Amazon and Walmart are making plans toward faster delivery of goods by drone, while TV dramas bring drones into their stories. And evaluation and test of technologies to protect airports and aircraft from unwanted drone incursions is picking up speed — while sense-and-avoid technology takes big steps forward toward integration of drones in the U.S. National Airspace.
Amazon and Walmart. Amazon is working hard to enable deliveries using drones — even advocating a “high-speed” transit zone 200-400 feet above ground level. Delivery drones can then zoom between warehouse and customer carrying goods so orders show up super quick, right on your doorstep.
Proposed Amazon drone-traffic-control system.
Drone-traffic-control would be automated — too many drones over too many cities to use conventional air-traffic control. With a buffer zone of 100ft above drone traffic and regular manned aircraft, and no-fly zones around airports, low speed localized drone-traffic would transit from the high speed area to the delivery point. And recreational model aircraft and other drones would be limited to flying in designated areas, or up to 200ft within drone-traffic-control segments. Amazon seems to indicate that the technology to enable all this is already pretty well there — it’s selling the concept and developing the regulations which will take the most time.
So not wanting to miss out on automation using drones, Walmart is now talking about using drones in warehouses to monitor stock levels. Inventory control currently uses manual stock-taking which takes up to a month for just one pass through a large facility — while a complete stock count is possible in one day using hi-res drone-camera data.
Walmart warehouse.
To keep pace with the competition for its on-line business, its essential for Walmart to avoid out-of-stock and overstocked items, and tight, rapid inventory control is the key. So drones in warehouses, and data analytics is where they are headed.
Walmart is already looking for approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test home delivery using drones, so it may not be long before their drones get out of the warehouses and start testing how to fulfill online orders, too.
NCIS New Orleans. I was just thinking about this month’s drone update article while imitating a couch potato watching TV last evening, when NCIS New Orleans airs a show built around drones. A Predator pilot uses his day-time skills frying drone operations to search for a missing person. He buys an “undetectable drone” from a couple of drone geeks and makes aerial maps around his base. There were segments of simulated Predator operations, protests about overseas drone operations, an octocopter on the street in New Orleans and a DJI hobby drone flown on camera by a young boy. Other than a couple of technical errors, the show demonstrated just how much drones are now becoming part of our daily life, and how much the public is hearing about UAV technology.
And talking about undetectable drones — the FAA is using its Pathfinder Program to investigate a defensive system to protect airports from drone incursions. The FAA will evaluate a UK system known as Anti-UAV Defence System (AUDS) developed by Blighter Surveillance, Chess Dynamics and Enterprise Control Systems— the system is claimed to be able to detect, track, disrupt and defeat drones.
AUDS system.
National Airspace. Increasingly concerned about reports of UAVs flying too close to an airport or to manned aircraft the FAA and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have been searching for a system that can defend against drones.
The AUDS system uses electronic scanning radar, precision infrared, daylight cameras and specialist video tracking software to detect and track even small drones up to six miles away. An inhibitor then disrupts the drone radio control signals. The whole sequence of detect, track, disrupt, defeat process typically only takes 8-15 seconds. And the system has already undergone over 400 hours of ‘live’ testing against small UAVs.
In addition, the MITRE Corporation — a technical service organization which supports several U.S. government agencies — is investigating products and technology to detect and stop drones, through a funded competition called “Countering UAS Challenge”. Eligible solutions need to detect small airborne UAS, and discern and interdict those that are perceived as threats, forcing them to be recovered safely with an intact payload. MITRE has now selected eight finalists who will compete in live flight tests in August to determine the winners of a $100,000 prize package.
So although efforts are underway to protect airports and aircraft from wayward drones, the bad press that drones have been getting recently might not all be appropriate. The FAA recently released drone sighting data for March this year which has now been analyzed in some detail by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). AMA found that within the 582 drone sightings reported only 3.3% appear to involve near-misses or close calls.
Drone Sightings. Given that over a million drones were sold during the 2015 Thanksgiving-Christmas holiday season, it does appear that drone “sightings” are on the decline, and related reports to law enforcement also appear to be going down. So its possible that the FAA drone registration program, and the industry-FAA Know Before You Fly have positively improved the operation of drones by the public.
