NXP and drone software company Auterion are to co-develop high-reliability integrated hardware and software for the commercial unmanned aerial systems industry.

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“With the development of regulations and the increased number of autonomous systems in the field, the requirement for components and software that are certifiable and the ability to deploy intelligence on the edge is becoming more and more important,” according to NXP.

NXP will provides electronic components for processing, encryption, authentication and high-reliability automotive networking.

Auterion is offering the hardware reference design and its Enterprise PX4 software for the flight controller and the mission computer.

“Safety is the number one priority in commercial drone operations,” said Auterion co-founder and CEO Lorenz Meier. “NXP’s position as a semiconductor provider for safety-critical automotive applications is the perfect pairing for Auterion’s enterprise-grade drone software platform.”

NXP – Auterion project aims:

• Develop the next generation Auterion Skynode avionics module reference design, based on Pixhawk autopilot standards and NXP i.MX 8M Mini processing
• Integrate navigation modules incorporating NXP UWP (ultra-wide-band rf comms), automotive MCU, NFC and authentication for precision landing
• Develop battery management based on Pixhawk smart battery standards
• Develop automotive CAN and CAN-FD nodes supporting  UAVCAN and MRCAN software protocols for mobile robotics peripherals
• Collaborate in the data cybersecurity and drone legal regulation.
• Support the PX4 open-source community and upstream PX4 development

“This partnership will enable the mobile robotics community with the components meeting quality specifications needed to ensure functional safety and security in drones and rovers based on reliable long-life industrial and automotive parts and reference designs”, said NXP drone project lead Iain Galloway. “We have been participating in the open-source PX4 community for several years now and we are excited to work together to ensure these vehicles are prepared to meet current and future regulations and standards governing modular safe drone architectures.”

The announcement was made alongside the 2020 PX4 Developer Summit.