UAV NASA uses 3D Geolocation Technologies for Urban Drone Operations

According to the company, NextNav's Metropolitan Beacon System (MBS) service has been accepted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). As part of the CERTAIN facilities, NASA will use NextNav's MBS network at the Research Center in Hampton, United States.

CERTAIN stands for City Environment for Range Testing of Autonomous Integrated Navigation and is being led by NASA. The program supports Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a system that incorporates air transportation with package deliveries by drones or air taxies.

NextNav said, that its positioning network ensures accurate and secure location services, which of course is critical when navigating unmanned aircraft. Moreover, the MBS network from NextNav uses GPS to provide and ensure safe and efficient systems for future air transportation in urban areas.

Evan Dill, Safety-Critical Avionics Systems Branch of NASA said: "NextNav's MBS system provides us with new tools for the development of navigation systems in environments where GPS has traditionally been challenged [...] We're looking forward to working with MBS as we develop new approaches to the operation of unmanned systems in urban environments."

Co-founder and CEO of NextNav Ganesh Pattabiraman added: "We are proud to work with NASA and integrate MBS into its urban drone operations [...] NASA's acquisition of the MBS system is an exciting milestone for MBS technology and a great partnership with NASA to address the key challenges in urban drone navigation and make it possible to explore new opportunities in unmanned operations."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), by 2020 there will be over 700,000 drones delivering packages. This requires cleverly designed and thought out technologies to ensure safe operations, not only for the drones itself but also for the people on the ground.

NextNav' MBS services enable mobile phones, IoT devices and Autonomous Vehicles to determine their location with 3D geolocation technologies. The services can be used in metropolitan environments where GPS signals cannot be received.