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

40 Focus | Ground control systems software development and interfaces to the autopilots used on the remote craft. At the high end the data requirements are immense, and security concerns are leading to different ways of handling the data, from terabyte transit cases to tethered tablets. However, the role of the GCS is changing. As it moves from a local data display function to providing connectivity to cloud computing resources, so the design of the software changes. Tackling the challenges of latency in the cloud for linking remote craft and their cameras to a customer via the GCS opens up new ways of using unmanned systems. Controlling a craft remotely over the internet to get the right data quickly and easily changes the way the systems are developed and used. This reduces the costs of using skilled operators for monitoring and inspection, as well as a wide range of other applications. The development of swarm control algorithms, based in the GCS, are opening up yet more ways to deliver these applications across unmanned systems in the air and on the ground. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Dave Lippincott of Chassis Plans, Ofir Zikry of Flying Production, Paul Holmstedt of UAS Europe, and Konstantins Popiks of UAV Factory for their help with researching this article. June/July 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology CANADA Micropilot +1 204 344 5558 www.micropilot.com ESTONIA Threod Systems +372 512 1154 www.threod.com FRANCE Aerodrones +33 970 407 371 www.aerodrones.com ISRAEL BlueBird Aero Systems +972 9899 9335 www.bluebird-uav.com Flying Production +972 9832 7061 www.flying-production.com IAI +972 3935 3111 www.iai.co.il ITALY Alex-Sistemi +39 02 90380626 www.alex-sistemi.it LATVIA SPH Engineering +371 25453422 www.ugcs.com UAV Factory +371 29191590 www.uavfactory.com NEW ZEALAND Skycam UAV +64 21 110 1099 www.kahunet.co.nz SPAIN UAV Navigation +34 91 657 2723 www.uavnavigation.com SWEDEN UAS Europe +46 13 560 2240 www.uas-europe.se USA AeroVironment +1 805 581 2198 www.avinc.com Airware +1 877 714 4828 www.airware.com Arcturus UAV +1 707 206 9372 www.arcturus-uav.com Bokam Engineering +1 714 513 2200 www.bokam.com Chassis Plans +1 800 787 4913 www.chassis-plans.com Lockheed Martin +1 801 224 5713 www.lockheedmartin.com Martin UAV +1 512 520 7170 www.martinuav.com Raytheon +1 310 647 1000 www.raytheon.com Systems Integration Plus +1 480 513 8979 www.vme.com Textron Systems +1 410 628 8710 www.textronsystems.com UAV Factory +1 914 233 3990 www.uavfactory.com UAV Solutions +1 240 456 0195 www.uav-solutions.com Some examples of ground control system manufacturers & suppliers