Kongsberg Geospatial and Unifly partner to provide integrated Urban Situational Awareness for drones

Kongsberg Geospatial announced today that it has partnered with Unifly to enable real-time e-Identification and tracking of drones using Unifly BLIP (Broadcast Location & Identity Platform).

Kongsberg Geospatial’s IRIS UxS system integrates data from Unifly’s BLIP platform as part of its real-time airspace picture.

Kongsberg Geospatial’s airspace situational awareness system IRIS was developed based on technology originally created for missile defense applications, and has been conceived to provide drone operators with enhanced situational awareness while operating unmanned aircraft and land vehicles.  The system fuses data from a wide range of real-time sensors, such as the Unifly BLIP technology, to provide drone pilots with a precise real-time picture of their operational airspace when piloting one or more unmanned vehicles beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS).

Unifly’s BLIP enables safe BVLOS drone flights thanks to its real-time tracking in combination with the BLIP Data Platform. The BLIP is an autonomous weather-proof tracker that functions independently from the drone itself as a stand-alone digital blackbox. It is ready to use once attached to a drone and has its own power source and sensors for position, altitude, temperature, pressure, speed and direction. Additionally, BLIP broadcasts the drone’s e-identification, 3D location and take-off position over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).  The BLIP Data Platform translates the data given by the BLIP and forwards it in real-time to multiple UTM systems or real-time airspace situational awareness applications like Kongsberg Geospatial IRIS.

The Unify BLIP is an autonomous weather-proof tracker that functions independently from the drone itself as a stand-alone digital blackbox.

“We’re proud to be part of the important role of flight safety in unmanned vehicle operations”, says Ranald McGillis, President, Kongsberg Geospatial.  “Our IRIS Airspace management for unmanned systems was created to help safely operate drones and autonomous vehicles beyond visual line-of-sight.  The Unifly BLIP technology is a world leader to help effectively integrate unmanned systems into a variety of urban operations.”

Laurent Huenaerts, General Manager of Unifly in North America explained: “Remote identification and real-time tracking are two foundational capabilities for the safe and secure integration of drones into the airspace, especially around critical infrastructure and in urban areas. The Unifly BLIP tracker provides this information and its Data Platform allows for a seamless integration with situational awareness systems like IRIS.  We are very pleased to now be integrated with the world-leading airspace visualization platform that Kongsberg Geospatial has developed”