Advanced Navigation Opens High-Tech Robotics Manufacturing Facility

Advanced Navigation this week announced a new high-tech facility for robotics and autonomous systems at the University of Technology Sydney Tech Lab in Botany, New South Wales, Australia. The facility will scale up production of Advanced Manufacturing's artificial intelligence navigation for GPS-denied environments.

“Determined to be the catalyst of the autonomy revolution, we are commercializing technologies that are key to addressing some of humanity’s biggest challenges" said Chris Shaw, co-founder and CEO of Advanced Navigation, in a release. "We are honored to partner with UTS, who has a reputation for supporting multidisciplinary research and opening access to next-generation technologies.”

Shaw and fellow engineer Xavier Orr founded Advanced Navigation in 2012 to commercialize university research on AI-based inertial navigation. The Syndey, Australia-based company has advanced into technologies including underwater acoustics, GNSS antennas and receivers, radio frequency systems, inertial sensors, robotics, and quantum-enhanced inertial navigation.

Advanced Navigation AI solves complex challenges

"There is a seismic shift across the landscape of sovereign manufacturing, driven by advanced technologies like AI, automation and precision engineering," according to Advanced Navigation. "In the context of autonomous systems, the importance of precision and reliability is non-negotiable."

The facility at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Tech Lab follows a "vertical integration framework," housing equipment for automated manufacturing using machine learning, according to the company. This "guarantees the delivery of reliable, durable, and high-quality navigation technology," it said.

The new facility will make systems including the Boreas digital fiber-optic gyroscope (DFOG). Advanced Navigation claimed that it is one of only four companies in the world with the capability to manufacture strategic-grade fiber-optic gyroscopes.

This technology empowers reliable navigation for marine vessels, space missions, aerospace, defense, autonomous vehicles, and flying taxis. The company added that its unique AI-based physics algorithms can solve complex challenges on Earth and beyond.

The manufacturer is a supplier to some of the largest companies in the world, including Airbus, Boeing, Google, Apple, and General Motors. Advanced Navigation has multiple research facilities across Australia and sales offices around the world.

Advanced Navigation demonstrated its technologies at the new facility opening. Source: Advanced Navigation

UTS, community, and industry collaborate

Collaboration with academia and the local technology community is key, stated Orr.

“There is a critical need to improve Australia’s economic complexity and sovereign capabilities," he said. "A key step is to build our industrial capacity in high-tech, as well as drive knowledge exchange and propel collaborative initiatives between government agencies, academic institutions and industry leaders.”

In addition to the manufacturing capability, the facility will be home to research collaborations between Advanced Navigation and UTS. They said this will expedite the commercialization of several technologies with potential societal impact, including:

• Light detection, altimetry, and velocimetry (LiDAV) system -- LiDAV can deliver precise three-dimensional velocity and altitude information relative to the lunar surface, enabling complex autonomous landing procedures and confident exploration on the moon, said UTS and Advanced Navigation. The technology is set to board U.S.-based space systems company Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander as part of NASA’s ongoing Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
• Cloud Ground Control -- CGC is a cloud-based system that allows pilots and mission planners to remotely command and control a swarm of uncrewed vehicles across air, land, and sea through a Web browser. By enabling real-time video feed, and telemetry, and easy access and management of captured data, Cloud Ground Control provides full remote visibility and situational awareness in search-and-rescue, emergency response, and disaster relief operations, said Advanced Navigation.
• Guiding visually impaired passengers -- As part of the New South Wales (NSW) Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) program, Advanced Navigation has developed an indoor positioning technology to support members of the visually impaired community navigate safely inside underground train stations.

“UTS is pleased to be working with Advanced Navigation to tap into critical growth areas, including AI, robotics and space technologies," said Prof. Andrew Parfitt, vice chancellor and president of the University of Technology Sydney.

"The collaboration between UTS’s global research leaders in autonomous systems technology and Advanced Navigation’s exceptional team of scientists and engineers, utilizing UTS Tech Lab’s cutting-edge facilities, highlights our commitment to developing sovereign capabilities for defense and space," he said. "We look forward to deepening and expanding our collective capabilities with Advanced Navigation to accelerate the production of high-impact innovations.”

Advanced Navigation said the new facility will also meet the Australian federal government's commitment to building a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce, driving employment in robotics, manufacturing, photonics, mechatronics and mechanical engineering, and other fields.

"Our new facility will help drive rapid growth in Australia’s STEM industry," said Shaw.