Advanced Navigation Technology Development Trend as an Unmanned Vehicle Core Technology

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which were used for military purposes, are gradually expanding their application fields under the influence of electrification and digitalization. Starting from the field of aerial imaging and Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission, nowadays the possibility of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), which transports passengers and cargo with drones, is widely under discussion. In order to occupy the rapidly growing global unmanned aerial vehicle market in advance, it is necessary to secure core technologies and develop key UAVs components based on the new technologies. In the navigation field, it is necessary to secure a precise position with guaranteed reliability and continuity, unrelated to the operating environments. The reliability and continuity should be secured in the algorithm level and in the H/W component levels also. In order to achieve this technical goal, the Ministry of Science and ICT has launched the 'Unmanned Vehicle Core Technology Research and Development Program' in 2019 to support the R&D on the unmanned vehicle technologies. In this paper, authors introduce the unmanned vehicle core technology research and development program to the related researchers. The authors summarize the backgrounds of the program and show the technological tasks and objectives on the sub-programs in the unmanned vehicle navigation program. We present the program schedules especially focused on the test and evaluation of the developed technologies and components.