MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Specialists at the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI, National Research University) are developing drones with onboard AI that are resistant to GPS signal loss and feature autonomous recognition and analysis systems, Anton Lyapin, project manager at MAI Aeromobility Directorate, told TASS.

"Regarding the development of AI-powered drones at MAI, our current work is focused on developing various systems for automated monitoring and recognition. The key focus is increasing the autonomy of the devices: creating navigation systems resistant to GPS loss, developing onboard computer vision, and AI algorithms that allow the drone to not only collect data but also assess the situation and make decisions while in flight," the expert said.

The institute is also working on a visual-inertial navigation system for search drones, capable of mapping terrain and detecting people in real time, Lyapin noted. Furthermore, specialists are developing Russian-made flight controllers with an AI module for object recognition, obstacle avoidance, and autonomous route planning.

In developing drones, MAI aims not only to increase the operating range of drones but also to ensure the vehicles’ autonomy in complex environments. "That is, a level of autonomy at which the drone maintains accurate navigation and mission execution even in the absence of a GNSS signal and loss of radio communication, recognizes objects on board in real time, and requires minimal operator intervention. In other words, the main focus of our engineering work is to ensure the drone’s ability to operate autonomously over significant distances while maintaining navigation accuracy sufficient for monitoring and search-and-rescue missions," said Andrey Berezin, programming technician at MAI Aeromobility Directorate.