ANELLO Photonics has demonstrated how its X3 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), powered by proprietary Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG™) technology, delivers precise, low-drift inertial data to ensure safe and reliable flight Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), even during complete GPS outages.
Modern autopilots rely heavily on GPS for position and stability data, leaving them vulnerable to disruption. In a recent evaluation, the ANELLO X3 Inertial Measurement Unit was integrated with a Pixhawk flight controller running PX4, enabling seamless transition from GPS-aided navigation to dead-reckoning when signal degradation was detected. During testing on a hexacopter platform, the aircraft successfully completed a 1.23 km mission, including 740 m flown without any GPS input, maintaining stable control and achieving less than 20 m positional drift, approximately 1.6% of total distance.
With gyro bias instability under 0.5°/hr and accelerometer bias instability below 20 µg, the X3 IMU provides optical-grade performance in a rugged, compact form factor. The unit’s triple-redundant MEMS architecture and compatibility with PX4 and ArduPilot enable rapid deployment into existing flight stacks.
Validated flight results confirm that the ANELLO X3 IMU delivers dependable navigation continuity in GPS-denied environments, empowering defense, surveillance, and logistics operators to sustain mission performance and safety in contested airspace.
