Author - Pamela

25Apr

Introducing the AsteRx-i for IMU-enhanced GNSS Positioning and Attitude

GNSS receiver manufacturer Septentrio recently announced the launch of the next generation AsteRx-i. The announcement occurred at IEEE/ION Position Location and Navigation Symposium in Monterey, US. The AsteRx-i combines Septentrio’s latest compact, multi-frequency multi-constellation GNSS engine with an external industrial grade MEMS based IMU. It delivers accurate and reliable GNSS/IMU integrated positioning to the cm-level. It also delivers full 3D attitude at high update rates and low latency.  

AsteRx-i key benefits:

  • IMU-enhanced GNSS positioning with full attitude: heading pitch and roll
  • Quad-constellation, multifrequency, all-in-view RTK receiver
  • AIM+ interference monitoring and mitigation system
  • High-update rate, low-latency positioning and attitude
Designed around demanding requirements for size, weight and power consumption, the AsteRx-i is ideal for optical inspection and photogrammetry. Accompanied by a UAS-tailored carrier board, the AsteRx-i integrates seamlessly into light UAVs. The versatility of design and range of connection interfaces extend the AsteRx-i applicability to automation and robotics as well as logistics. The AsteRx-i includes Septentrio’s GNSS+ suite of positioning algorithms to convert difficult environments into good positioning: LOCK+ technology to maintain tracking during heavy vibration, APME+ to combat multipath and IONO+ technology to ensure continued position accuracy during periods of elevated ionospheric activity. It also features AIM+ interference mitigation and monitoring system which can suppress the widest variety of interferers, from simple continuous narrowband signals to the most complex wideband and pulsed jammers. “Complementing our GNSS portfolio with an INS offering is a natural evolution of our product range. At Septentrio, we design our GNSS solutions with a focus on reliability and availability. Smart integration of inertial sensors builds on these strengths to make affordable high-precision positioning and orientation solutions possible for ever more demanding applications,” said Francesca Clemente, Product Manager at Septentrio.  

Shop Septentrio's line of products at Unmanned Systems Source.

 

About Septentrio

Septentrio designs, manufactures and sells high-precision, multi-frequency, multi-constellation GPS/GNSS equipment for use in demanding applications. Septentrio products are used in a wide variety of industries including marine, construction, agriculture, survey and mapping, geographic information systems (GIS) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
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19Apr

Altavian Awarded US Army TUAS Contract

Altavian, Inc., announced they were awarded a $250MM Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract with the US Army. With this award, Altavian now supports the largest small UAS program in the world. It exists under the Program Executive Office Aviation, Products Office for Tactical Unmanned Aircraft (TUAS), The US Army Family of Systems, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FoSUAS) includes the RQ-11, the RQ-20. It supports control and communications equipment, and other technologies fielded over the contract period of performance. All systems are for a single, dismounted war-fighter. The design enables the individual to carry, assemble, and deploy the system for immediate over-the-hill surveillance and reconnaissance.  

Altavian contract award

Altavian supports the mission of the Army to provide critical, real-time intelligence for warfighter protection and extended operational reach. “The entire Altavian team is proud to be supporting our warfighters," said John Perry, CEO of Altavian. "It is part of our mission to design and build incredible technology. Knowing that it is at work in service of those who defend the United States is our highest honor. We are committed to meeting the challenges of this contract and accelerating innovation in the US Army UAS capabilities.” Under this new contract, Altavian is in competition to provide quality components to sustain the FoSUAS fleet. It is also competing to provide upgrade offerings which increase capability, resiliency, and cost-effectiveness of the fleet. New offerings include upgraded avionics and radios with increased frequency options. Plus, a handheld ground control station (H-GCS). Altavian continues to supply RQ-11 and RQ-20 direct replacement parts for the Government. “We are proud to continue to bring competition to Group I [under 20 lbs] UAS.” said Thomas Rambo, co-founder of Altavian. “Our prior efforts were successful in breaking vendor lock on non-integrated components such as composite structures and ancillary parts. This new contract brings the opportunity to open the rest of the system (flight control, radio, payloads, and ground control) for greater integration. All the technologies that we are proposing for this contract embrace the US DoD’s Open Systems Architecture objectives and by adopting this technology will ensure the continued sustainment, upgradeability, and interoperability of Group I UAS for years to come.” This contract has a base award period of five years and is the primary acquisition method for Group I UAS in the Army. Altavian performed sucessfully on the predecessor contract since 2012.  

