Russian engineers have successfully tested a prototype of the Ariadna ground-based navigation system — a technological solution capable of providing ultra-precise positioning of autonomous vehicles without the use of satellite signals. The development was implemented with the support of the National Technology Initiative (NTI) Fund.
The system works through a network of ground-based radio beacons — base stations that transmit coordinate data directly to the onboard systems of drones and other mobile platforms. This makes Ariadna resistant to jamming, spoofing, and other types of electronic interference, which are increasingly used today to protect against intruder drones.
According to the developers, the positioning accuracy reaches 15–20 cm, which is eight times better than the standard GPS accuracy. This level of reliability opens the way to new application scenarios: from creating so-called "drone highways" for autonomous aerial delivery to precision agriculture and swarm control of UAVs.
In the near future, Ariadna will be implemented in pilot projects: one of the regions of Russia will launch it within the framework of an experimental legal regime (EPR), and one of the largest agro-industrial holdings in the country will test the system in real agricultural work conditions.
The technology can also solve the problem of navigation service failures in conditions of GPS restriction: smartphone and online map users will continue to receive up-to-date location data even in areas where satellite communication is intentionally suppressed.