization through inter-vehicle range sharing, a foundational capability for drone swarm and counter-drone (C-UAS) operations
- Scalable architecture supporting operations from individual drones to full swarms, with an architecture positioned for integration with AI-enabled autonomous systems
- Technology formally evaluated for accuracy and performance under real-world GPS-denied conditions.
The system’s modular design keeps flight-critical estimation onboard each drone while requiring minimal data exchange between vehicles, making it practical for contested environments where communications bandwidth is limited or actively degraded.
