Near Earth and NASA Take a Step Towards BVLOS Flight
Near Earth Autonomy has won a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award to develop Safe50, a software module for drones to guide them safely through the first and last 50 feet of the take-off and landing phases.
The software is designed to allow safe drone operation in cluttered environments, without the use of GPS. “The complexity is in the last or the first 50 feet – staying safe in complex environment. This is also the place where GPS doesn’t work very well,” Near Earth’s CEO and co-founder, Sanjiv Singh, told DRONELIFE. “Our focus is on keeping the aircraft safe in an environment full of obstacles without relying on GPS or mapping.”
