Carmenta teams-up in Project HADO®

Helping the UK to lead the way in autonomous drone operations

Carmenta Ltd, a geospatial technologies organisation, has as part of a consortium of UK partners secured funds from Future Flight Challenge and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to help lead the way in UK autonomous drone operations across high intensity airspace. The consortium will be led by Operational Solutions Ltd (OSL) and includes Heathrow Airport, Thales UK, Cranfield University, Dynamic Intelligence Solutions, Rinicom Intelligent Solutions, Herotech8, and UAVTek.

Project HADO® – High Intensity Autonomous Drone Operations, will set conditions for future UK Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) automatic flight approvals and mission selection, by enabling autonomous drone operations in a busy airport environment. In the project Carmenta will have the role to provide advanced dynamic real-time geospatial analysis and advanced UAS routing capabilities.

The technical development will be carried out by a strengthened software development resource from Carmenta Technologies Ltd, based in Reading. Carmenta technology will integrate directly into the UAV ground control system to help deliver the first real-world execution of autonomous unmanned aerial systems in a highly congested environment, Heathrow Airport. The final stage of the project will feature a four-month demonstration of autonomous drone operations at Heathrow.

Torbjörn Lönnqvist, President & CEO of Carmenta, said: “Carmenta is immensely proud to be on board Project HADO® and we are looking forward to working closely with OSL and other HADO partners to provide this future cutting-edge UAS capability. Over the last three decades we have delivered world renowned geospatial analysis systems across multiple operational domains. We specialise in accurate, dynamic and real-time spatial calculations that contribute directly to increased safety, improved operational efficiency and all-round greater situational awareness. You can benefit from Carmenta technology across all platforms, we help guide large aircraft in the Defence aviation sector and we support ground troops to make more informed decisions in the battlespace. At Carmenta we are growing our UAS arm by investing in nascent UAS technologies that we will bring to bear in Project HADO®, as we help the UK build a new future aviation ecosystem.”

About Carmenta Geospatial Technologies

Carmenta Geospatial Technologies has over 35 years of providing mission critical spatial awareness to operations on air, land or at sea. At Carmenta, we pride ourselves on delivering geographic technology that never fails in the most demanding environments. We have a wideranging global customer base that takes advantage of our powerful software and products 24/7. Our core products make it incredibly easy for developers to model reality, conduct analysis and deploy real-time geospatial applications in a 2D and 3D space.

About Future Flight Challenge

The Future Flight Challenge has committed £125 million investment to develop more environmentally conscious ways to fly. There are projects looking at all-electric airframes, drone delivery systems, autonomous air vehicles and hydrogen-based flight technologies. The government funded initiative is designed to build a new aviation sector, create jobs and position the UK at the forefront of effective greener air travel.