Mission
NavAbility is empowering spatially-aware robotics by advancing mapping and localization software through industry and community.
We understand building mapping a localization solutions are expensive and require an expert team. NavAbility believes a standardized navigation platform will accelerate the development and accessibility of robotic automation technologies.
NavAbility bridging the gap between industry, community, and research, allowing our customers to focus on their game changing application.
NavAbility is fostering a mutually beneficial community of stakeholders as the best approach to solve the hard data-fusion challenges. Through inclusion, we empower customers who are looking to expand their robotics, perception, navigation, mapping, localization teams. Productivity is best achieved through a hybrid approach of established open practices and commercial certainty.
NavAbility invites you to join the community who are revolutionizing how mapping & localization software is designed, developed, and delivered.
About us
Dehann Fourie
Chief Executive Officer
Dehann’s research and development interest is in Artificial Intelligence (AI) relating to Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) with specialization in techniques for non-Gaussian (multi-modal / multi-hypothesis) simultaneous localization and mapping SLAM, including patented factor graph based inertial navigation. Dehann has over 10 years of academic and industry research experience on GNC/SLAM algorithms for a variety of robotic platforms including: solar powered aerial drones; visual inspection satellites aboard the International Space Station; deep ocean autonomous vehicles for data mule and sampling; humanoid robotics in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Dehann is a co-founder of NavAbility as well as juliarobotics.org and the Caesar.jl framework.
Dehann, working from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) in Cambridge, MA, received his Ph.D, ’17 in the Joint Program from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (EECS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (AOSE). Before that, completing a M.Ing (Aero + Elec.), B.Ing (Elec. cum laude), and B.Sc (Computer Science, cum laude) from the University of Johannesburg, RSA.
Sam has over 13 years experience in software engineering and is passionate about taking novel systems to market. His career includes architecting three commercially-successful automation and data analysis products for the mining industry, managing his engineering consulting+software development company, and developing machine learning software at General Electric. Sam is a co-founder of NavAbility as well as a co-founder of JuliaRobotics and a contributor to the Caesar.jl framework.
Sam is an MBA candidate at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. He received his M.Ing (Cum Laude), B.Ing (Electronic+Electrical), and B.Sc (Computer Science) from the University of Johannesburg.
Sam Claassens
President
Johan Terblanche
Chief Technology Officer
Johan has over 10 years industry experience in observation and navigation systems, stabilized gimbal systems, embedded software and electronic hardware design, and inertial navigation systems. His research interests include navigation, guidance and control systems applied to robotics and algorithms development in the Julia language, Johan is a co-founder of JuliaRobotics and a contributor to the Caesar.jl framework.
Johan received his M.Ing (Cum Laude), B.Ing (Electronic+Electrical), and B.Sc (Computer Science) from the University of Johannesburg.
Jim has more than 15 years of experience in software, mechanical, and manufacturing engineering in industries including healthcare, education, automotive, mining, aviation and power generation. As the director of cloud systems at NavAbility, he is responsible for engineering systems to leverage the cloud-edge hybrid model only made possible by non-Gaussian graph designs. Scale, security, and ease of integration are always top of mind for Jim.
Before joining NavAbility, he held roles as a design engineer, applications engineer, software engineer, and enterprise architect at Caterpillar, Renishaw, GE Digital, and Intelligent Medical Objects respectively. This breadth of experience across many engineering disciplines allows him to provide a comprehensive view of how digital technology can help solve the next generation of localization challenges. Jim holds a masters degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech as well as a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering.
Jim Hill
Board member
