Exyn Technologies announced on Tuesday April 27, 2021 that it had carried out an autonomous drone flight. The start-up mentions a level of autonomy 4A for its technology. Exyn Technologies’ classification refers to that made for the automotive industry, and Category 4A means the drone can fly autonomously in a tight space without the need for an operator who can regain control at any time.
No GPS or precise mission description
“People have been talking about level 4 range for self-driving cars for quite some time, but having the same degree of intelligence condensed on board an autonomous drone is an entirely different engineering challenge.”, commented Jason Derenick, CTO of Exyn Technologies, in a statement. Unlike a vehicle, an autonomous drone must be able to maneuver in three different axes and all of its intelligence and its sensors are miniaturized to the maximum in order to be able to be embarked on the device.
The ability of a drone to fly out of the operator’s field of vision is an essential first step in the development of these technologies. Equally important is not having to constantly connect the drone with an operator who can take back control of it.
In level 3, described by Exyn Technlogies, the operator must precisely define the mission of the device and the places through which it must pass. In level 4, all you have to do is define an area of interest and the drone will itself define the route to be made and the specific points on which to stop.
The different levels of autonomy for flying devices according to Exyn Technologies.
Industrial and mining inspections
Exyn Technologies develops drones which themselves perform all the calculations necessary for them to find their way around in space and in an environment. The drone does not need a GPS signal which means it can fly in complex and connectionless environments, such as mines.
The start-up explains that its drones are designed to carry out industrial inspection missions, search and rescue, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations for governments. They are completely autonomous during exploration and require no human interaction during their mission and can collect large volumes of data.
Exyn Technologies claims to have already marketed its drone to major customers in the fields of mining, construction and logistics and to deploy level 4 autonomy capabilities over the coming months.