Equipped with a LiDAR sensor and an RGB camera mounted on a steerable gimbal, the MAVtech UAV Q4X flight platform reconstructed the three-dimensional structure of the infrastructure with very high precision, also demonstrating excellent position-holding performance while hovering, despite wind gusts of up to 5 m/s.

The test was planned in compliance with safety requirements and current regulations and took place in two separate locations in the municipality of Gargazzone.

To learn more: click here.

MAVTech will develop an innovative solution of autonomous drones capable of operating in complex and confined environments, such as chemical plants, tunnels, penstocks, and geological sites, where the GNSS signal is absent or degraded. These contexts represent a challenge for conventional drones due to narrow spaces, unknown obstacles, and variable lighting conditions.

The project aims to create a fully autonomous UAV, capable of localizing itself, mapping the environment, and avoiding obstacles in real time, providing precise and safe data for industrial surveying missions, infrastructure monitoring, and Search & Rescue.

Thanks to its consolidated experience in the design and integration of autonomous systems, MAVTech will develop lightweight sensors, software optimized for onboard processing, and interchangeable payloads, ensuring precision, reliability, and versatility.

MAVTech drones will operate in extremely challenging environments, from underground tunnels to complex industrial plants, and will be used for monitoring missions, structural surveying, and safety, thanks to sophisticated Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO), Lidar Inertial Odometry (LIO), SLAM, and obstacle avoidance algorithms developed in-house.

The project represents a fundamental step to strengthen MAVTech’s position in the autonomous systems sector for monitoring, maintenance, and safety in high-risk environments.

To learn more: click here.

ARGOS (Autonomous UAV for Inspection and Monitoring in Confined Environments)

The project aims to develop an innovative Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform for inspections and surveying in complex industrial and natural environments, such as chemical plants, tunnels, penstocks, and geological sites. These contexts are characterized by confined spaces, lack of GNSS/GPS signals, variable lighting conditions, and obstacles that are not known in advance, making traditional inspection solutions ineffective and limiting the use of conventional drones.
The proposed solution will enable autonomous missions for surveying, infrastructure monitoring, and Search & Rescue operations, even in the absence of external localization infrastructure, ensuring safety and reliability of operations. 

Objectives

The project aims to develop an autonomous UAV capable of operating in confined environments without GNSS signal, with the following main tasks:

1. Autonomous localization: estimation of the UAV’s position using only onboard sensors, with integration through an Extended Kalman Filter. Two complementary approaches will be employed:
   • Lidar Inertial Odometry (LIO)
   • Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO)
     with the goal of achieving high accuracy and reliability beyond commercial standards.
     
     
2. Real-time mapping: creation of incremental 3D maps of the surrounding environment based on advanced SLAM algorithms, optimized for the selected sensors.
3. Obstacle avoidance: dynamic updating of the flight trajectory in the presence of obstacles, ensuring safety and successful completion of the overall mission.

Key Development Aspects:

• Accuracy: reduction of maneuvering margins and access to confined spaces through detailed mapping.
• Reliability: use of redundant and complementary sensors to ensure performance across different scenarios.
• Robustness: testing in environments with variable lighting, reflective surfaces, or non-standard features.
• Software speed: optimized processing for high update rates and reduced energy consumption.
• Versatility: interchangeable payload with different sensors for heterogeneous missions.

The project integrates hardware and software in an incremental approach, from sensor selection and calibration to the development of VIO, LIO, SLAM, and obstacle avoidance algorithms, culminating in experimental testing in controlled environments and real-world scenarios to validate performance against commercial solutions.

Project Details

Title: Autonomous UAV for Inspection and Monitoring in Confined Environments
Acronym: ARGOS
Funding Program: Autonomous Province of Bolzano – Simplified Experimental Development Projects – Act No. 66/2025
Total Budget: €50,000.00
MAVTech Budget: €50,000.00
Duration: January 2026 to December 2027

For this activity, our Q4X drone was prepared and equipped with an ARTVA device (Avalanche Victim Search Device) integrated on an extendable arm. The objective of the test was to verify the system’s functionality under real conditions. The activities carried out provided significant technical insights, allowing us to proceed with the next development steps.

In the upcoming phases, further field tests will be conducted and the system will be progressively optimized, with the aim of making it increasingly effective in supporting search and rescue operations in mountain environments.

