Exail Technologies is listed in Paris and focuses on navigational and maritime robotics. It has a range of maritime drones, with applications from mine-sweeping to assisting with offshore wind, offshore oil and gas and civil infrastructure projects in coastal waters. A key to these drones is incorporating Exail’s Inertial Navigation Systems. We have reviewed the technology.
We have argued that the rise of AI is going to unlock more opportunities in robotics and drones. In turn, these systems will need to incorporate sensors, ranging from computer vision informed by camera arrays to precise positioning systems.
GPS can be a great way to gauge position. But it is less effective at ultra-precise resolutions. It can be jammed or spoofed in conflict zones. And it is not available at all in some locations, such as underwater, in underground mines, or in some fjords/mountainous areas.
Enter Inertial Navigation Systems. If you know where you started, and you know how far you have moved, and in which direction, then you can figure out your exact location. Highly sensitive data can be sourced from Cold Atom Accelerometers and Fiber Optic Gyroscopes, which are both discussed at length in patents from Exail Technologies.
Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOGs) detect precise changes in angle via the Sagnac effect. Specifically, a beam of light is split into two. The two beams travel in opposite directions through the same coil of looped fiber-optic cable, and then arrive back at the detector. If the coil has been rotated, then the two beams will arrive at the detector very slightly out of phase. Hence the phase difference between the two beams indicates the degree of rotation.
For example, Exail’s Octans9 Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) was launched in 2025, measures heading with an accuracy of 0.05-0.1°, is 25% smaller than previous generations, and has a 12W power consumption. In January-2025, Oceaneering placed an order for >100 Exail Octans9 AHRSs, to aid in the positioning of offshore survey vessels, drillships and ROVs. Other major orders are noted in the data-file.
In this data-file, we have reviewed a sample of Exail’s patents, in order to assess Exail inertial navigation technology. Our conclusions around the focus areas, problem areas, competition and moat are noted in the data-file.