Shop Altavian's line of UAVs at Unmanned Systems Source.

 
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17Apr

FT742 Wind Sensor Now Reads Acoustic Temperature

Recently, FT Technologies updated the 722 and 742 digital wind sensors. Now, these models can read acoustic temperature as well as wind speed and wind direction. The air temperature is derived from the operating frequency of the sensor. It has an accuracy of ±1°C.  

FT742 wind sensor upgrade

Customers who currently use FT digital wind sensors for wind speed and direction measurement, can now read the air temperature. All this capability from one maintenance-free device. The new software is available to existing users at no extra cost. The FT742-SM model also includes an electronic compass.  

How it works

FT wind sensors work by establishing a resonant, ultrasonic frequency in the measurement cavity. Sensors then measure the phase change of that ultrasonic signal as air passes through the cavity. The resonant frequency varies with the speed of sound which itself is heavily dependent on air temperature and, to a lesser extent, relative humidity and air pressure. Therefore, the sensor can derive the temperature of the air from the frequency of the ultrasonic signal. Hence, the name ‘acoustic temperature’. The accuracy is affected by the temperature difference between the sensor and the cavity. This is common with all ultrasonic systems measuring acoustic temperature. With the heater off, accuracy is ±1°C at wind speeds between 5m/s and 60m/s and at temperatures ranging from -20°C - +60°C. Accuracy is ±2°C with the heater on. FT sensors have no moving parts to break or degrade. As such, they are ideal for use in extreme conditions. Additionally, these sensors are great for extended operations.  

Shop FT Technologies line of wind senors at Unmanned Systems Source.

 

About FT Technologies

FT Technologies specializes in the design and manufacture of high performance Acoustic Resonance wind sensors – also known as anemometers or air-flow sensors. All our sensors incorporate our own patented Acu-Res® Technology which enables them to deliver reliable wind speed and direction data, from compact, lightweight sensors. Users typically experience over 99.9% data availability, even in harsh climates with the toughest weather conditions.  
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09Apr

Raytheon Develops Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Technology

Raytheon‘s BBN Technologies announced it is developing technology to direct and control swarms of small, autonomous air and ground vehicles. This technology falls under DARPA’s Offensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics program. The technology includes:
  • a visual interface that allows “drag and drop” creation and manipulation of drone tactics
  • a game-based simulator to evaluate those tactics
  • a physical swarm testbed to perform live tactics evaluations
“Operators use speech or gestures to control the swarm. This is a tremendous advantage during operations,” said Shane Clark, Ph.D. and principal investigator on the program. “The system provides sensor feeds and mission status indicators for complete situational awareness.”  

Flexible, scalable

The flexible, scalable programming software and simulation environment means users can coordinate drone behaviors in teams composed of different vehicle types that use various sensors. DARPA is inviting additional organizations to participate in OFFSET as “sprinters” through an open Broad Agency Announcement. Sprinters can create their own novel swarm tactics and the Raytheon BBN team will work with them to evaluate the tactics in simulation, and possibly field them for live trials. In 2016, Raytheon, as part of the Office of Naval Research LOCUST program, conducted demonstrations that successfully netted together 30 Coyote UAVs in a swarm.  
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05Apr

Hydrogen Powered Drones: The Wave of the Future?

Battery life. This continues to be one of the biggest challenges for drone operators. Currently, the average flight time of most consumer drones is limited to around 20 minutes. Of course, this number varies depending on many things - weather conditions, payload, etc. Ultimately, though, battery life continues to be a challenge for long flight operations. Eventually, a drone must return and recharge or switch out batteries before operations can continue. Battery manufacturers, of course, continuously work to improve battery technology. But, there may be a completely new solution on the horizon...hydrogen fuel cells. Recently, researchers in Sydney, Australia, successfully conducted UAV test flights using hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The results were promising.  

