Global positioning has revolutionized the connectivity of our transport and logistics infrastructure. Despite this, however, we are continually at the mercy of increasingly harsh weather conditions and need consistently to work in harsh environments where scientific or supply payloads are not easily deposited. Unmanned aircraft (drones and other autonomous aerial vehicles) have addressed this problem in an increasingly sophisticated way. One company that has made its mark is Black Swift Technologies.

As a young company, founded in 2011, Black Swift Technologies, has done something remarkable: they have developed a highly accurate and reliable unmanned aircraft system, the Black Swift S2, to fly scientific payloads into the harshest of environments: the Arctic, deserts, in areas of strong wind turbulence, etc. At the core of the system is the innovative SwiftCoreTM Flight Management System. The system’s avionics are designed to provide for fully autonomous flight and render a level of control to users that is groundbreaking.

Larta began working with Black Swift Technologies on their 2019 NOAA CAP award as they sought to commercialize their global positioning system and help tailor their technology development towards their targeted customers.