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62 Show report | AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2015 AutonomouStuff is always seeking new technological solutions from suppliers from around the world, and that it helps the commercialisation of start-up suppliers. AutonomouStuff is developing bespoke self-driving cars using an open-platform approach from spin-off company Harbrick, Polysync, which enables next-generation software architectures to be created for level four and level five automation. It can be thought of as something similar to Android or iOS for cars, but built for functionally safe, next- generation automotive platforms. Hambrick also noted that the company can supply the Polysync hardware as well as the autonomy operating system or, if more appropriate, supply the entire vehicle with a system that enables full autonomy. Moreover, he said, the system can be tailored to available resources. “We can supply plug-and-play solutions, as well as the necessary autonomy software via apps from our partners,” he said. “This is offered in an open architecture format, which is a much different concept from anything currently available. A silicon manufacturer or niche vehicle manufacturer could license the software with nearly any hardware, and could have an autonomous vehicle up and running in a very short time.” HFE International, explained Thomas West, offers integration services to get internal combustion engines up and running in autonomous systems applications and to maintain those power plants. He added that HFE works with all sorts of power plants, right up from the humble Subaru Robin, as used in garden weed killers, which is proven as very effective and durable in small UAS applications. West noted that HFE has sophisticated electronics for the Robin’s fuel injection system, to make it suited to many autonomous systems. He explained that while HFE specialises in electronics, it is equally at home modifying the mechanical side of any given engine to make it appropriate to a particular UAS application. On top of that, the company will maintain the engines it supplies. Even though it doesn’t make its own engine, HFE is a fascinating example of a new- generation power plant supplier to the burgeoning UAS market. Wiring connectors manufacturer Fischer Connectors, Lisa Gill Gardner told us, had no less than 50 customers among the exhibitors at AUVSI 2015. “That is how much UAS manufacturers trust us!” she said. Gill Gardner explained that Fischer’s connectors are water- and dust-resistant, and if appropriate can be hermetically sealed. New from the company at the show was a connector that addresses the increasing demand for both miniaturisation and mixed use. Its Mini Max connector is impressively compact, yet will support both power and signal lines. “As well as multi-use, it is smaller and lighter than previous connectors,” she said. Less than a month before the AUVSI Unmanned Systems event, Northrop Grumman made history when it carried out the first-ever autonomous aerial refuelling of an unmanned aircraft, its X-47B, from an Omega K707 tanker on April 22. Scott Winship noted that “this development effort required very clever engineering to enable complex software to convert EO/IR imagery into X-47 manoeuvre commands to fly the aircraft’s probe into the basket [drogue]. There is also real aircraft design significance with this achievement – the ‘design space’ for a UAS is now expanded because fuel capacity no longer has to be a primary design driver. In-flight refuelling helps with range and endurance ‘givens’ for operations. “Designers now have more flexibility to optimise the airframe for stealth and weapons capacity,” he said. “Stealth is not a result of external applications; it must be designed into the airframe. Every edge length and depth has to be optimised, and the engine(s) deeply buried for radar blockage and exhaust cooling. Weapons bays must be sized for the target threat. “A truly survivable and capable UAS design has been the result of many trades among fuel capacity, stealth and size of weapons bays. With fuel available in-flight, design trade-offs are eased considerably – and stealth level and weapons capacity best optimised.” Power4Flight is a consortium of companies dedicated to the technology keeping UAVs in the air. It embraces autopilot and gimbal technologies together with electronic engine control. The engine control hardware and software is supplied by Currawong, a noted expert in its field. Cobra Aero is the engine design and development operation in the trio, Summer 2015 | Unmanned Systems Technology Open-platform self-driving cars from AutonomouStuff and spin-off Polysync