Unmanned Systems Technology 010 | nuTonomy driverless taxi | Embedded computing | HFE International marine powertrain | Space vehicles | Performance monitoring | Commercial UAV Show Asia report

80 Hans Schrauwen from Unifly. “What makes our system unique is the fact that local legislation can be added into the system, and you can validate for your flight so you don’t have to spend days poring over books and charts of local regulations; you find them within seconds. It will help professional pilots as well as hobby pilots to check rapidly whether they can fly at a certain point.” The platform comes in a smartphone version for private UAV operators (Unifly Launchpad); UniflyPro for professional operators to register flight start and end times, request the necessary permissions and procure required documents; and UniflyConnect for UAV manufacturers and systems integrators to retrieve data and services from the Unifly system and feed information into it for functionalities such as real-time tracking and monitoring of UAVs. Singapore-based AeroLion Technologies debuted the newest version of its BlackLion-168 quadcopter. It has been redesigned with a composite airframe of fibreglass and carbon fibre to reduce the risk of damage from precipitation; to help with this the four brushless dc motors have been adjusted 180 º to face downwards. Its navigation capabilities have also been upgraded, with a dual-antenna GPS, each antenna being mounted atop one of the rear motors. “Failures can occur in situations such as when near a power line with a high voltage, or when surveying mining areas where the Earth’s magnetic field can be affected. The dual antenna is a key solution to this danger,” Raymond Tan said. The new BlackLion-168 is now powered by two 16,000 mAh six-cell lithium-polymer batteries, enabling it to fly for 50 minutes while at maximum carrying capacity. AeroLion also showcased its newest product, the BlackLion-068, a carbon fibre- built octocopter with an X-8 configuration for redundancy and compact size compared with an eight-arm airframe. Intended for use in indoor settings such as factories and warehouses, it comes with bumpers to guard the rotors against potential damage, as well as in-house software for autonomous navigation. Most crucially, Dr Wang Fei said, “A unique part of the craft is its Lidar sensor, from Hokuyo Automatic, with 30 m of range. A computer on the craft processes the Lidar data, and checks its position and velocity 30 times per second, providing obstacle awareness so the UAV can dynamically plot its path to avoid collisions. The BlackLion-068 is also a more ‘open’ platform, both mechanically and in terms of software, so the end-user can mount additional sensors or actuators onto it.” Broadcast Microwave Services has developed a range of HD video downlink solutions for vehicles ranging from short-range UGVs and UAVs to medium- altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft. Common across their systems is the use of H.264 compression (MPEG-4 AVC) and COFDM modulated links. “For the larger craft, the 10 W transmitter module we manufacture weighs about 2.7 kg, which goes down in size to about 170 g for our smaller transmitter the MTxx24VHD, dedicated to the medium and smaller-type UAVs,” Harvey Ellis said. These smaller MTxx24VHD and MTxx33HD transmitters support composite or SDI video inputs with resolutions up to 1080p at 30 fps, while featuring built-in error correction and the option for AES encryption. They operate at microwave frequencies in bands from 1.7 to 5.85 GHz. BMS is also working to roll out a high- bandwidth, bidirectional IP link in 2017, which will be capable of simultaneously carrying any data including video and control link information at equal bandwidths in both the up and the downlink. A solution for industrial UAV surveying was debuted at the show by Australian company Propeller Aero. It has developed a smart ground control system called AeroPoints, a set of ground control point modules with inbuilt GPS that can capture highly accurate positional data for mapping and surveying purposes in mining, October/November 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology Report | Commercial UAV Show Asia The BlackLion-068 has a Lidar sensor with a 30 m range AeroPoints ground control modules are solar powered and rated to IP66