nir-vana innovation network

The company was founded by and entreprenur minded industrial engineer 17 years ago, and has evolved his strategy and processes into activities related with the specialized design of guidance, navigation and control solutions for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Considering the growing number of aerospace market applications for UAVs in sectors as industrial, logistics, renewable energy, retail, civil protecction, agriculture and enviromental management and the benefits regarding increase reliability, efficiency and value for money, there is no doubt that UAV technologies is a dynamic and innovative field of activity. Flight control solutions (Guidance, navigation and control solutions) are key elements, present in all the products/services of many of the main worldclass manufacturers, as they constitute a basic part for many of the wide range of their new products as: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) - also known as 'drones', high-performance unmanned planes, mini-UAVs, helicopters. Present in their new releases their typologies and combinations comprise and ample subset of categories or product families that cover almost every aspect of demand driven innovations.

The company has had a continuous and steady growth stage, gaining experience while developing a good set of services and products while building relations with a growing number of clients and providers. The company has developed proprietary autopilots solutions applicable under special conditions, enviroments or for special combination of vehicles; delivering a highly reliable control to the client/user also in special cases where advance functions are needed, such as controlling multiple drones at high speeds (ranging 700 km/h), or when landing drones onto a moving vehicle (vessel at sea, trucks in land..etc), or when some type of vehicle transformation is needed for ameliorating or completing a set of services tasks (e.g: conversion from twin prop manned aircraft or turbine helicopter into a drone).

The innovation attitude has been always present during the company development stages, guiding the company to set a team of multidisciplinary experts which has evolved to be consolidated as a unit of integral solutions design which has recently taken to market, an Attitude & Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) with flight control algorithms, capable to integrate data provided by multiple sensors (GNSS, airspeed, magnetometers, gyroscopes, accelerometers etc).

Considering the company strategy for innovation and internationalization, an open and collaborative approach has been chosen regarding new goals for a growth strategy. The company offers its technology products and desing knowledge for partners willing to collaborate in the development of new products or applications for the uses and sectors mentioned above. The company would like to collaborate under commercial with technical assistance agreements but other options could be also considered.

Advantages & innovations

Since 2004 the company has accumulated extensive experience in the professional UAV sector, providing flight control solutions for manufacturers of Fixed Wing Platforms, Rotary Wing Platforms and Target Drones. With sytems and solutions covering all sizes and designs, from small <2kg electric platforms up to the largest current UAVs 1,250kg (maximum take off weight). With a small size and a modular design, their autopilot units contains all of the sensors required to fly the aircraft; no extra sensors or boxes are required other than the servos to move the control surfaces, and it allows external sensors to complement system performance (altimeter, fuel sensor, ECU). Their system allows for different configurations to be loaded into the autopilot to allow for changing conditions (e.g. if the UAV drops a cargo and the weight of the aircraft changes mid-flight). The autopilot takes care of all the basic tasks of flying the platform safely, including fully auto take-off and landing, Return-To-Base, complex flight plans including health monitoring, configurable GeoFencing etc. Advanced functions have been developed and added to the system regarding potential uses, vehicles combinations and enviroments. High reliability and robustness are ensured for all kinds of platforms and weather conditions. The company counts with advanced Hardware In the Loop (HIL) simulator to minimize risk during the development phase of a project and train operators in both standard and emergency procedures.

Stage of development

Already on the market

Partner sought

The company is looking for companies related with the aerospace sector with activities and products related with unmanned vehicles or new aerial vehicles developments, and is willing to collaborate under commercial agreement with technical assistance partnerships