Developed in collaboration with Eurac Research, the PARSIVAL project is funded by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano and the European Union under the FESR 2021–2027 program.

PARSIVAL (Aerial Platforms for Avalanche Search and Rescue)

Timeliness in avalanche Search and Rescue operations is of paramount importance for victim survival: the probability of rescuing alive a fully buried avalanche victim is around 80–90% in the first 15–20 minutes after burial, decreasing very rapidly thereafter. After 35 minutes, the survival probability drops drastically to about 30%.
This means that organized rescue teams often fail to arrive in time, and the survival of those victims depends almost exclusively on the expertise of the group members on site and, nonetheless, on the size and slope of the terrain affected by the avalanche.
The solution proposed in the PARSIVAL project will increase the chances of avalanche survival by promoting self-rescue, minimizing the time to locate buried victims, and reducing the probability of human error.

Objectives

The project involves the development of a lightweight (<1 kg), compact, and easily backpack-portable drone that, autonomously guided by a computer vision algorithm based on data from optical sensors and a miniaturized ARTVA device (avalanche beacon), can automatically locate any buried victim in an assisted rescue configuration and report the location to the 112 emergency center or to a search and rescue service.
If drone-guided self-rescue operations fail, further organized rescue actions can be taken, using multiple drones (equipped with optical and thermal sensors) flying simultaneously in swarm configuration.

To achieve this goal, the project activities include the development of:

• A small, lightweight, foldable, and portable aerial platform
• A miniaturized ARTVA sensor carried by the aerial platform
• A computational algorithm to define the boundaries of the search area and autonomously locate the victim(s), even on steeply sloping terrain
• A data support system (DSS) able to communicate between users and rescue operators (SAR). The DSS will coordinate other platforms (ground teams, helicopters, drones) to complete the rescue process

The developed solution will be validated through a field study, so to prove its effectiveness compared to traditional search methods and to evaluate its impact on the performance of companions and rescuers.
The project will contribute to sustainable development as promoted by the European Green Deal: it will improve the efficiency of search and rescue operations through low-environmental-impact platforms (electric-powered) and will reduce the use of more polluting platforms (helicopters) when not required.

Project Details

Title: Aerial Platforms for Avalanche Search and Rescue
Acronym: PARSIVAL
Project Code: EFRE1110
CUP: B57H25003290007
Funding Program: ERDF 2021–2027
Total Budget: €400,786.43 (Funded: €321,835.20)
MAVTech Budget: €197,378.08 (Funded: €118,426.85)
Partner: Eurac Research
Duration: 07/01/2026 – 12/31/2028

The project is structured into several phases, with initial laboratory tests followed by trials in real operational environments. In both scenarios, fleets of drones will be deployed, with one drone dedicated to inspection tasks and multiple support drones providing precise positioning through Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radio technology. The number of support drones will be progressively reduced from an initial 4 to 3 and then 2, in order to evaluate and compare the performance of different configurations and identify the optimal solution.
In addition to the hardware and software development of the drones, MAVTech will contribute to the market analysis for this application, with the aim of defining a viable operational solution for infrastructure inspection.

MAVTech is proud to take part in such a significant project, alongside important partners such as TXT e-solutions (Lead Partner), Fondazione LINKS, Inspection Drone, and the City of Turin, with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) programme.

For a complete overview of the project, we report here an excerpt from the Dire.it – TG Hi-Tech, available in full at the following link: Friday, December 5, 2025 edition.

The Piedmont Aerospace District is a non-profit association that brings together the scientific, technological and industrial excellence of the Piedmont aerospace ecosystem. Established in 2019 as an evolution of the Piedmont Aerospace District Committee, which had been active since 2015, DAP aims to strengthen and enhance the regional aerospace supply chain by fostering collaboration among companies, research institutions, public bodies and industry associations.

MAVTech’s entry into the District represents a significant step in the company’s growth path, enabling it to actively contribute to a highly qualified ecosystem focused on technological innovation, applied research and the development of new professional skills.

DAP brings together a structured and representative network covering the entire aerospace sector. It includes 6 public bodies: the Piedmont Region, the Metropolitan City of Turin, the City of Turin, Finpiemonte, the Turin Chamber of Commerce and Finpiemonte Partecipazioni. In the field of research and education, the District involves 7 leading institutions, including the Politecnico di Torino and the University of Turin. The network is completed by 5 key industry players, including Leonardo, 2 industry associations and 114 companies operating in the aeronautical and space sectors.

