UAV Navigation is a Spanish company focused on aeronautical innovation. This goal, combined with the highest qualifications, have made UAV Navigation a leading team in Flight Control Systems (FCS) for unmanned aerial vehicles and General Aviation.
The products developed by UAV Navigation are not only distinguished by their technology, but also because they are designed with the idea of being easily accessible and customized. The product range covers a wide spectrum of needs: from those of final users who need to be in total control of an aircraft, to monitoring the aircraft’s condition and positioning, to controlling payloads such as cameras, flares, pyrotechnics, etc. Its main clients include the major manufacturers of unmanned aerial vehicles, to whom they offer an extensive product range. While UAV Navigation’s major strength until now has been aircraft telemetry, with time it has developed products for the automotive industry and the marine and electricity sectors.
To this growing offer is now added the company’s own aircraft. On November 3rd, 2010 UAV’s affiliate Alpha Unmanned Systems carried out a successful demonstration of its SNIPER XL helicopter, during an exhibition open to the press in Menagaray, outside of Bilbao. The aircraft demonstrated its ability to perform detailed inspections of high tension electricity lines. This customized version of the SNIPER uses a special dual gimbal camera with optical CCD video systems and infrared, to detect anomalies in the network, including “hot spots”.
The SNIPER XL is an extremely reliable and robust platform, equipped with UAV Navigation’s AP04 autopilot, which is able to fly completely autonomously and thus minimize the necessary training for the user. All the equipment can be transported and operated by a crew of two people from a small van, with a deployment time of about 30 minutes. The company has at the same time developed ATLANTIC, an ATOL unmanned vehicle (Automatic Take-Off and Landing) with a standard flight time of 3 hours that can be increased by between 6 and 8 hours.
Both unmanned aerial vehicles can be equipped with a dual sensor (day and night), perfectly adjustable for all types of needs found in surveillance, fire fighting and power line inspection missions.