And while we’re all looking for ways to detect and deter drones from the ground, General Atomics (GA) has announced the successful operational testing of an airborne anti-collision radar system which includes GA’s Due Regard Radar (DRR) and Honeywell’s Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) and Sensor Tracker. Tests were carried out aboard a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Guardian UAS, a maritime variant of the Predator B.
GA’s Due Regard Radar (DRR) drone.
During encounters with a Cessna fixed wing aircraft and a Blackhawk helicopter, safe separation was ensured between the UAV and the other traffic. Overland testing began at the GA facility near Palmdale, California, and concluded over the eastern Pacific Ocean. The tests confirmed that the pilot of the UAV had as a clear picture of surrounding air traffic as if he was flying in the cockpit of a manned aircraft. The tests also confirmed operational compatibility between the DRR radar and the maritime surface search radar carried by the Guardian UAV.
This is a significant step forward — albeit on a military drone — towards technologies which will ultimately enable integration of UAVs into the U.S. National Airspace. If we are also getting recreational operators to be more mindful of safely operating their hobby drones, and we can also prevent unwanted encroachment on airports and manned aircraft, then plans for delivery drones might also begin to make some progress.
Gamma 2 Robotics introduced its new RAMSEE security patrol robot at Hexagon’s international conference HxGN LIVE, which is being held June 13-16 in Anaheim, California. The launch is part of a new partnership with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure.
RAMSEE is a physical presence that patrols autonomously without supervision and provides real-time data on intruders, motion, heat, fire, smoke, gas and more. the company says in a news release.
“RAMSEE will change the world of security because it never rests and operates at a fraction of the cost paid for other security services,” says Lew Pincus, chief executive officer, Gamma 2 Robotics. “We built RAMSEE to be ideally suited for the overnight dull, dirty and dangerous patrols nobody wants to do. These are the jobs for which the security industry struggles to find staffing.”
RAMSEE can be used by companies that provide security personnel, as well as end users of security services, to provide safety and security at a lower cost than staffing with greater reliability.
“Mobile sensor platforms, such as robots and drones, have the potential to disrupt public safety and security markets,” said Kalyn Sims, chief technology officer, Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure. “Through our partnership with Gamma 2 Robotics and other efforts, Hexagon is exploring the integration of mobile sensor platforms, command-and-control software and advanced analytics to enhance public safety and security.”
The robot can be integrated with other safety and security assets, such as video surveillance systems, access control systems, building automation systems and others, into command-and-control software for a comprehensive solution for threat detection, assessment and response.
At HxGN LIVE, Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure and Gamma 2 Robotics are demonstrating the capabilities of a comprehensive physical security information management (PSIM) solution featuring Hexagon’s command-and-control software and multiple security systems and sensors, including RAMSEE.
“We teamed with Hexagon Safety & Infrastructure and chose to launch our new line of security robots at HxGN LIVE because Hexagon’s global footprint and reputation for innovative solutions provide an international platform for our game-changing, disruptive technology in security services,” Pincus says.
CEE HydroSystems has released a new single beam echo sounder survey system designed for shallow water unmanned surface vehicle (USV) survey applications, using both commercially available and one-off custom manufactured vessels.
The CEESCOPE-USV is a waterproof echo sounder, GNSS and broadband radio telemetry package that can be installed on remotely-operated crafts. It is a self-contained unit requiring no interface with the USV.
The CEESCOPE-USV uses real time broadband radio telemetry, detailed 20-hertz dual frequency soundings, up to 20 hertz RTK GNSS and a 3,200 sample per ping digital echogram, which are available on shore via the CEE-LINK radio base station. Using software packages such as HYPACK and Eye4Software Hydromagic data from the CEESCOPE-USV telemetry link, the operator can steer the USV along the survey line like in any manned boat survey.
“By removing the requirement for the vehicle to also handle data telemetry, total system costs may be reduced, and the separation of the instrument and vehicle electronics offers advantages for obtaining clean data, our main concern as an instrument manufacturer,” says Adrian McDonald, CEE Hydrosystems. “By giving surveyors a complete data package designed for USV surveying, we have made it a little easier for firms to create their own USV designs as they no longer have to worry about how to handle their data. Additionally, users wishing to add real time video or side scan capability to their USV simply plug the data output from these devices into the CEESCOPE-USV and those data are relayed to the shore with the GNSS and bathymetry data. Similarly, navigation data may be exported from the CEESCOPE-USV to vehicle control systems if needed, such as for waypoint guidance.”
