Aerospace Defence Events

V-Nova’s MPEG-5 LCEVC integrated on Leonardo’s AWHERO RUAS

Posted 10 July 2024

Leonardo has integrated V-Nova’s LCEVC solution - an implementation of the MPEG-5 LCEVC (Low Complexity Enhancement Video Coding) part-2 standard - into its AWHERO Rotorcraft Uncrewed Aerial System (RUAS), capable of a wide range of missions to include land, littoral and blue-water surveillance operations.

Above: The LCEVC-enhanced AWHERO RUAS will be showcased at the upcoming Farnborough Air Show (FIA), taking place later this month (22nd-26th July 2024).
Courtesy Leonardo

Real-time detection and recognition missions suffer limitation in bandwidth and strict latency requirements, leading to impaired video feeds and compromised AI-driven inference. AWHERO will leverage LCEVC to both improve video quality and bandwidth usage within the low latency requirements of real-time detection, recognition and identification applications.

MPEG-5 part 2 LCEVC is the latest MPEG and ISO standard. Instead of replacing existing codecs, LCEVC enhances them, reducing energy consumption of the transcoding process by up to 70%. This translates directly in savings at the encoding end, lowering the environmental impact of video streaming. LCEVC also augments compression efficiency by up to 40%, with benefits that stack upon those of other methods to improve video compression, rather than being an alternative.

Leonardo integrated V-Nova’s LCEVC solution into the mission computer of the AWHERO, Leonardo's state-of-the-art RUAS. This integration marks a significant advancement in video streaming capabilities for aerospace applications. The higher quality of the solution is particularly suitable for AI-Driven analytics, real-time decision-making, and enhanced user experiences in AI-powered services.

"Integrating our LCEVC codec with Leonardo’s AWHERO RUAS is a testament to the versatility and efficiency of our technology," said Guido Meardi, CEO at V-Nova. "We are thrilled to demonstrate how our AI-enhanced compression technology can materially improve video streaming in demanding environments like aerospace and defence."

"V-Nova’s LCEVC solution integration into our AWHERO RUAS aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation and excellence," said Stuart Curtis, responsible for Avionics Systems on Autonomous VTOL Vehicles at Leonardo. “This video solution enhances our RUAS capabilities, providing unmatched video quality and performance."

Those attending the Farnborough Air Show (FIA) can visit Leonardo's static display area to see AWHERO and the capabilities triggered by V-Nova’s LCEVC solution.