The Abu Dhabi Advanced Technology Research Council’s (ATRC) Technology Innovation Institute (TII) announced that its Secure Systems Research Centre (SSRC) is launching a first-in-region Motion Capture (MOCAP) facility.
Outside of the US, SSRC’s unique MOCAP facility at its Masdar City headquarters will allow for the testing of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones in an augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality environment.
The MOCAP facility will allow SSRC to simulate flying through Abu Dhabi’s cityscape, providing high-precision ground truth for advanced experiments as well as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality testing. The ability to recreate virtual camera images and sensors will enable testing in environments that are too large, risky, or time-consuming to construct in reality.
The high-quality motion capture system will be able to perform passive or active tracking, as well as improve communication, navigation, command, and control capabilities. SSRC is designing this facility as part of its ongoing partnership with US-based Purdue University, which has the world’s largest indoor motion capture facility.
Dr. Shreekant Thakkar Chief Researcher- SSRC
“We are confident that these technologies could limit malicious cyber-attacks as our reliance on drones continues to increase every day. They are integral to life today – from delivering valuable organs at a hospital to conducting surveillance of high-security zones, or dispersing seeds over a field, or even completing grocery deliveries. Our aim at SSRC is to develop breakthrough security technologies to safeguard systems that may be vulnerable and this can include unsecured drone systems which may pose various threats to organizations’ or even individuals’ privacy so it’s essential to make drone platforms more resilient and secure.”
Both SSRC and the Autonomous Robotics Research Centre (ARRC) will use the testing facility to research a range of vehicles. To provide for a useful MOCAP space, the system must be capable of allowing for mechanical isolation, climate control, and simultaneous shared use.
The MOCAP facility can support micro UAS weighing less than 10 g up to 1,000 kilograms, as well as a variety of UAS types, including multi-rotors, helicopters, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs), and fixed-wing craft.
TII enhances Abu Dhabi’s and the UAE’s standing as a global innovation hub whilst contributing to the broader development of the knowledge-based economy. One of seven initial dedicated research centers at TII, SSRC was formed to create a global center of excellence in the development of end-to-end security and resilience to protect cyber-physical and autonomous systems.
