Neya Systems designs N-Drive for off-road autonomy

Eight different vehicles that Neya Systems has worked with, including military equipment and construction equipment.

Neya develops autonomy systems for mining, construction, and military deployments. | Source: Neya Systems

Neya Systems launched its N-Drive full-stack autonomy solution for unconstrained environments. The Warrendale, Penn.-based company said it has tested N-Drive in “nearly every terrain on Earth” using simulation. It is designed for a variety of use cases such as teleoperation, GPS-denied environments and more.

Neya said that N-Drive can analyze complex environments, adapt to dynamic conditions, and make decisions in real time. Leveraging perception capabilities from the company’s autonomous mining operations, N-Drive’s vehicle-agnostic architecture is compatible with a range of systems. This includes its Mission Planning and Management System (MPMS), Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK) and Warfighter Machine Interface (WMI).

N-Drive is Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) compatible, allowing for the control of a variety of vehicles across diverse terrains and operational environments. As a MOSA-compatible system, N-Drive is designed to deliver efficient performance while maintaining high standards of cybersecurity, ensuring safe and reliable operation in any environment.

SITE AD for the 2025 RoboBusiness call for presentations. Now accepting session submissions!

“With this technology, we can drive anything—no matter what type of vehicle—providing our customers with the flexibility they need for their unique missions and strengthening the capability of our autonomous systems,” said Kurt Bruck, vice president of Neya Systems.

The simulation tools Neya used to build N-Drive include the company’s Virtual Integration and Simulation Environment (VISE). VISE is a 3D sensors and physics simulation software for the integration and testing of autonomous systems. Built on the Unreal Engine, VISE replicates how vehicles would respond to varying real-world forces. These include terrain, acceleration, and external conditions. By coupling N-Drive with VISE, Veya Systems said operators can predict how an autonomous vehicle will react to changing environmental conditions without costly physical testing.

Neya Systems is a division of Applied Research Associates (ARA). The company earned a 2024 RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for its work developing a cybersecurity standard for autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs). The effort focuses on enhancing the protection, mitigation, recovery, and adaptability of AGVs. It will do this by applying U.S. Department of Defense Zero Trust cybersecurity to its autonomy software.