ANELLO Photonics
A Pioneer in Developing Silicon Photonics-Based Optical Gyroscopes for Navigation in GPS-Denied Environments

ANELLO Photonics

Dr. Mario Paniccia, ANELLO Photonics | Semi Conductor Review | Top Photonics Solutions CompaniesDr. Mario Paniccia, Co-founder and CEO
Inertial navigation is a widely used methodology for determining position, navigation, and timing (PNT). To overcome the inherent sensor errors that lead to positional inaccuracies, researchers are actively developing innovative solutions based on optical gyroscopes that offer high precision and scalability. These advancements hold great promise for enhancing the accuracy of PNT measurements and driving progress in the field.

Enter Silicon Photonics Optical Gyro (SiPhOGTM), a technology developed by ANELLO Photonics. It provides high precision in a compact and affordable form factor, revolutionizing navigation technology that was stagnant for over two decades.

“With the ANELLO SiPhOG integrated into a range of inertial navigation systems (INS) and solutions, customers can access a more stable, accurate, and robust sensor solution for autonomous applications. Customers can rely on ANELLO to deliver high-performance solutions using integrated photonics previously only available in expensive fiber gyroscopes,” says Dr. Mario Paniccia, co-founder and CEO of ANELLO Photonics.

Unlike traditional temperature-dependent MEMS-based gyroscopes, the ANELLO SiPhOG is not susceptible to temperature and vibrations. The technology is based on the Sagnac effect, which involves sending light through a coil split into two beams and measuring the phase difference between them when propagated in opposite directions.

ANELLO Photonics achieved this breakthrough by developing and combining two chips. A planar process allowed it to create waveguides on a chip using silicon nitride (SiN). A second chip is based on integrated silicon photonics which integrates couplers, splitters, phase modulators, detectors and other components along with electronics and laser source all in a tiny package. The SiPhOG device is a single axis high-precision optical gyro, small, roughly an inch in size that is low power and can be integrated directly onto a PC board.

ANELLO currently has available the ANELLO GNSS/INS Evaluation Kit (EVK) which includes dual band RTK-capable GPS engines, 6-Axis triple redundant MEMS IMU, CPU, and on-board sensor fusion along with its optical gyro technology resulting in a high-performance Inertial Navigation System (INS). The ANELLO EVK can maintain centimeter accuracy where expensive reference-grade systems degrade. The system provides accurate navigation and positioning due to the high-precision of the optical gyroscope technology and its sensor fusion engine, and offers accuracy and robustness even in areas with limited or no GPS signals.

  • Customers in the autonomy space can rely on ANELLO Photonics to deliver high-performance navigation and positioning with integrated photonics in GPS-Denied environments, and with accuracy and robustness previously only available in expensive fiber gyroscopes

The ANELLO SiPhOG is suitable for many applications, including mapping, surveying, robotics, construction, trucking, agriculture, defense, aerospace, and autonomous vehicles. The remarkable technology has been tested with positive results in various applications such as urban canyons, foliage, orchards, tunnels, and parking structures. The ANELLO SiPhOG is reliable for navigation in GPS-constrained environments, making it ideal for farming applications in orchards and barns.

ANELLO Photonics has recently been invited to the John Deere Collaborator program to further expand capabilities around autonomy for various farming applications.

ANELLO Photonics has secured funding from strategic investors like Lockheed Martin and numerous venture capital firms (VCs) including Catapult Ventures and New Legacy, enabling the team to develop this disruptive SiPhOG technology to combine proprietary hardware and software for superior inertial navigation systems. By leveraging the SiPhOG technology, ANELLO Photonics is disrupting the navigation industry while enabling new use cases previously unaffordable or impossible to realize due to the size, weight, area, power, or cost constraints of existing technologies.

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Top 10 Photonics Solutions Companies – 2023

Company
ANELLO Photonics

Management
Dr. Mario Paniccia, Co-founder and CEO

Description
ANELLO Photonics is a leading-edge technology company based in Santa Clara, CA. The company has developed an integrated photonic system-on-chip technology for next generation navigation. ANELLO's SiPhOG™ gyroscope is based on its patented photonic integrated circuit technology. Along with its sensor fusion engine, ANELLO Photonics is building solutions for the autonomous world

ANELLO Photonics News

ANELLO Photonics Announces World's Smallest Optical Gyro Inertial Navigation System

The ANELLO GNSS INS system provides up to 30 minutes of continuous and accurate dead-reckoning during fully GPS-denied conditions.

SANTA CLARA - ANELLO Photonics, announced the availability of the ANELLO GNSS INS - The World's Smallest Optical Gyro Inertial Navigation System - for robust and reliable long-term GPS-Denied Navigation and Localization.

Powered by ANELLO's unique optical gyroscope technology and ANELLO's AI-based sensor fusion engine, the ANELLO GNSS INS delivers robust, high-accuracy positioning and orientation for applications in the Agriculture, Construction, Trucking and Autonomous Vehicle space. Unlike other reference systems, the ANELLO GNSS INS delivers superior accuracy in high-temperature and high-vibration applications.

"We see rapidly growing interest and demand for our optical gyro technology and we are actively engaged with customers who need robust, high-precision optical gyro-based solutions for their autonomous applications," said Dr. Mario Paniccia, CEO of ANELLO Photonics. "The ANELLO GNSS INS has been developed in collaboration with our customers and we're proud to bring to market the World's Smallest Optical Gyro Inertial Navigation System designed for today's demanding autonomous applications."

The ANELLO GNSS INS system was designed with safety, robustness, and ease-of-use in mind. Seamless navigation and positioning in challenging GPS-denied environments allows ANELLO's optical gyro technology to support multiple customer applications and use cases. The ANELLO GNSS INS comes equipped with the following standard features:

• Unaided heading drift of < 0.5°/hr

• Dual multi-band RTK capable GNSS Engines

• ASIL-D Ready Automotive Qualified CPU

• Automotive 2-Wire Ethernet (100Base-T1)

• Dual high-speed CAN FD Interfaces

• Dual RS-232 Interfaces

• Hardware Precision Time Protocol (PTP), IEEE 802.1AS

• IP68 - Waterproof, Resistant to Dust, Salt Spray and Chemicals

ANELLO Photonics is currently engaged in trials with various market-leading customers in the Construction, Farming, Trucking, Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Autonomous Vehicles, and National Security space.