A: PNT accuracy, availability and assurance will increase in importance. UAV payloads for military applications routinely require precise PNT information to geolocate sensor data for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. High-end commercial applications for survey and mapping will require similarly high levels of accuracy and availability. As commercial UAV operations enter the national airspace, PNT assurance levels will increase with the need for GNSS receivers designed for safety critical applications.
A: Whether for military or commercial use, the accuracy requirements of a UAV’s positioning, navigation and timing system depend on the UAV’s size/weight, the mission duration and complexity, and the information being gathered. Commercial UAV applications such as mobile survey, mapping, surveillance and virtual imagery real-time overlays require higher levels of accuracy, particularly for UAVs in urban or heavily populated areas with tight restrictions. Many higher-end UAV accuracy requirements dictate the use of FOG-based inertial systems.
A: As the growth of small UAS operations increase in the National Airspace System, it will be interesting to track how PNT standards and certifications evolve in order to adapt to a more versatile UAV aircraft certification system. Likely a tiered system will be required to map PNT requirements for lower risk, lower accuracy and lower cost applications to higher risk systems or those which require higher precision due to their mission profiles.
TomTom has expanded coverage of its High Definition (HD) Map and RoadDNA products to 17 new states across the U.S., the company announced at TU-Automotive Detroit, which is being held June 8-9 in Novi, Michigan.
“With over 122,000 kilometres (75,800 miles) of HD Map coverage globally, we’re equipping our automotive customers with the data needed to continue to push autonomous driving forward,” said Willem Strijbosch, head of autonomous driving at TomTom. “The importance of having a map in the vehicle for autonomous driving is now widely accepted; TomTom has responded to this need with an unprecedented ability to provide HD Maps today, while others are still in the R&D stage.”
TomTom’s HD Map and RoadDNA are now available for interstates in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont; interstates and highways in California, Michigan, and Nevada;
and the Autobahn network in Germany.
TomTom HD Map and RoadDNA are two highly accurate digital map products aiding automated vehicles to precisely locate themselves on the road and plan maneuvers. The technologies are being rolled out in strategic geographies and are the subject of key partnerships with other automotive suppliers.
The company also unveiled its Localisation Demonstrator, a new demonstration device that leverages its HD Map and RoadDNA technology to provide lane-level localization of a vehicle. The device, utilizing sensors, combines TomTom autonomous driving content with TomTom correlation software for precision of the data, and the ability to perform real-time lane positioning.
“We believe that this demo enables our customers to truly experience the powerful nature of our autonomous driving products,” Strijboschsaid. “This demo not only illustrates TomTom’s product innovation but also enables us to elevate the level of engagement with our automotive partners.”
The company is showcasing its autonomous driving products at booth C116 at TU-Automotive.
Unmanned tactical wheeled vehicles for logistics and route clearance missions provide a significant force protection advantage — removing personnel from targeted vehicles, extending standoff distance from explosives, and empowering a single operator to simultaneously supervise multiple unmanned assets in convoy. This article discusses some of the enabling technologies and the motivations behind them, for safer and more efficient logistics and route clearance operations in a tactical environment.
By John Beck
Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) that can semi-autonomously operate over complex terrain represent a promising technological enabler for effective logistics supply and route clearance functions.
Oshkosh Defense has developed autonomous systems for tactical wheeled vehicles (TWVs), working closely with government agencies on autonomous appliqué systems with developed tactics, techniques and procedures that together offer a more efficient and less perilous means to perform critical missions in theater.
The system is designed to be unobtrusive, so that the host platform retains its original mobility, payload capacity, survivability (minimal impact to armor) and manual operation. By upgrading existing fleet vehicles with the capability for unmanned operation, the TerraMax UGV technology can economically and innovatively deliver force protection and force multiplication advantages.
MOTIVATION
Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) pose one of the greatest threats to today’s ground forces carrying out logistics missions in hostile environments. While the up-armoring of tactical vehicles has been effective in reducing casualties, the warfighter remains at risk to the ever-increasing net explosive weights. By fielding UGVs, militaries will be able to remove personnel from TWVs and mitigate the danger of armor overmatch.
