The novel geo-positioning software will be launched at the upcoming DroneX TradeShow & Conference in London

Jerusalem, Israel, September 29, 2021 – ProTrack, a leading Israeli Computer Vision company developing GNSS-Free Positioning for Airborne Platforms, will launch "Locator" and "Flight" at the DroneX Trade Show & Conference, Booth 532, ExCel London on October 5-6, 2021.  The software solutions enable air traffic safety and supply chain continuity in an increasingly complex flight environment.

In the near future, our skies will be filled with autonomous, (manned and unmanned, airborne systems. Entire supply chains and services, global and regional, will exist based on these flying platforms: deliveries and transportation, services for security, agriculture, medicine, military, manufacturing, sports, and the list goes on and on. Thousands of these autonomous platforms flying simultaneously Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) at Very Low Altitude (VLL) in a restricted airspace pose extreme management challenges demanding meticulous control. The main effort will be to maintain the security and safety of the drones and their surroundings.

We are all familiar with the option of tracking a drone's position by using GNSS, such as GPS, which is currently the most popular navigational aid and a critical element in modern life. Since GNSS positioning is very vulnerable to interference, airplane and drone operators face the constant threat of halting and aborting regular activity to avoid serious accidents that could potentially result in loss of expensive equipment and, more importantly, human life. Spoofing (i.e., transmitting bogus GNSS signals to confuse navigation systems) is another acute concern, as it can help an attacker gain control over an airborne system with possibly catastrophic results.

Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), another very popular navigation aid which are usually found in the bigger and more expensive airborne platforms, tend to "drift" over time and their output becomes less precise with the passage of distance and time. 

To keep drones and air-taxis flying securely and prevent accidents in the skies in GNSS-denied environments, it is now possible to simply add a secured element that corrects GNSS and INS data in real time and also maintains a correct position even when they are not working at all, without relying on any outside communications.

Yoav Rosenberg, ProTrack's CTO explains: "ProTrack has developed Locator – a real-time software engine that uses very robust and precise Video-Anchoring capabilities to assist positioning. To put it simply – it calculates the position of the platform by matching its real-time video to a map. The software is installed onboard using a standard processing card, such as NVidia Nano, Qualcomm or similar, which receives video and telemetry and outputs the correct positioning data. It can use the existing onboard PTZ or fixed camera (daytime/thermal/IR) or a dedicated simple camera." The integration process is short and straightforward and there is no need to purchase any new navigation or communications equipment. The application is installed on the aircraft or on the ground-control system and is currently used by drone manufacturers. It is also suitable for aircraft manufacturers and navigation equipment manufacturers.

The company will also present its Flight software, a Video Anchoring and Geo-Positioning tool for airborne platforms. The software extracts real-world coordinates of any pixel in day/night real-time video. It also incorporates ProTrack's proprietary, military-grade VMD (Video Motion Detection) and Object Tracking capabilities. Flight can be seamlessly integrated into existing C4I systems, or operated as a standalone. Customers that will benefit from Flight include security agencies, the military, civilian surveyors, and engineers.

ProTrack will expose "Locator" and "Flight" for the first time to the UK market at the DroneX Exhibition and is looking for new collaborations with companies and drone vendors.

Contact Person

Nachum Fisch - Head of Business and Operations

nachumf@protrack.co.il Tel: +972 54 45 88078

Locator

Flight