Arthur McMiler 
- The combined navigation and targeting software platform completed flight tests
- Target location estimates landed within 3 meters of actual positions 90% of the time
- Both tools can run on a drone’s existing camera and processor
Vantor has integrated its Raptor visual positioning software and 3D terrain data with Sightline Intelligence’s onboard vision software to enable drones and autonomous platforms to navigate and pinpoint targets when GPS is jammed or unavailable.
What Did Flight Tests of the Vantor-Sightline Integration Show?
Sightline said Tuesday the combined capability has undergone several flight trials. In tested configurations, target location estimates reached CE90 accuracy under 3 meters. CE90 is an accuracy standard to measure how far a point on a map or image is from its actual location with a 90 percent degree of confidence, according to an article on GIM International. In the case of the Vantor-Sightline integration, nine of 10 estimates fell within 3 meters of a target’s actual position.
How Does Raptor Work With Sightline’s Edge Software?
Raptor matches imagery from a drone’s camera to Vantor’s Vivid Terrain 3D data, so the aircraft can fix its position without satellite navigation. Sightline’s aided target recognition, or AiTR, and its tracking tools then identify, classify and follow threats in real time aboard the platform. Coordinates, elevation and an error estimate can go with the video feed to command-and-control systems.
In supported setups, both software packages can share one edge processor and the drone’s camera, a design meant to ease size, weight and power limits on uncrewed aircraft.
What Did Vantor and Sightline Executives Say?
Peter Wilczynski, Vantor’s chief product officer, said recognizing an object gains value when software can also determine where that object and the drone are located without GPS. “By connecting Sightline’s onboard vision software to our Raptor software and high-accuracy 3D terrain, we’re bringing those capabilities together for customers operating in GPS-challenged environments,” he said.
Stephen Bornstein, Sightline’s senior vice president of product and engineering, said fusing the data onboard supports navigation and the handoff of targets, allowing operators to “maintain situational awareness and coordinate action in contested environments.”
How Does the Sightline Collaboration Build on Vantor’s Raptor Efforts?
The work follows Vantor’s May partnership with BAE Systems to integrate part of the Raptor suite with BAE’s Geospatial eXploitation Products, an effort to counter GPS spoofing and jamming. In July, Vantor launched WorldView 3D, a satellite tasking line that delivers updated 3D terrain within 24 hours of collection.