To increase efficiency of a reduced force structure, UGVs will serve as force multipliers, enabling a warfighter in a protected vehicle to supervise the coordinated operation of multiple UGVs from a safe standoff distance. These UGVs will be able to operate for extended periods of time, during day and night, and through dust and adverse weather conditions without fatigue or loss of awareness. UGVs will precisely maintain vehicle separation, enabling greater security, improved efficiency and fewer collisions.
Environment Drives Design. To be sustainable in theater, unmanned TWVs must equal their manned counterparts in performance, reliability and mobility in austere tactical environments. For the purposes of overcoming complex terrain, prevailing TWVs are engineered to be capable of feats such as fording 1.5 meters of water and traversing 60% gradients and 30% side slopes.
In addition, these vehicles are expected to operate across broad temperature extremes in dusty, sandy or muddy environments, enduring all manner of precipitation, vegetation and weather conditions. The stringent operational requirements of expeditionary forces influence both individual component selection and overall system design for manned vehicles; the same is true for an unmanned appliqué complement, which must be capable of interpreting and operating in these harsh and complex environments.
ENABLING FULL MOBILITY
TerraMax UGVs are actuated by a tightly integrated drive-by-wire system enabling precise vehicle control using MIL-STD system components to ensure reliability and durability in a tactical environment. It is a safety-critical system that integrates with relevant vehicle components, including steering, engine, brakes, transmission and auxiliary driving functions (such as the central tire inflation system, drive line locks and engine braking), preserving the broad mobility characteristics of the host platform.
The drive-by-wire system both enables higher level robotic control functionality and provides independent benefits in the form of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features to benefit manual driving, reducing accidents and collisions.
To facilitate detecting errors absent in an in-vehicle driver’s intuition, the drive-by-wire system communicates with core vehicle diagnostic sensors. It also utilizes add-on sensors that enable monitoring of vehicle and auxiliary subsystem attributes such as hydraulic and pneumatic pressures, ambient and local temperatures, fuel and fluid levels, battery charges and power usage.
All of this data is accessible from the control interface. In addition, threshold values are configured for each monitored sensor such that an operator will be advised if any components exceed warning or critical levels. This ensures that severe conditions do not go unnoticed by an operator, who could be at a distance beyond direct line of sight and may be preoccupied or otherwise unable to dedicate full attention to monitoring multiple UGVs downrange.
Perception Sensors. The TerraMax UGV sensor suite (Figure 1) uses multiple sensor modalities to provide robust sensing capability. The primary sensor for analyzing terrain and obstacles is the high-definition (HD) laser detection and ranging (LADAR), with 64 scanning lasers sweeping 360 degrees.
Figure 1. Sensor suite aboard TerraMax UGV.
In addition, radars are positioned around the vehicle to detect moving obstacles such as other vehicles. Wide-angle cameras are also positioned around the periphery to give a remote operator the ability to visually check vehicle surroundings.
A navigation solution using GPS and an inertial navigation system (INS) supports the ability to drive accurately even with limited GPS signal availability. On the roof facing forward are two cameras used for teleoperation of the vehicle: a wide dynamic range (WDR) camera for daytime use and a short wavelength infrared (SWIR) camera for night operations.
Perception Software. The TerraMax UGV perception software leverages a multi-sensor suite that compensates for the weaknesses of one sensing modality with the strengths of another; for example, relying upon the dust-penetrating ability of automotive radar when LADAR and visible-spectrum camera feeds are obscured.
The perception software uses several modules to interpret the world around it: terrain detection, which assesses roughness of the nearby terrain and informs the selection of appropriate speeds; terrain classification, which distinguishes among foliage, dust or other airborne obscurants and obstacles (Figure 2) and enables traversability appraisals of the surrounding area; and dynamic obstacle detection, which tracks vehicles and dismounts and allows the UGV to exhibit defensive driving behaviors. This software also affords situational awareness and a means for remote supervision of the vehicle by providing processed output for display at the operator control unit.
Figure 2. Perception system display in the TerraMax UGV.
In addition, fused sensor data are combined using novel registration techniques that couple the vehicle’s perception of its surroundings with ground-truth geospatial mapping data to correct for errors in GPS position estimates. This allows the system to be enhanced by, rather than dependent upon, GPS and vehicle-to-vehicle data. Government testing has demonstrated the ability of the TerraMax UGV system to endure complete GPS blackout for more than 19 kilometers with no noticeable impact on mission performance.
