UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía has collaborated with WAVENET RF Engineering to develop an innovative positioning and navigation system, KEPLER ADVANCE, which has successfully completed initial flight trials aboard an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in GNSS-denied conditions.
The KEPLER ADVANCE is a radio-frequency Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) system that enables precise navigation of an unmanned aircraft in the absence of GNSS within defense applications. The full autonomous system was developed under the COINCIDENTE 2022 program financed by the Spanish Ministry of Defence.
The importance of developing alternatives to GNSS signals lies in their vulnerability to jamming and spoofing attacks, which can interfere and disable satellite signals. For this reason, the KEPLER ADVANCE project started to develop a professional, robust and accurate UAS positioning system that does not rely exclusively on GNSS.
WAVENET RF Engineering led the development of the system, while UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía provided its expertise in the UAS sector for integration, information fusion, and real-world operational evaluation.
Validation flights were performed using a Class I UAV equipped with the VECTOR-600 flight control system and Visionair ground control software from UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesía. The KEPLER ADVANCE system was used as the sole positioning and navigation system during these trials.
Multiple successful test flights were carried out, including parallel comparisons with GPS and GPS-denied flights using only KEPLER ADVANCE at the PNT system for approximately three hours.
How KEPLER ADVANCE Determines Position
KEPLER ADVANCE is a radio frequency system in which the ground control station (GCS) sends interrogations to the UAV, which transmits responses back. The system processes these responses at the ground station to determine the UAV’s distance, angle, and height, with a similar accuracy provided by satellite systems.
With this data, the spatial position is determined and delivered in a data format similar to that provided by GNSS systems. This data can then be used for navigation, mission execution, or as a reliable substitute for GNSS systems.
Advantages of KEPLER ADVANCE system
The KEPLER ADVANCE system has a high accuracy in positioning with a resolution that is stated to improve on typical GNSS by up to 40%. The system is difficult to inhibit as it uses Low Probability of Interception (LPI) technology and its working frequency is not known in advance.
Its hardware and software are neither public nor widely known, making spoofing highly unlikely. The KEPLER ADVANCE system is also said to work in any terrain, regardless of weather conditions, and doesnot accumulate errors, so its accuracy is constant.
The KEPLER ADVANCE project is scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2025.
