Advanced Navigation upgrades drone fleet management solution to give pilots access anywhere, anytime

The launch of a new cellular micro-modem that taps into 4G and 5G networks is set to dramatically open up access to drone fleet management, according to AI and robotics company Advanced Navigation.

Announced today, Advanced Navigation’s CGConnect modem gives fleet managers the ability to live-stream, command and control fleets of drones - enabling access to unlimited numbers of the machines via a web browser.

CEO and co-founder of Advanced Navigation Xavier Orr believes the development of CGConnect, which plugs into the company’s existing drone fleet management platform Cloud Ground Control, will take robotic capabilities to new heights.

“In the drone age, humans rely on drones and robotic vehicles to achieve physically demanding and even unattainable tasks,” said Orr, who alongside co-founder Chris Shaw won the 2022 Sydney Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Trailblazer Award in the same year.

“For all the high expectations for what drones can do, there isn’t a simple solution developed for multi-drone operation, which is becoming more and more commonplace in our lives.

“We are thrilled to bring forward our state-of-the-art technology CGConnect to demystify multi-drone operation. By making the process more accessible for everyone, we are enabling optimal security, communication and coordination in drone operations.”

According to Advanced Navigation, the unique design philosophy of CGConnect means the modem can securely connect unlimited drones and other autonomous vehicles into one holistic fleet across land, sea and air - regardless of manufacturer or model.

The company hopes planners and operators will enjoy the full situational awareness they’ll experience by using the technology for search and rescue, emergency response and disaster relief purposes.

Packed with features like AI algorithms running on the cloud that can relay real-time camera feed data to the end user to support missions with object detection, tracking and thermal imaging, the modem is the latest innovation from Advanced Navigation - a tech firm that’s also developed solutions for driverless cars, unmanned military vehicles, autonomous farming, vessel navigation and much more.

CGConnect also boasts features including high-grade security that safeguards data and intellectual property from vulnerabilities, a simple interface that’s accessible to even novice drone pilots, and on-the-edge AI that can perform intensive object identification and classification directly on the vehicle for a variety of mission purposes.

One early adopter of the technology is Clean Earth Rovers, which operates a fleet of autonomous vehicles that monitor the quality of oceans.

The company’s autonomous cleaning robot, the Rover AVPro, collects a variety of physical and chemical pollutants that have flowed into harbours and communities, supporting immediate disaster relief and the restoration of ocean health.

The company deployed CGConnect across its fleet of aqua-drones, giving the robots access to the Cloud Ground Control platform and in turn enabling emergency services or any permitted individual to log in through a web browser to view real-time footage from each robot’s perspective.

Clean Earth Rovers founder and CEO Michael Arens said the CGConnect platform was transformational in terms of how the company could approach its mission to clean up the planet’s waterways.

“We are now facing the perfect storm of climate change. Environmental disasters contribute to poor water health. Floating debris and unseen chemical toxins under the surface are causing safety concerns, while natural habitats and wildlife are crippled and businesses continue to be disrupted,” Arens said.

“Thankfully, with the support of CGConnect, Clean Earth Rovers has transformed its Rover AVPro into a connected autonomous fleet, giving our customers full situational awareness by the second and allowing us to make enlightened decisions.

“It was a cost-effective and simple solution, greatly accelerating recovery efforts and helping us to restore communities in a safer and faster way,”