Key features of the perception system are:
operable in all environments under all weather and lighting conditions;
installed inconspicuously on the base vehicle and capable of covert modes of operation;
able to deliver reliable system performance under extreme GPS degradation or denial.
Motion-Planning Software. This onboard software takes in an operator’s objectives regarding routing, speed and inter-vehicle spacing as entered during mission planning or on-the-fly. It consequently observes processed sensor data from the perception system and calculates and executes speed and steering commands that guide the vehicle along an optimal path. The motion planning software has been developed with machine learning techniques to emulate smooth human driving behaviors such as avoidance of obstacles and terrain hazards while maintaining appropriate vehicle speed on various terrains.
Key features of the motion planning system are:
intelligent speed and path selection in all terrain, including secondary roads and trails;
capability of sustaining high platform mobility (for example, handling fording and grade climbs);
ability to support high operational tempo (OPTEMPO).
Modes of Operation. When enabled for unmanned operation, a TerraMax UGV can be placed in one of three different modes: semi-autonomous, follower,or tele-operation. The mode selection for each vehicle is controlled from the primary OCU that can be installed in any other tactical or combat vehicle.
In semi-autonomous mode, basic waypoint navigation via GPS coordinates is supported. In addition, mission plans can be created that include information such as check-points, intended vehicle separation distances, speed limits by region, and exclusion zones. These missions are planned from the OCU on a route map that is produced from standard geospatial vector data and predefines the roads on which the UGVs may travel.
This feature, illustrated in Figure 3, allows for on-the-fly mission planning and route changes by selecting “via points” on the road network (similar to a Google Maps functionality) that are automatically connected into a full route plan.
Figure 3. Waypoint navigation.
This requires significantly less effort than manually selecting each individual waypoint for each unmanned vehicle. Once a route has been established, the UGVs traverse the assigned road using their fused global position estimates (leveraging GPS signals as well as the sensor-enhanced map registration to stay on the road) and take advantage of the data link between the vehicles to ensure they maintain prescribed leading and following distances.
In follower mode, no predetermined mission plan is required; a manned vehicle such as the command and control vehicle (C2V) is simply designated as the leader by the operator, and the unmanned vehicles will follow anywhere on the roadway (while still performing intelligent road-keeping and obstacle detection). Two modes of leader tracking are supported: coordinate-based and direct observation.
In the primary mode of coordinate-based following, the lead vehicle transmits its GPS-based position to the follower via the radio data link. The follower vehicle correlates this position to the route map and subsequently appends a waypoint to its upcoming path that would bring the follower to a position on the road directly behind the leader.
In tele-operation mode, an operator assumes remote control of a single UGV and directly commands vehicle speed, steering and other functions via a rugged handheld controller. The operator has a selection of either live video feeds, or an augmented reality view supported by perception data overlaid on aerial imagery, displayed on the OCU display.
OPERATOR CONTROL UNIT
The operator control unit (OCU)hardware and software (Figure 4) are designed to be installed in any other tactical vehicle, along with a low-cost GPS receiver and radio data link that enables communication with multiple TerraMax UGVs from up to 1 kilometer. The OCU allows a single operator to manage coordinated mission command and control of mixed convoys comprised of manned and unmanned vehicles. Route information and convoy behaviors can be pre-planned, saved, loaded and modified as needed during operations.
Figure 4. TerraMax UGV operator control unit.
Touchscreen and function keys allow rapid input using relevant and contextual menus including configurable preset values. Live position and status of each vehicle is displayed on a zoom-able overhead map, and camera feeds from any of the UGVs may be displayed in a familiar picture-in-picture format.
A distilled version of the perception information can be selectively overlaid, aiding the operator’s situational awareness of the vehicles’ surroundings. Remote control and tele-operation is supported using a ruggedized game-style controller for situations when the operator wants direct control of steering and throttle.
TRAINING
Because pre-deployment training opportunities may be limited and any near-term requirement for highly specialized troops is untenable, ease of skill acquisition is critical. In two warfighter experiments for the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab’s recent Cargo UGV project, the TerraMax system was demonstrated to be operable by veteran motor transport operators after a three-day training course comprising classroom instruction, a realistic desktop simulation environment, and hands-on exercises with the vehicles.
