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12 Platform one Dec 2015/Jan 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology Amazon has demonstrated its latest candidate for an unmanned aircraft for delivering packages. The hybrid platform uses four rotors for vertical lift and a rear rotor for propulsion. Amazon aims to operate the system between 200 and 400 ft, carrying a payload of 2 kg (5 lb) a distance of up to 10 miles at speeds of up to 60 mph. Key to this capability is sense and avoid technology using passive sensors and active communications that can operate day and night and in poor weather. Amazon is proposing to use an ADSB transceiver to keep track of the UAV, with automatic collision avoidance algorithms that do not rely on an operator. It will include geospatial data mapping of all hazards to navigation over 200 ft, as well as long- range detection, based around camera sensors. “We are testing many different vehicle designs and delivery mechanisms to discover how best to deliver packages in various environments,” said the company. “We have more than a dozen prototypes that we’ve developed in our r&d labs, and the look and characteristics of the vehicles will evolve over time.” Systems will be tested in the US, in the UK at its Cambridge laboratory and in Israel, with the aim of launching a commercial service in 2017. UAVs Amazon’s latest proposed delivery UAV has a range of 10 miles with a payload of 2 kg Options grow for deliveries Consumer UAV maker DJI has entered the industrial market for the first time with a dedicated crop-spraying octocopter. The eight-rotor Agras MG-1 is dustproof and water-resistant, and can carry 10 kg of spray liquid to cover from seven to 10 acres per hour at 8 m/s. Its motors are cooled by incoming air that is triple filtered to avoid problems with dust and spray, and this can extend the life of the motors by a factor of three, the company says. Four ceramic nozzles are powered by four additional motors for spraying, and a memory function allows the craft to return to base for recharging and then continue from the point at which it left off. The $15,000 (£10,000) craft also includes a microwave radar to scan the terrain to maintain a constant height, as well as DJI’s 2.4 GHz Lightbridge 2 HD video transmission and control system that has a range of up to 1.7 km. DJI makes crossing from the retail to the rural