Draganfly Innovations has added GLObal NAvigation Satellite System (GLONASS) support to supplement the GPS in its unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
According to the company, GLONASS will provide higher accuracy and function in more locations than GPS alone can provide. GLONASS is a Russian, space-based navigation system similar to GPS; both systems consist of orbiting satellites that transmit reference signals to allow portable receivers to determine their own position using trilateration.
The satellites orbit around the earth, but at any given time, only a portion of them are in the receiver’s line of sight. The more satellites a receiver can see, the more accurate the calculated position is, explains Draganfly, which says that adding GLONASS support allows additional satellites to be detected – which is important in situations where there is obstruction by mountains, buildings, trees and other objects.
The Draganflyer Commander, X4-ES and X4-P UAS now use global navigation satellite system receivers, which support both GPS and GLONASS. More accurate positional data allows these UAS to hold positions more precisely and better geo-locate images, according to the company.
“This is great for our customers, especially those operating in locations where GPS doesn’t work well,” explains Zenon Dragan, president of Draganfly.