The capstone experiment integrated two TerraMax UGVs into a manned logistics convoy, which was then subjected to a variety of realistic operational scenarios including unexpected road blocks, simulated IED strikes and night operations. Results showed the novice users were able to successfully complete mission objectives using the unmanned systems.
At the conclusion of each of the warfighter experiments for the Cargo UGV project, operators believed they could comfortably control three to five UGVs from a single user interface without suffering cognitive overload.
CONCLUSION
With onboard sensing and decision-making, these unmanned TWVs can provide a force multiplier by empowering a single operator to simultaneously supervise several unmanned assets traveling in convoy, operating semi-autonomously for extended-duration movements. This advantage is significant because it permits more efficient completion of missions by lowering both risk to, and demand for, ground forces.
The procurement, operations and maintenance costs for a robotic capability on TWVs will also be minimized by modernizing existing fleet vehicles with an appliqué kit, but to become viable in theater operations, unmanned TWVs must be able to contend with the same performance, reliability, and mobility in the austere tactical environments as their manned equivalents.
TerraMax UGV technology can be applied to any tactical vehicle and has already been prototyped on the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR), Palletized Loading System (PLS), Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) and the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV).
TERRAMAX HISTORY
Oshkosh has been developing and fully autonomous UGVs since 2003. Among its several generations:
In the 2005 Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge, TerraMax was one of only five vehicles to complete the entire 132-mile course.In 2007, the TerraMax vehicle was one of 11 qualifiers at the DARPA Urban Challenge.In 2012, a second unmanned MTVR was built to evaluate multiple UGVs supervised by a single operator.In 2013, TerraMax UGV M-ATV demonstrated capabilities for route-clearance missions. (Featured on the June 2016 cover.)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This article is based on a technical presentation given at AUVSI xPONENTIAL, May 2016 in New Orleans.
John Beck is chief engineer, Unmanned Systems, at Oshkosh Corporation.
NovAtel’s GAJT-AE-N anti-jamming antenna is aboard the Camcopter S-1oo UAS.
NovAtel’s compact GAJT anti-jam antenna is now on-board Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 unmanned air system (UAS).
The Vienna-based manufacturer Schiebel is focused on the development, testing and production of the Camcopter S-100UAS, as well as innovative mine detection equipment, and is a long-time customer of NovAtel’s high-precision GNSS positioning technology.
In 2015, Schiebel was evaluating NovAtel’s GAJT antenna as an option for offering anti-jam capabilities on its Camcopter S-100 when an urgent call was received. A Schiebel customer had an immediate operations requirement to combat GPS jamming.
The commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) nature of its GAJT antenna allowed NovAtel to quickly supply Schiebel the requested anti-jam capabilities. In turn, Schiebel was able to rapidly deploy the strategically equipped Camcopter to its customer within the requested timeframe.
“It was the fast response, followed by the excellent performance of our GAJT anti-jam antenna that has led to Schiebel offering the GAJT antenna as a standard option on their Camcopter S-100,” said Peter Soar, business development manager for NovAtel’s Military and Defence group. “Every once in a while, timing is on your side. The opportunity to prove our ability to meet urgent supply requests, followed by demonstration of our antenna capabilities in real conditions, has allowed us to positively impact the success of our customer’s business.”
The Camcopter S-100 flies at Fogo Island, Canada. (Photo: Schiebel)
GAJT is a null-forming antenna system that ensures satellite signals necessary to compute position and time are always available. It is available in versions suitable for land, air, sea and fixed installations. It provides anti-jam performance comparable to much larger systems, but at a significantly lower cost. Easily integrated into new platforms, it can also be retrofitted with the existing GPS receivers and navigation systems on existing and legacy military fleets.
Schiebel’s Camcopter S-100 UAS is a proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS needs no prepared area or supporting launch or recovery equipment. It operates during daytime and at night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km, both on land and at sea.
The S-100 navigates via preprogrammed GPS waypoints or is operated with a pilot control unit. Missions are planned and controlled via a simple point-and-click graphical user interface. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time.
Using “fly-by-wire” technology controlled by a triple-redundant flight computer, the UAV can complete its mission automatically. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 18,000 feet.