The activities of the Piedmont Aerospace District focus on several strategic objectives: strengthening the regional aerospace supply chain, fostering innovation and enhancing the value of the network among stakeholders, addressing the need for training and new professional profiles, identifying funding opportunities at national and European level, and intensifying communication activities.

Within this context, MAVTech will be able to contribute its technological and operational expertise, supporting the development of collaborative projects and innovation across the supply chain.
Membership in DAP also strengthens MAVTech’s positioning within the Italian aerospace landscape, opening up new opportunities for collaboration with industrial partners, research institutions and public bodies, in line with the company’s vision of combining technological innovation, practical applications and positive territorial impact.

Within the FC4DRONES project, MAVTech designed and built a multirotor drone, while the project leader Dumarey Group handled the integration of the new hydrogen-powered system. The complete system was then jointly tested in an operational environment.

Thanks to this project, it was possible to:

• Double the flight time compared to battery-powered systems alone;
• Reduce refueling times compared to traditional recharging;
• Develop reliable digital twins of both the drone and the power system;
• Create a control unit for managing power distribution between the fuel cell and the battery.

The project was carried out in collaboration with Dumarey and funded by the NODES program, as part of the PNRR – Italia Domani initiative, with the support of the European Commission – NextGenerationEU.

A concrete step toward drones that are more efficient, sustainable, and ready for real-world commercial and industrial applications.

ITACA (Lighter-than-air Mobile Telecommunications Infrastructure for the Alpine Context) aims to study and develop a mobile telecommunications system that can be used in the aftermath of natural disasters (floods, landslides, avalanches, …) or in civil protection emergencies, to re-establish or create a new telecommunications infrastructure to serve mountain communities or rescue operators. It will also be applicable as a communication infrastructure for areas, particularly mountainous areas, not reached by communication technologies or to provide access to particular communication systems such as 5G.

The transport carrier will be an airship without a pilot on board, operating in automatic or tele-operated mode. The regulatory framework will be studied in order to include the aerostat in the UTM airspace. The limitations of use will be defined and the flight control system will be designed. An automatic or semi-automatic aerostat anchoring system will be designed, which allows the aerostat to maintain its pre-set geographical position. Transmission/connection methodology will be studied, also in multi-hop, to connect the communication system also to fixed infrastructures at great distances.

At least three demonstration sites will be identified through the NOI Techpark, in addition to the Corvara landslide site already taken as a reference for this project. The system will be developed jointly with the industrial and academic partners of Spoke 1 interested in the activity.

The ITACA project is carried out together with the partner FOS SpA.

OBJECTIVES

The ITACA project aims to develop a technology/airship without an on-board pilot that can be easily transported and installed in a strategic location to enable radio and communication links.

Expected outcomes

S.M.A.R.T. results of the ITACA project

• Specific: A UAS airship with a self-configuring telecommunications system will be built.
• Measurable: A demonstrator of the proposed infrastructure will be realised.
• Achievable: Previous knowledge and experience of the proposers in the design and development of UAS, telecommunication systems and in the integration of complex systems will be exploited.
• Relevant: Telecommunications recovery system in the event of an emergency.
• Time-Bound: We aim to present the demonstrator by March 2025.

Project details

Titolo: Infrastruttura di Telecomunicazioni mobile più leggera dell’Aria per il Contesto Alpino (Lighter-than-air Mobile Telecommunications Infrastructure for the Alpine Context)
Acronym: ITACA
Project ID: 2D1C29DF59
CUP: I59J24000290006
Funding Programme: iNEST
Overall Budget: € 364,859.50 (funded: € 248,080.76)
MAVTech Budget: € 211,372.00 (funded: € 147,131.80)
Partners: FOS SpA
Project Duration: 12.06.2024 – 31.10.2025

During the event, we tested the MAVTech Q4X drone in tethered mode, equipped with a device capable of creating a TETRA radio bridge to support rescue teams operating in areas with no communication coverage.
The test, developed in collaboration with CNSAS, took place in the Serrai di Sottoguda gorge (BL) — an ideal environment to simulate a real operational scenario, where reliable communication is a crucial factor for safety and mission effectiveness.

This field test allowed us to assess the system’s capabilities in action and to collect valuable data for the future development of MAVTech technologies designed to support search and rescue operations.