Final Presentation NAVISP EL1-073 "Trusted PNT for Unmanned Aerial Systems"

Last Updated: 18/05/2026 07:26     Created at: 18/05/2026 06:41

On 13 May 2026, Thales Alenia Space France presented with their subcontractors the results of NAVISPEL1-073 (TOPASE), which focused on a positioning integrity concept for drones.

TOPASE developed a multi-sensor, integrity-driven navigation solution for UAV applications, advancing the state of the art in reliable positioning for safety-critical operations. The system demonstrates how tight integration of GNSS, inertial sensors, barometers, and vision systems can significantly enhance robustness compared to standalone or loosely coupled navigation approaches, particularly in degraded or GNSS-denied environments. The TOPASE platform features a modular architecture supporting multiple configurations, combining GNSS-only, GNSS/INS, and vision-aided navigation, with a comprehensive set of integrity metrics and performance indicators for evaluation. Through extensive validation using configurable simulation tools and real flight data, the system demonstrated high accuracy, availability, and integrity across representative use cases including infrastructure monitoring and autonomous delivery. The results confirm that the integrity-driven multi- sensor fusion approach provides an improvement in navigation, supporting the feasibility of future autonomous UAV solutions. 

The activity was fully funded by ESA NAVISP Element 1, whose objective is to innovate PNT technologies. The slides can be accessed here.