The Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents, and Trademarks has issued a patent to Samara National Research University for its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Photon 601.

The drone is independent of navigation systems such as GPS and GLONASS. Full autonomy of the UAV system is provided by the built-in alternative navigation block based on the principles of optical navigation. With support points set beforehand along the route, the UAV is able to navigate the terrain with the help of machine vision, correcting the course without the use of satellite navigation signals. According to the developers, the autonomous navigation will allow the radius of the apparatus to reach 400 km with increased safety and a flight duration up to 24 hours.

In addition, the UAV is oriented to civil tasks, such as the problem areas of monitoring oil companies’ main pipelines, surveying hydraulic structures, revealing unauthorized landfill sites, controlling natural resources extraction, and assisting in the fields of cartography, geodesy, and more. The UAV’s developers say environmental organizations, oil companies, national security and defense entities, and law enforcement agencies have expressed interest in the technology.

During flight, the most important aspects of the UAV are controlled through a ground control station. If radio communication is lost, the Photon 601 automatically returns to its takeoff location for landing. If on its way home the communication is resumed, the UAV returns to the route again for the completion of the flight assignment. The apparatus can be followed both in the visible and IR spectrum.

The UAV features two power supplies: the solar array system and the combustion engine. Samara scientists are currently working to obtain the highest possible efficiency of solar panels on board the UAV, with a goal to ensure an exclusively solar-powered flight.