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Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms collect information through reconnaissance and surveillance missions. The value of that information depends on knowing where it was collected. As a consortium partner in the Badb project, KrattWorks contributes its expertise in autonomous aerial systems, focusing on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). One of KrattWorks' ISR platforms is Ghost Dragon, an unmanned multirotor UAV designed for reconnaissance and surveilla

As spring 2026 is over, the Badb project is successfully moving into its second year, with an increasing focus on integrating its different components. Recently, we met near Helsinki for a joint integration session and field tests to ensure we remain on track in developing our GNSS-free navigation system. The data we collected and the ideas we exchanged during these field tests and face-to-face meetings provide a solid foundation for the next phase of the project, where we fu

Localising a modern field or service robot should be an easy task in peaceful times. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Operating near Russia's borders makes satellite positioning unreliable. Expensive exteroceptive sensors, such as top-tier 3D LiDARs, are also off the table – “thanks” again to our eastern neighbours. Yet autonomous mobile robots still need to handle logistics, evacuation, and threat mitigation, requiring a different approach. Future military Uncrewed Grou

In adversarial environments, the speed of your learning loop determines whether you keep the initiative - or cede it to your adversary. Within the Badb project, Rigr AI has a particular responsibility: detecting and tracking vehicles, especially military vehicles. One obvious way to do this is to collect and annotate real-world data: video from operational environments and train models on the resulting datasets. This approach has many benefits - increasing domain knowledge,

The Badb project is addressing one of the most challenging problems in modern autonomous operations: reliable navigation in GNSS free environments. A core element of this challenge is determining the position of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) when GPS signals are unavailable or unreliable. However, accurate positioning alone is not sufficient. Effective autonomous navigation also depends on a broader understanding of the operational enviro

Last February, KappaZeta represented our project at the European Defence Agency’s 56th CapTech Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) meeting, hosted by WTD 61 in Manching, Germany. KappaZeta introduced the Badb consortium to CapTech members from 18 countries, presenting its partners KrattWorks, GIM Robotics, Rigr AI and Solita along with the project’s core objectives and scope of work. The mission of the GNC CapTech is to support and advance Research & Technology (R&T) and i

Over the past quarter, the BadB project has continued to build steady momentum. We marked the end of this phase with a week-long development sprint in Tartu, where our teams once again brought aerial and ground platforms (UAV and UGV) together for joint field testing. These shared tests are a vital part of our journey toward GNSS-free navigation. While lab development gives us the controlled environment needed to design and refine new capabilities, real progress depends on ho

KrattWorks, as a consortium partner in the Badb project, focuses on all aspects related to UAVs (the “flying” drones), which represent our core area of expertise. Active in the UAV sector since early 2019 and focused exclusively on the defence-tech vertical since 2022, we have built strong momentum heading into 2026. This includes approximately 30-fold growth over the past year and recognition as DefenceTech Company of the Year at the Estonian Startup Awards. This progress is

GIM Robotics, a Finnish 2014 founded deep-tech spin-off from Aalto University’s renowned mobile robotics lab founded in 1985, is emerging as one of Europe’s most strategic enablers of autonomous navigation. Its software allows vehicles and mobile machines to map, localize and operate reliably even in GNSS-denied environments – a capability of growing importance given electronic warfare threats and Europe’s vulnerability to GNSS jamming. With 40 engineers, including 10 Ph

The BadB project wrapped up its second development quarter with a big step forward: a week-long joint sprint in Estonia that moved the work out of the lab and into real-world conditions. For the first time, the project’s aerial and ground platforms (UAV and a UGV), were tested side by side, offering a first real glimpse of how they can work together in practice. These field tests were a key moment for the project. Both platforms gathered a large amount of data, including sync