AeroVironment Expands Puma™ Visual Navigation System (VNS) Kit to Puma LE

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 4, 2025--

AeroVironment, Inc. (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in all-domain defense systems, today announced the integration of its Visual Navigation System (VNS) kit with the Puma™ Long Endurance (LE) small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS), delivering Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)-denied navigation capability to ensure mission success.

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First introduced in 2022 for the Puma 2 AE and Puma 3 AE, the VNS kit uses advanced computer vision and onboard processing to deliver precise, GNSS-independent navigation, and its integration into Puma LE now extends this capability across the full Puma family for greater flexibility and resilience in degraded or denied environments.

“Assured navigation is critical to the mission, especially as GNSS becomes an increasingly vulnerable resource,” said Jason Hendrix, Vice President of Small Uncrewed Systems for AV. “By fusing visual and inertial data in real time, the system enables uninterrupted flight paths, accurate geolocation, and mission continuity in unreliable GNSS regions.”

Using a suite of downward-facing sensors, cameras and onboard computing, the VNS kit performs Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) to capture and analyze terrain imagery, estimating true aircraft position in real time. The system fuses continuous visual data from the cameras with motion inputs from onboard inertial sensors to calculate precise position, velocity, and orientation—allowing the aircraft to know where it is and where it is going when GNSS is not available. It automatically transitions between GNSS-enabled and GNSS-denied modes with zero pilot input, ensuring uninterrupted mission continuity in contested environments.

In September, AV announced several upgrades to the Puma LE platform that include the integration of a Laser Target Designator and the release of the Universal Gimbal Kit, enhancements that evolve Puma LE beyond ISR into a cutting-edge precision-engagement system.

“Every upgrade to Puma LE, including the addition of the VNS kit and our new laser designator and gimbal capabilities, is driven by one goal: giving the warfighter greater confidence, flexibility, and capability,” said Trace Stevenson, President of Autonomous Systems at AV. “These recent releases are a great example of AV constantly evolving our platforms to ensure they are at the forefront of technology and providing best in class capability to the warfighter.”

The VNS Kit is designed as an add-on option for new Puma 3 AE or Puma LE system orders and as a retrofit kit allowing existing Puma 2 AE, Puma 3 AE, and Puma LE customers to upgrade fielded systems. The compact two-piece add on installs easily into existing Pumas with minimal impact on performance and fits within the standard Puma cases for efficient mission packout. The standard Puma LE system weighs just 23.8 pounds and offers 6.5 hours of endurance, a 60-kilometer range, is inaudible at 500 feet and features tool-free payload swaps for seamless transitions between intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), targeting, and other mission sets.

About AV

AV (NASDAQ: AVAV) is a defense technology leader delivering integrated capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. The Company develops and deploys autonomous systems, loitering munitions, counter-UAS technologies, space-based platforms, directed energy systems, and cyber and electronic warfare capabilities—built to meet the mission needs of today’s warfighter and tomorrow’s conflicts. At the core of these technologies lies AV_Halo, a modular, mission-ready suite of AI-powered software tools that empowers warfighters and enables full-battlefield dominance: detect, decide, deliver. With a national manufacturing footprint and a deep innovation pipeline, AV delivers proven systems and future-defining capabilities at speed, scale, and operational relevance. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain new ones; regulatory changes; competitor activities; market growth; product development challenges; and general economic conditions. For a more detailed discussion of these risks, please refer to AV’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events.

Puma LE gains GNSS-denied navigation with AV’s Visual Navigation System (VNS kit), ensuring precise, resilient flight and mission continuity in contested environments.

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2025--

Hanshow, a global leader in digital retail technology, has launched a multi-year research partnership with the University of Cambridge to develop next-generation Augmented RFID systems powered by distributed hardware architectures. The collaboration brings together Cambridge’s world-leading expertise in ultra-low-power sensing and communication with Hanshow’s industrial-scale deployment capabilities, aiming to set a new technological benchmark for the global retail sector.

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As retailers worldwide transition to increasingly automated, data-rich, and energy-efficient store environments, demand is rising for IoT systems that can sense, adapt and operate reliably at scale. The partnership will tackle this challenge head-on by integrating Cambridge research in intelligent sensing, energy harvesting and algorithmic optimisation with Hanshow’s edge-computing platforms and extensive real-world retail data infrastructure.

The joint project will explore new classes of intelligent RFID antennas, ultra-low-power communication modules and self-sustaining RFID nodes capable of ambient energy harvesting. By combining theoretical modelling, simulation and in-store experimentation, the team aims to dramatically improve signal coverage, data fidelity and resilience in complex retail environments.

For Cambridge researchers, the collaboration offers an opportunity to demonstrate how state-of-the-art engineering in distributed hardware systems can deliver measurable commercial and societal impact. For Hanshow, it provides a direct innovation pathway to future AIoT-driven retail solutions that enhance operational accuracy, reduce energy consumption and support more sustainable, responsive store infrastructures.

“With this collaboration, Hanshow is taking a decisive step toward reshaping the technological backbone of future retail,” said Min Liang, CTO of Hanshow. “Working with Cambridge enables us to convert advanced research into scalable, intelligent systems that deliver meaningful value for retailers worldwide.”

“By combining our work in low-energy, high-efficiency hardware with Hanshow’s global innovation capacity, we can accelerate the arrival of truly adaptive retail IoT,” said Associate Professor Michael Crisp, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge. “This partnership is a powerful example of how academic–industry collaboration can drive real-world impact.”

The programme will progress through a series of research milestones and experimental deployments, generating both academic outputs and commercially ready technologies. It forms a central part of Hanshow’s global R&D strategy to connect digital and physical retail through AIoT architectures that improve efficiency, transparency and sustainability.

Hanshow continues to expand its worldwide innovation network, investing in open research collaborations that transform cutting-edge engineering into solutions that help retailers compete in an increasingly data-driven marketplace.

About Hanshow

Hanshow is a global leader in developing and manufacturing electronic shelf labels and digital store solutions. The company offers customers a series of customized IoT touchpoints and digital store solutions that deliver customer-centric insights. Hanshow’s solutions have provided services to a vast number of stores in over 70 countries and regions, helping them streamline operations, optimize pricing strategies, and offer customers a more personalized experience. In addition, Hanshow delivers advanced digital energy solutions, supporting clients with intelligent in-store energy optimization and integrated PV storage charging systems to reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions, and accelerate their transition toward sustainable operations. Learn more: www.hanshow.com

Hanshow and the University of Cambridge Announce Strategic Research Partnership to Advance Next-Generation Augmented RFID