Septentrio, a designer and manufacturer of GNSS solutions, has selected Innovelec as an authorized partner for GNSS positioning solutions in the United Kingdom and Europe. The new partnership will enable Septentrio’s products such as AsteRx-m UAS to meet the needs of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) customers in the European market, the company said.
Based in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, Innovelec will work directly with Septentrio to offer high-quality strategic services and technical expertise necessary to meet the current and future requirements of GNSS customers in the United Kingdom and UAS customers across Europe to develop new business opportunities in the market.
Since last year, Septentrio has introduced a new set of products that achieve a new benchmark for accuracy and reliably in GNSS solutions. Innovelec will supply the AsteRx product line — renowned for providing consistent and robust centimeter-level positioning under challenging interference and multipath environments.
The AsteRx-m UAS OEM is compact and lightweight module which offers the lowest power consumption on the market at 600 mW. Another product, the AsteRx4, is a robust dual-antenna receiver ready for rapid and straightforward integration into existing workflows or hardware.
“Septentrio’s AsteRx product line offer unbeatable performance, accuracy and reliability in the most challenging conditions,” said Koen Gutscoven, director of Sales at Septentrio. “Innovelec complement Septentrio’s skills to aid further growth in the UK and European market.”
“Septentrio presents an exciting opportunity for Innovelec to further develop its significant business within the GNSS market. Flexibility and support in conjunction with our partners have helped Innovelec to grow and it remains a benchmark of our operations,” said Martin Newman, sales director of Innovelec. “Septentrio bring a lot of expertise of the GNSS market to help us develop new sales opportunities and loyal clients for accurate and reliable positioning across the European market. “
Maritime operations have been brought into focus in Europe by the unprecedented migrant crisis. As part of the response to this crisis, the EU border patrol agency Frontex is in the planning phase of adding remotely piloted aircraft to its existing portfolio of satellite and sensor technologies for monitoring vessel traffic and migrant flows.
The AR5 Life Ray UAS, developed by Tekever, has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to demonstrate the first European maritime surveillance system where drones are integral to operations.
The first demonstration will be performed this summer over the Maltese waters of the Mediterranean sea, said Pedro Sinogas, Tekever CEO.
“During the demonstration in Malta, Tekever’s systems will be deployed from land and will perform operations across a range of maritime scenarios during the 4-6 weeks of testing,” Sinogas said.
This project is demonstrating the benefits of deploying unmanned aircraft in the dual roles of pollution monitoring and search and rescue. The project has developed the business case to deploy unmanned aircraft to augment, or even replace, existing assets such as satellites, manned aircraft and ships.
Tekever is working with maritime authorities from across the EU, coordinated with EMSA and will demonstrate operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea across a wide range of environmental conditions.
The AR5 Life Ray UAS platform is a mature system, in the market since being presented at Farnborough in 2014. AR5 was conceived to be a system capable of delivering the endurance and payload of a larger system in a compact and flexible package. The Rapsody programme has seen this system be prepared for maritime missions, while maintaining a small logistics footprint.
With a wingspan of 4.3 meters and a payload of 50 kg, AR5 delivers performance of 8 to 12 hours missions. Typically systems in this class don’t offer Satellite Communications or on-board SAR. By delivering these capabilities the AR5 Life Ray UAS delivers unprecedented flexibility for maritime missions.
“Tekever is now working with specialist sensor manufacturers to increase the capability of the system as new technologies mature, offering increased capability for our customers. We are working to allow AR5 to operate from onboard a ship in the future, delivering a capability organic to the vessels existing tasks. There is also a planned increased wingspan AR5 variant, with increased endurance and payload to match, while remaining within the existing logistics footprint,” Sinogas said.
Tekever owns the entire technology stack within the AR5 Life Ray platform, allowing combined sensor modalities, data fusion and intelligent on board algorithms. This automates functionality and creates an excellent tool to support maritime missions.
NovAtel Inc. announced a new initiative and engineering team to develop functionally safe GNSS positioning technology for fully autonomous applications. The company leverages its extensive experience developing safety-critical systems for the aviation industry to meet the future safety thresholds required for driverless cars and autonomous applications in agriculture, mining, and other government, military and commercial markets.
