8 Video Feeds, 1 Shared Common Operating Picture: Drone Feeds Embedded in ARTAK 3D Map

Unmanned systems rarely come from one vendor. A unit may run Parrot ANAFIs, custom MAVLink drones, DeltaQuad VTOLs, ground robots, and even underwater drones. Each one has its own controller, its own app, and its own view of the fight, so operators end up switching screens when they should be making decisions.

At the Eolian Lab in Largo, Florida, we put that problem to the test. ARTAK brought eight live video feeds and six tracked assets, from the air, the ground, and underwater, into one shared 3D map that the whole team saw at the same time in Meta Quest 3 headsets.

What the demonstration showed

Seven kinds of unmanned systems fed one ARTAK server at once:

• Air: Parrot ANAFI, another commercial quadcopter, a custom MAVLink UAS, a custom FPV UAS, and a DeltaQuad Pro VTOL.
• Ground: two gas-powered unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
• Subsurface: a commercial unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).

The result: eight live video feeds, six assets with live position and status, and one common operational picture.

How it works

Video comes into the ARTAK server and streams to every headset over WebRTC. Position and status come in over ATAK and its UAS plugin. Each asset appears on the shared 3D map at its reported location, next to its live feed, so every member of the team sees the same feeds and the same tracks at the same time.

It works across different platforms and different data links. The team doesn't need a separate screen for each system; it gets one common picture.

Why it matters

• Decisions instead of screen-switching: a commander sees what each sensor sees, where it is, and how it relates to the plan and the other assets.
• Mixed fleets, one workflow: air, ground, and underwater systems from different makers land in the same map.
• Built on what units already run: position and status come through ATAK, and ARTAK works with the wider TAK ecosystem.

ARTAK runs on the Eolian Simulation Platform (ESP), a modular, open-architecture system that runs at the edge, on-premises, or in the cloud. Live video builds on everything else in Block 3: the Weapon Inventory's engagement envelopes, doctrinal symbology built to MIL-STD-2525E, and multi-user headset sync.

Watch it, then get it

Watch the demonstration on YouTube.

Live video is included in ARTAK Block 3 at no extra cost. New teams can start with a Solo Starter at $3,400 a year, with a free Meta Quest 3 through 31 December 2026, or see every kit and price at eolianvr.com/pricing. The full Block 3 release notes are in What's new in ARTAK Block 3.

Running a mixed fleet with a fragmented common operational picture? Let's talk: mike@eolianvr.com.

Thanks to the Eolian team and to our collaborators at Bentley Systems, Cesium, and Skydio.