By Crystal Hardinger

Dave Vos is absolutely certain the day will come when both manned and unmanned airplanes are flying together in the same airspace.

The founder of the former Athena Technologies and the current senior director of Control Technologies for Rockwell Collins, Vos has little doubt that what many people deem unrealistic today will indeed happen within his lifetime.

Photo by Rodin Lyasoff, Warrenton, Va.
The founding father - A South African native and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dave Vos founded the former Athena Technologies in 1998. The company was acquired by Rockwell Collins in April 2008.

"It will be like stepping on one of those trains at the airport that nobody is driving," said Vos, whose fascination with airplanes began during his childhood days in South Africa. "You will be able to fly, fully automated, from one airport to another simply by pushing a button."

His insatiable desire to develop new solutions for the aerospace and defense industry began in the late 1970s while Vos was a student at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Realizing that autopilot development required a cheaper and faster solution with less variation, he relocated to the United States and earned a doctorate in Estimation and Control from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Mass. It was there that he began developing theory to design control systems in a different way.

His research – and the development of patented algorithms – ultimately led to the 1998 launch of Athena Technologies. Eventually, this Warrenton, Va.-based company caught the attention of Rockwell Collins and, on April 7, 2008, about 70 employees joined the Rockwell Collins family.

Filling a gap
Prior to acquiring Athena Technologies, senior leaders at Rockwell Collins were searching for ways to fill a gap within Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) – an area within our Government Systems Precision Strike Solutions portfolio.

According to Steve Kennell, director of Advanced Sensors Product Line Management at Rockwell Collins, our company had been forced in the past to buy sensor technologies from two of our largest competitors.

"We tried developing competitive [sensor] technologies in the past, but they were heavily patented," said Kennell, who was actively involved in the acquisition. "We had to buy from others, and going to some of your biggest competitors for a core technology you need [to compete against them] isn't a good answer."

Eventually, our company began looking for alternatives with low cost approaches, and finally found alignment with Athena Technologies – a company that develops advanced, integrated flight control systems and sensor suites.

"Honeywell and Northrop Grumman have patented their own superstar sensors," said Kennell. "Athena Technologies took a different approach that does not tie them to one sensor technology."

As a result, Rockwell Collins is now able to develop products with sensor capabilities that are very competitive in power, size, weight, and cost without having to depend on others.

Aligned visions
According to Kennell, when Rockwell Collins forms strategic alliances, buying a company is not necessarily the preferred option. But in this case, leaders from both companies approached the deal in nearly the same fashion.

Athena Technologies currently develops and provides flight control and navigation solutions primarily for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market segment. Yet, Vos has always envisioned doing more in manned market segments.

"Athena's mission from day one was to commoditize and commercialize the control theory I had put into several patents," said Vos. "We started in the unmanned systems world, but the long view is aviation at large."

About two years ago, Vos took a good look at world and market dynamics, and noticed the unmanned systems marketplace was beginning to mature and consolidate. That meant he needed to position his company for future change.

Although he wasn't initially looking to sell Athena Technologies, he still began making a list of companies he thought were best-suited for the company he founded.

"We were looking at the next level of collaboration needed in order to make our growth profiles even more aggressive," said Vos. "It's no secret that Rockwell Collins was at the top of the list."

And, as leaders from the two companies got to know one another, the visions quickly aligned.

"This acquisition really helps fill INS gaps and positions our company in the UAV marketplace," said Kennell. "It opens up a whole new era of growth for both Government and Commercial Systems."