Open Source Summit + Embedded Linux Conference North America 2026

This session introduces the open-source Unified Autonomy Stack (https://github.com/ntnu-arl/unified_autonomy_stack), a containerized, system-level solution enabling robust autonomy across diverse aerial and ground robot morphologies. The architecture centers on three modules -multi-modal perception, multi-stage planning, and multi-layered safety mechanisms- that together deliver end-to-end mission autonomy. Resulting behaviors include safe navigation into unknown regions, exploration of complex environments, and efficient inspection planning. The stack has been validated on multiple multirotor platforms and legged robots operating in GNSS-denied and perceptually degraded environments, demonstrating resilient performance in demanding conditions. To facilitate ease of adoption and extension, we additionally release a reference hardware design that integrates a full multi-modal sensing suite, time-synchronization electronics, and high-performance compute capable of running the entire ROS-based stack while leaving headroom for further development. Strategically, we aim to expand the Unified Autonomy Stack to cover most robot configurations across air, land, and sea.