Unmanned Systems Technology 021 | Robot Aviation FX450 l Imaging Sensors focus l UAVs Insight l Liquid-Piston X-Mini l Riptide l Eurosatory 2018 show report l Zipline l Electric Motors focus l ASTS show report

46 Insight | UAVs has been used to improve and extend existing hazard maps. Vegetation anomalies were also identified as correlating with the higher ground and the gamma decay rates, opening up the potential for using vegetation sensors in such hazard surveys as well. The sensor integrated into the Trinity in the experiment was a Tetracam ADC Snap, a 90 g 1.3 MP camera. It was used to capture an area of roughly 1.22 sq km from an altitude of 130 m above ground level during a mission of 42 minutes. The development of the Trinity followed the completion of Quantum Systems’ first aircraft, the 3.5 m wingspan, VTOL- transition tilt-rotor Tron UAV (see UST 14, June/July 2017). But as Siebel says, “We were asked many times if we could reproduce that technology, but at reduced weight and cost. We also noticed that UAV payloads keep getting smaller and smaller, so it didn’t entirely make sense to only offer a 2 kg-carrying aircraft. “Granted, there are some heavier sensors, like 1.8 kg Lidars, which we could only integrate onto the Tron. But a lot of multi-spectral and high-resolution EO cameras that weighed 900 g five years ago will now weigh about 200 g or less.” By using EPP/Elapor foam for significant parts of the hull, with carbon tubes running through the insides for structural strength, the company was able to reduce the weight and production cost of the craft relative to the Tron, which weighs 13.5 kg to the Trinity’s 4.5 kg. The use of a smaller, single motor mounted above the tail section, as well as stopping and folding back the two front propellers, improved efficiency for the vehicle’s 17 m/s cruise. While the Trinity flies for a maximum of 59 minutes, Quantum Systems plans to release an update in October 2018 that will allow a flight time of up to two hours. Security and defence Although typically a manufacturer of commercial aerial systems, French company Drone Volt has entered the military market with its Heliplane UAV, a VTOL-transition unmanned system originally designed in response to requests for a system small enough to take off and land on a small military boat, which it unveiled in June this year. “The Heliplane can fly for about two hours,” says CEO Dimitri Batsis. “Its VTOL-transition capability allows for effective monitoring of border territories and critical industrial complexes, as missions can begin and end in tight circumstances – in forests, coast guard boats, or areas cramped by rocks or industrial structures, for example.” This flexibility is also helped by the Heliplane’s size. It measures 130 x 100 x 20 cm when its nine parts are assembled (which include the fuselage, wings, tail parts, vertical-facing rotor beams and landing gear). It is anticipated that the final design will ‘snap fit’ together to enable assembling and dismantling in the field. The aircraft’s five brushless DC motors – four T-Motor 1100 kV units for ascent and descent, and a T-Motor 900 kV for flight – are powered by two lithium-ion batteries. A fuel system was seen as incompatible with the small vehicle size the company wanted to keep to. As Drone Volt’s director of r&d Nicholas Grunbaum explains, developing ever-smaller aerial systems becomes a delicate balancing act for reasons beyond SWaP constraints. “When you put your GNSS, compass, electronics and power system in such a tight August/September 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology Parties in Japan have expressed interest in the Quantum Trinity to potentially replicate the Chernobyl experiment over and around the Fukushima Exclusion Zone (Courtesy of Quantum Systems) The Heliplane is designed to be small enough to take off from inside forests, industrial complexes and small boats before transitioning into horizontal flight (Courtesy of Drone Volt)