Anello Photonics develops Silicon Photonics Optical Gyroscopes (SiPhOG) that provide high-performance inertial navigation solutions in GPS-denied environments. Their technology integrates an ultra low-loss on-chip waveguide manufacturing process, significantly reducing size and cost while maintaining the accuracy and low-drift performance of traditional fiber optic gyroscopes.
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Inertial navigation systems in GPS-denied environments often rely on bulky, expensive fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs), limiting their use in applications requiring small size, light weight, and low cost. Traditional FOGs can also suffer from performance degradation in harsh environments with shock, vibration, and temperature variations.
Solution
Anello Photonics provides high-performance inertial measurement units (IMUs) and inertial navigation systems (INS) that utilize silicon photonics optical gyroscopes (SiPhOGs) to deliver FOG-level accuracy in a smaller, more robust, and cost-effective package. Their SiPhOG technology integrates an ultra-low loss on-chip waveguide manufacturing process with a patented silicon photonic integrated circuit, enabling accurate and low-drift performance in challenging conditions. Anello's products offer solutions for a variety of applications, including autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, robotics, construction, agriculture, and defense, where reliable navigation is critical in the absence of GPS. The product line includes IMUs, GNSS-aided INS, and maritime INS, catering to diverse needs for precision positioning and orientation.
Target Audience
The primary target audience includes developers and integrators of autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial systems, robotics, precision agriculture equipment, construction machinery, and defense systems who require high-accuracy, reliable inertial navigation in GPS-denied or challenging environments.
Features
- SiPhOG-based gyroscopes offering bias instability less than 0.5°/hr and angle random walk less than 0.05°/√hr
- Compact and lightweight design, with the X3 IMU measuring 2" x 2" x 1.75" and weighing 0.4 lbs
- High data output rates up to 200 Hz for real-time navigation and control
- Environmental hardening for reliable operation in temperatures ranging from -40 to +70°C and resistance to shock, vibration, dust, salt spray, and chemicals (IP68 rated on some models)
- Fault-tolerant designs with triple redundant MEMS IMUs on select models
- GNSS-aided INS solutions with dual antenna RTK-capability and multi-band GNSS receivers supporting GPS, Glonass, Galileo, Beidou, and QZSS
- Automotive Ethernet and dual RS-232 interfaces for flexible integration
- ASIL-D ready CPUs and operating systems for safety-critical applications