Riverside Research and Tera AI Partner to Provide Mapping Solution in GPS-Denied Environments in Air and Surface Domains

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- National security nonprofit Riverside Research proudly announces a partnership with Tera AI, an innovative AI startup creating advanced real-time spatial reasoning for autonomous robotics.

In today's electronic warfare (EW) space, GPS receivers are often the initial targets of adversarial actions. When GPS systems are targeted, jammed, or spoofed, autonomous systems struggle to meet mission objectives.

This can result in dangerous conditions for pilots and vehicles. Additionally, lack of real-time battlefield intelligence and target identification can threaten military operations due to limited knowledge of the area.

Tera AI's solution provides clarity, filling the gaps created by jamming. Their DeepSLAM technology uses single passive cameras to create 3D maps of unknown areas.

Tera AI founder, Dr. Tony Zhang, describes how AI foundation models like world models can enable spatial intelligence, such as domain-agnostic visual navigation and real-time mapping. "Autonomy has historically depended on highly controlled environments and vehicle-specific software with fragile dependencies such as GPS," says Zhang. "As GPS and comms jamming becomes standard, autonomous systems will require real-time spatial intelligence to realize its location, while adapting to changing platform needs."

While field operations are an obvious application for this technology, GPS is also essential to platforms ranging from commercial aircraft to global shipping networks. By integrating DeepSLAM into its existing offerings, Riverside Research delivers resilient positioning capabilities that avoid common GPS-related disruptions and help ensure mission continuity in contested and disrupted environments.

"Unless you intentionally go 'off grid,' most of us can drop a pin on our phone and know where we are at any given moment," says Carl Nerup, Vice President, Corporate Development at Riverside Research. "Now imagine if you couldn't do that because your GPS was no longer working on your phone, in an airplane, or in an unmanned vehicle. DeepSLAM is the best and most reliable system to provide your location, and we are pleased to have Tera AI as partners in the national security market."

This partnership focuses on mitigating data voids to improve the accuracy of safety products and intelligence missions, while leveraging Riverside Research's ability to integrate Tera AI's DeepSLAM technology into existing capabilities.

About Riverside Research

Riverside Research is a national security nonprofit serving the DOD and Intelligence Community. Through the company's Open Innovation Center (OIC), it invests in multidisciplinary research and development and encourages collaboration. Riverside Research's areas of expertise include Object and Activity Detection; Accelerated AI/ML; Zero Trust; Open Architectures; Computational Electromagnetics; Plasma Physics; Precision Timing; Terahertz Imaging; Commercial Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR); Collection Planning; and more. Learn more at www.riversideresearch.org.

About Tera AI

Tera AI develops AI-powered perception software that enables autonomous systems to navigate, map, and understand complex environments using regular cameras. Built on the company's proprietary geospatial foundation models, Tera AI's software delivers visual navigation, real-time 3D mapping, and other geospatial intelligence capabilities for autonomy. The foundation model approach allows for rapid integration across a wide range of unmanned aerial and ground systems, helping manufacturers deploy resilient autonomy with no platform modification. To learn more, visit http://www.tera-ai.com.

SOURCE RIVERSIDE RESEARCH