In early 2015, NovAtel formed a specialized Safety Critical Systems Group of engineers with backgrounds in functional safety as well as all aspects of GNSS and inertial navigation systems (INS) technology. The Safety Critical Systems Group is focused on creating positioning products that will meet the exceptional performance and safety requirements of autonomous vehicles at the necessary production volumes and at the required price point.
The company has extensive background working within safety critical requirements. Michael Ritter, president & CEO stated, “Aviation in North America relies on NovAtel technology to ensure safe navigation and landing.” Ritter added, “The Federal Aviation Administration’s WAAS, and other global Space Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), have relied on certified NovAtel GNSS receivers for many years as the foundation of their systems. With full GNSS signal and constellation support needed to solve the performance criteria of autonomous driving, NovAtel is uniquely qualified to deliver the optimal solution that will keep us all safe as we drive the autonomous highways of the future.”
Jonathan Auld, Novatel’s director of Safety Critical Systems.
NovAtel manufactures high-precision GNSS receivers, antennas and subsystems, with expertise in sensor integration, specifically that of GNSS and INS. Through its TerraStar correction service, NovAtel also offers a global Precise Point Positioning (PPP) correction solution that is already designed for safety-of-life applications.
With work underway for more than a year, NovAtel plans to achieve ISO/TS 16949 compliance by the end of 2016. This is an early key milestone in the Safety Critical Systems Group’s path, to be followed by an ISO 26262 compliant product.
Jonathan Auld is director of Safety Critical Systems at NovAtel. He first joined the company in 2000 and has held positions as a GNSS test engineer, test group manager, director of technology development, and director of portfolio management.
The Zephyr platform is a new class of unmanned air vehicle that operates as a high-altitude pseudo-satellite (HAPS) enabling affordable, persistent, local satellite-like services. The aircraft runs exclusively on solar power, and the Zephyr aircraft is at the forefront of the HAPS arena, holding world records with regards to absolute endurance (more than 14 days) and altitude (more than 70,000 feet).
The next generation of Zephyr HAPS — depicted flying in formation in the stratosphere — will be powered by MicroLink solar sheets. (Art: MicroLink Devices)
The British Ministry of Defence currently has ordered two Zephyr S from Airbus Defence and Space. The Zephyr S has a wingspan of 25 meters, is 30 percent lighter and can carry 50 percent more batteries than its predecessor — the 22.5-meter wingspan Zephyr 7. This enables the Zephyr S to carry heavier payloads for surveillance and communications roles.
The Zephyr S is designed to fly continuously for over a month before having to land. The vehicle can then be refurbished and redeployed.
The MicroLink Devices solar sheet is lightweight, flexible and highly efficient. It was designed as an enabling technology for electrically powered, area- and weight-constrained applications such as unmanned air vehicles, which run on renewable energy.
The combination of high-efficiency and low mass enabled by the epitaxial liftoff (ELO)-based solar cells provides superior performance. The ELO solar cells are a perfect match for the HAPS platform. The resulting solar sheets have specific powers in excess of 1,000 W/kg and areal powers greater than 250 W/m2.
MicroLink’s ELO technology was sponsored by numerous U.S. agencies including NASA, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, NAVAIR, Army Research Office, Army REF, CERDEC and the Department of Energy.
MicroLink Devices solar sheets are lightweight and flexible with high specific and aeral powers enabling significant mobile power generation. (Photo: PRNewsFoto/MicroLink Devices)
“We are extremely pleased to have developed a relationship with the Zephyr team four years ago and to transition our high-performance solar sheet development efforts into a production program,” said Noren Pan, president and CEO of MicroLink Devices. “We are also thankful to Airbus for their purchase order and the confidence they have in MicroLink’s solar sheet technology and manufacturing ability. We know of no other flexible solar sheet that offers a comparable performance in terms of power and weight and reliability under a wide temperature range.”
“Our collaboration with MicroLink Devices in the development stages and in the current production program has enabled the latest generation of Zephyr HAPS, which is a critical addition to our extensive portfolio of space and defense products,” said Steve Whitby, head of HAPS Business Development. “MicroLink Devices is a world leader in the epitaxial liftoff of compound semiconductors providing outstanding performance for many semiconductor devices. Combining Airbus and MicroLink Devices engineering expertise has proven to be a successful platform for our on-going success.”
