The Business of Drone Autonomy: Hardware, Defense, and AI | Stefan Hrabar, Emesent

<p>What happens when a drone needs to navigate underground, inside a building, or in an environment where GPS is unavailable?</p><p><br></p><p>Dr. Stefan Hrabar is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Emesent, an Australian robotics company developing autonomous navigation and 3D mapping technology. After completing his PhD in robotics at USC, Stefan spent a decade researching drone autonomy at Australia’s CSIRO before co-founding Emesent in 2018.</p><p><br></p><p>Stefan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanhrabar/Emesent: https://www.emesent.com/</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Follow the show!</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3F1sc8yzQIF9WcdHQ3w7kf</p><p><br></p><p>Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-drone-ultimatum/id1770994541⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to our newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://thedroneultimatum.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</p><p><br></p><p>X (Twitter)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://x.com/DroneUltimatum</p><p><br></p><p>LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-drone-ultimatum/</p><p><br></p><p>Our website: https://www.thedroneultimatum.com/</p><p><br></p><p>Steve on X: https://x.com/StevenSimoni</p><p><br></p><p>Steve on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevensimoni</p><p><br></p><p>In this episode of The Drone Ultimatum, Stefan joins Steve to discuss how Emesent developed Hovermap, a LiDAR-based system that enables drones and ground robots to navigate and map complex environments without GPS. </p><p><br></p><p>Originally developed for underground mining, the technology has expanded into defense applications, including subterranean reconnaissance, building mapping, and battlefield damage assessment.</p><p><br></p><p>They also discuss the challenges of building and scaling a hardware company, from raising venture capital and managing manufacturing costs to protecting intellectual property. </p><p><br></p><p>Stefan explains why Emesent relies heavily on trade secrets rather than patents, how investor attitudes toward hardware have changed, and what it takes to adapt commercial technology for military customers.</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation also covers defense supply chains, NDAA compliance, international distribution, and the growing role of AI in robotics and software development.</p><p><br></p><p>From converting gas-p