Independent research and development at the intersection of autonomous systems, computer vision, and unmanned aerial platforms. We build things that work in the real world.
Hardware-agnostic autonomous drone interception software that detects, classifies, and intercepts hostile unmanned aerial systems using onboard computer vision and proprietary guidance algorithms. The system identifies multiple target classes — including loitering munitions and commercial quadcopters — and autonomously closes on or maintains formation with the target without operator input. Designed to run on edge compute hardware connected to any ArduPilot-based flight controller, with full dual-stream telemetry logging per mission session.
A visual odometry and map-matching navigation system that enables fully autonomous drone operations in GPS-denied and GPS-spoofed environments. The system ingests a live camera feed, extracts visual features in real time, and matches them against preloaded satellite imagery stored offline on the aircraft. Position estimates are fused directly into the flight controller's navigation filter, enabling stable autonomous flight across all major flight modes without any GPS signal present. Designed as a drop-in navigation layer for existing airframes.
A two-node embedded navigation system that derives aircraft attitude and position from star field imagery — providing GPS-independent navigation in environments where both GPS and visual landmarks are unavailable. A dedicated capture node acquires star field images and forwards them over a low-latency link to a processing node running an AI-accelerated star pattern recognition model. The system solves celestial coordinates in near real time and outputs navigation solutions suitable for fusion with inertial sensors. Architected for future integration with inertial measurement hardware for full inertial-celestial hybrid navigation.
Deep technical research into the internal electronics and signal architecture of fiber optic tethered drone ground units. The research covers the complete bidirectional signal path from the operator workstation to the airborne platform — including optical transceiver selection, wavelength multiplexing for single-fiber bidirectional communication, clock and data recovery, and power delivery over the tether. Provides a foundation for designing ground units capable of carrying simultaneous HD video, telemetry, and command streams over a single optical cable with minimal latency and no RF exposure.
Veilwork is an independent defense technology research and development organization focused on autonomous unmanned systems. We design and build software and hardware solutions that address real operational gaps — from counter-UAS guidance to GPS-denied navigation to alternative positioning systems. All work is conducted with NDAA compliance and real-world deployability as first-order requirements.
Defense technology research, autonomous systems development, and independent hardware consulting.