Unmanned Systems Technology 008 | Alti Transition UAS | Ground control systems | Xponential 2016 report | Insitu Orbital N20 | UAVs | Solar power | Oceanology International 2016 report

Field marshal 16 T he control systems of UAVs are set to change dramatically as a new technology starts to deliver significant advantages. This technology – the Field Programmable Gate Array, or FPGA – is widely used in telecoms and data centre applications as well as high-performance signal processing such as radar systems. When coupled with microprocessor (MPU) cores and applied to UAV systems, FPGA technology opens up many new opportunities. Dr Zongbo Wang, co-founder and CEO of control and sensor start-up Aerotenna, sees this as a fundamental change for the industry. “My technical background is in Aerotenna’s CEO tells Nick Flaherty about the game-changing role he sees FPGA technology playing in UAV control June/July 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology Aerotenna is combining a radar sensor with autopilot software for UAVs in a system that uses two microprocessor cores alongside an FPGA (All images courtesy of Aerotenna)