ANELLO Aerial INS supports precise navigation for UAVs and autonomous VTOLs. Source: ANELLO
Reliable navigation is especially important in GPS-denied or contested environments such as battlefields. ANELLO Photonics today launched ANELLO Aerial INS, a compact, high-performance inertial navigation system built around the company’s Silicon Photonic Optical Gyroscope, or SiPhOG technology.
“Customers flying real missions need resilient navigation when GNSS isn’t reliable,” stated Dr. Mario Paniccia, co-founder and CEO of ANELLO Photonics. “By combining our SiPhOGs with our airborne-optimized sensor-fusion algorithms and integrated multi-band GNSS, the ANELLO Aerial INS delivers fiber-optic gyro performance in a cost-effective SWaP [size, weight, and power]-friendly package.”
“This allows UAVs to hold course through jamming, multipath, spoofing or outages and complete the mission safely and successfully,” he said.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based ANELLO developed SiPhOG based on integrated photonic system-on-chip (SoC) technology. The company has more than 40 issued patents, with 40 pending.
ANELLO Aerial INS designed to provide guidance
“Today’s consumer-grade gyros are low accuracy and are all MEMS [micro-electromechanical systems]-based. They’re very sensitive to vibration and EMI [electromagnetic interference],” Paniccia told The Robot Report. “But then you get to industrial/defense-grade systems, which are high accuracy and more expensive. These are the big, bulky systems in missiles, fighter jets, and submarines. SiPhOG is the world’s smallest optical gyro, with no moving parts and high-volume assembly.”
The fiber gyro splits two beams of light into a coil and then combines them to use the phase shift to determine the rotation rate, explained Gerhard Boiciuc, vice president of business development and partnerships at ANELLO Photonics. It can be put on a 1-in. sq. chip, which is fabricated in the U.S.
The technology could work in everything from farm tractors to drones, and it was tested last summer in maritime settings, said Paniccia. ANELLO won a U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II contract in September 2025.
The company said it designed ANELLO INS with direct customer input for stringent performance requirements for air, land, and sea applications. The system is integrated with multi-band GNSS receivers and mission-ready platforms.
The ANELLO Aerial INS uses an EKF (Extended Kalman Filter)-based sensor-fusion engine and the company’s flight-profile-tuned algorithms, consistently delivering >98% navigation accuracy without cameras or fiber-optic cables. ANELLO said the unit can maintain accurate navigation and control through high-dynamics and GNSS jamming, spoofing, or occlusion.
Key features of the ANELLO Aerial INS include:
- High-precision three-axis SiPhOG optical gyros with <0.5º/hr. unaided heading drift for reliable dead-reckoning during GNSS outages
- Dual triple-frequency, all-constellation GNSS receivers with static heading capability, ready for RTK/PPP (precise point positioning) corrections
- ANELLO Advanced Sensor Fusion Engine with GNSS spoofing detection for resilient holdover in GPS-denied or spoofed conditions
- Flight-stack integration: PX4 and ArduPilot drivers; standard interfaces (Ethernet, RS-232, RS-422, CAN) and timing (PPS Out/PPS Sync In)
- NMEA-compliant GNSS Interface outputs National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) navigation packets for seamless integration as a drop-in replacement for conventional GNSS receivers
- Flight-profile optimization: Algorithms calibrated for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), and other autonomous aerial vehicles for accurate navigation
- Rugged, compact, and lightweight: 4.4 x 3.4 x 1.9 in. (11.1 x 8.6 x 4.8 cm) package at 1 lb. (0.4 kg); low power consumption of <6W; and vibration-tolerant design for multirotor, fixed-wing, and VTOL
- IP68: Waterproof, resistant to corrosion, salt spray, and chemicals
The new navigation system is designed for portability and accuracy. Source: ANELLO Photonics
ANELLO adds to proven navigation portfolio
ANELLO said its navigation solutions provide assured GNSS-denied operation in over-water/desert corridors, urban canyons, night/low-light scenarios, and fog/cloud conditions. This provides reliable, accurate guidance without GPS and improves warfighter effectiveness and survivability, claimed the company.
It added that it has designed its systems for demanding aerial platforms, including BVLOS uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), maritime/shipborne VTOL UAS, ISR/special-mission aircraft, heavy-lift and cargo drones, and other drones.
“Our road map is to continue shrink and integrate electronics and photonics for less weight and power,” Paniccia said. “We eventually want to bring high-precision navigation to everything.”
In addition, ANELLO asserted that the introduction of ANELLO Aerial INS alongside its proven ground and maritime systems extends its lead in GPS-denied navigation across domains, as validated through multiple U.S. Department of War operational test events.
“The ANELLO SiPhOG technology is a game changer for our warfighters,” said Dan Magy, CEO of Firestorm, which is developing low-cost drones for combat and ISR applications. “The ability to navigate in GPS-denied or spoofed environments without cameras or fiber-optic cables — in small, lightweight systems — is essential for future combat missions.”
“The ANELLO team has developed an aerial solution that seamlessly integrates into existing avionics with minimal effort,” he added. “This type of capability is essential in today’s conflict areas where our adversaries actively disrupt GPS, making ANELLO a powerful upgrade for all modern aerial platforms.”
The ANELLO Aerial INS is now available for evaluation, with production shipments beginning in the second quarter of 2026. Evaluation kits include the ANELLO Aerial INS, cabling, drivers for PX4/ArduPilot, and a quick-start integration guide. The company is exhibiting at CES this week at Booth 10077 in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
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