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10 Platform one Materials Magnesium has a reputation for its flammability, which makes designers wary of it for many applications. However, Magnesium Elektron now has a magnesium alloy, Elektron 43, which isn’t flammable, to the extent that it recently gained FAA approval for its use in aircraft seating. Company spokesperson Robert Hamilton explained that Elektron 43 contains rare earths, which when this magnesium alloy approaches its melting point oxidise on the surface and extinguishes any flame. “It melts at a certain temperature but it doesn’t burn, there is no flame. It is a massive breakthrough,” he said, adding that it also has excellent corrosion resistance. Elektron 43 melts only above 540 C, and is stable for long-term exposure up to 250 C. It has a specific gravity of 1.84 and a tensile strength of 220 MPa. Indeed, Hamilton noted that of the range of magnesiums offered by the company, it has the highest strength and the best corrosion resistance. He said, “Within reason, temperature-wise, it can do anything aluminium can do for a saving of 20-33% on weight, depending on the application.” Hamilton remarked that, for example, it is a direct replacement for 6061 aluminium alloy, providing a weight saving of up to 33%. A component made from 7075 aluminium alloy would probably need re-engineering to maintain stiffness, but when made from Elektron 43, the net weight saving would nevertheless be about 20-25%. Hamilton added that it lends itself to casting, is very machinable and if coated properly can be used just about anywhere in an aircraft. It is not only being used to make lighter aircraft seats; UAV manufacturers are starting to use it for the likes of wings, airframes, electronic housings and gimbals, and anti-oxidisation coatings are applied where necessary. “If it is coated properly and appropriate fasteners are used, there is no problem in using it,” Hamilton said. Intriguingly, Magnesium Elektron is also developing a process to use magnesium in additive manufacturing. Like Elektron 43, this particular alloy will contain rare earths, and Hamilton predicted that in its finished form it will likewise be non-flammable. Navigation A key element for driverless cars is now reaching the market as commercial, silicon-based high-power Lidar (light-based radar) systems are set to ship to automotive customers for automated driving assistance systems in vehicles due on the market in 2017. The simplicity and longer detection range of Lidar provides a key advantage for collision detection and autonomous vehicles, said John Joseph, vice- president of product development at TriLumina, which is rolling out the system. The technology will be needed for truly autonomous vehicles, he said. Rather than fusing the data from multiple video cameras, which isn’t accurate enough, TriLumina’s system has a peak power of 50 kW that can illuminate an area more than 30 m from the vehicle. It uses an array of several hundred vertical-cavity laser diodes built in a standard CMOS silicon process to provide a pulse of infrared light. Reflections are detected by a series of onboard cameras, and the time of flight gives the depth resolution. This is improved by using a shorter pulse of light. The system has a pulse width of less than 10 ns that can provide a depth resolution of less than 0.5 cm for detecting objects. TriLumina believes that over the next five years many collision detection systems will move over to Lidar as a result of the enhanced depth resolution and lower cost of the silicon laser diode array compared to other solid-state laser systems. Techwatch November 2014 | Unmanned Systems Technology Commercial UAV Show | London, UK, October 21-22 2014 www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/commercial-uav Unmanned Systems Canada Conference | Montreal, Canada, November 4-6 2014 www.unmannedsystems.ca Consumer Electronics Show – Unmanned Systems Marketplace Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, January 6-9 2015 | www.cesweb.org The Unmanned Systems (TUS) Expo | The Hague, Netherlands, February 4-6 2015 www.tusexpo.com/ IDEX, Unmanned Systems Exhibition | Abu Dhabi, UAE, February 22-26 2015 www.umexabudhabi.ae AUVSI Unmanned Systems Europe | Brussels, Belgium, March 3-4 2015 www.auvsi.org/UnmannedSystemsEurope AUVSI Unmanned Systems | Atlanta, Georgia, USA, May 4-7 2015 www.auvsishow.org UST diary