Hydrogen: the future of drone power?

Hydrogen is one of the cleanest energies available on earth. Though hydrogen fuel comes with some risks, the National Hydrogen Association argues that most are overblown. With careful use by qualified professionals, hydrogen may provide the answer to the challenge of a short battery life. The research in Sydney seem to bear this out. Previously, the team tested hydrogen-only fuel cells and determined they were a viable energy source for drones. The most recent tests used a triple hybrid propulsion system which included a combination of batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and a super capacitor. The hybrid propulsion system helped researchers improve the robustness and flexibility of hydrogen fuel powered drones. Plus, the hydrogen fuel provided much greater range and endurance when compared to electric powered UAVs. As such, if the technology develops it could have a revolutionary effect on the drone industry. Benefits include longer flight time, improved flight efficiency, and the development of more advanced UAVs.  

The Wave of the Future?

If the finding by the scientists in Sydney and by other similar projects are anything to go by, it would seem that hydrogen powered drones are the wave of the future. For one, the use of hydrogen enables drone operators to conduct their work for longer periods without interruptions. Plus, continued development of this technology would eventually result in decreased cost and greater implementation. Advantages of using hydrogen fuel cells extend beyond improved efficiency and flight times, too. Plus, vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells have faster take-off, enhanced climbing ability and more stable flying. The fuel is more environmentally friendly. It produces no carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, hydrogen-powered drones tend to be much quieter than conventional electric powered ones.  

Overall outlook

Currently, the price tag of this technology is a hindrance to many potential users. Driving down hydrogen fuel cell costs is one of the challenges of widespread adoption of this technology. Researchers in Sydney believe the hybrid solution they implemented could be key to lowering costs. And hybrid technology, similar to hybrid cars which utilize a combination of fossil fuel and electric batteries, may be one way to gain widespread adoption. With so many benefits, hydrogen-powered drones could indeed be the wave of the future.  
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28Mar

Survey Drones and the Future of Road Construction

In recent years, it’s fair to say that drones have come a long way in terms of mainstream acceptance. From the initial skepticism of both the ordinary public and commercial entities, drones moved beyond niche hobbyists to one of the most in-demand technologies. Now, the technology is disrupting the road construction industry, as well.  

Drones and road construction

With the advancement in sUAS coupled with lowered cost, drones use continues to expand into more and more applications. In most cases, drones offer improved efficiency in data collection. Plus, UAVs reduce operational costs by replacing manned aircraft needs and streamlining operations. In addition, drones access environments that may be inaccessible or dangerous for personnel. Now, drones are expanding into a new application: road construction and paving projects. This application expansion paves the way for greater efficiency and reduced costs for the industry. In addition, thanks to ever improving software, drones provide precise data collection, as well. Detailed 3-D survey maps depicting topography, utility lines, drainage slopes, existing hazards -- plus, high resolution images and video -- efficiently secures the data required for building plans and blueprints. This new tool-set may transform the industry.  

The benefits

Cost reduction may be one of the biggest drivers for the wide spread adoption of drone use in the road construction industry. After all, large infrastructure projects require tremendous sums of money. Any cost savings are welcome. For instance, replacing manned survey aircraft with a properly equipped fleet of drones. Furthermore, drones offer capabilities such as lower flight altitudes, hovering functions, and more. Additionally, training and licensing drone operators is less expensive and quicker than securing a pilots license. The use of the technology is not limited to large multinationals and governmental agencies. Privately run construction companies benefit, too. Improved efficiency allows for faster project completion and the ability to move onto new ones. Drone technology also helps improve the safety of construction sites. A drone can replace risky operations such as manned aircraft or abseiling crews.  

Future application adoption

Drone use for road construction surveying is still in its infancy. And, though governmental legislation lags behind the technology, construction companies continue to adopt this technology. The future for survey drones is very bullish, indeed.  
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