Technology · Autonomous flight
Autonomy with defined limits
From mission planning to landing, the KEA autonomy stack handles navigation, perception and safety logic – while every level of automation is explicit, tested and supervised.
The autonomy stack
Layered architecture: a proven open autopilot for flight control, a companion computer for perception and decisions, and the fleet platform for planning and supervision.
Flight control
Pixhawk-class autopilot with redundant sensors, geofencing, fail-safes and return-to-launch.
Perception
RTK GNSS, LiDAR, stereo cameras and IMU fused into a live environment model.
Decision
On-board AI on NVIDIA Jetson: row following, obstacle avoidance and mission adaptation.
Supervision
Real-time telemetry to the operator; humans approve, pause or abort at any time.
Capability status
We publish what the system does today, what is being validated with pilot customers and what remains a research objective. Capabilities move between categories only after field testing.
- Waypoint and survey missions with RTK positioningAvailable
- Terrain-following flight from elevation modelsAvailable
- Vision-based row following in vineyardsAvailable
- LiDAR/vision obstacle detection and avoidanceIn development
- SLAM navigation without GNSS (under canopy, indoors)In development
- Alarm-triggered autonomous launch from a docking stationIn development
- Cooperative multi-drone task allocationResearch
- Autonomous target trackingResearch
Safety by design
Autonomy is only useful if it is predictable. These principles apply to every KEA system.
Geofenced by default
Missions cannot leave the approved area; boundaries are enforced in the autopilot, not only in software.
Degraded-mode behaviour
Loss of RTK, link or a sensor triggers a defined, tested response – hold, return or land.
Human in the loop
An operator supervises every mission and can intervene instantly. Automation assists, it does not replace.
Let’s talk about your fields, your site or your mission.
Tell our engineering team what you need to see from the air. We will be honest about what works today, what we are testing and what is still research.