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One of the major challenges for UAV systems is to add new sensors to a payload without significantly increasing its size and weight (writes Rory Jackson). With that in mind, Octopus ISR Systems has upgraded its Epsilon 140 dual-sensor UAV gimbal with a 3.3x continuous- zoom lens for the LWIR sensor – along with a laser rangefinder with a Class 1, 1550 nm wavelength beam and a 50 mW laser pointer with 830 nm beam, while maintaining its size at 189 mm in height and 140 mm diameter. While all this increases the gimbal’s weight by 200 g to 1.77 kg, the company claims this Epsilon 140Z is now the smallest and lightest four-sensor EO/IR payload on the market. The upgrade enhances the precision of IR surveillance, as do improvements in the new sensor’s resolution, from 640 x 480 to 640 x 512, in a maximum vertical field of view (FOV) from 18.1° to 25.4°. The frame rate has also been increased, from 24 to 30 Hz, with sensitivity measured in noise-equivalent temperature difference rated at 30 mK. Octopus ISR Systems’ Konstantins Krivovs said, “The operator can now perform missions on an enlarged FOV, enabling wide- area coverage. Also, on detecting targets of interest, they can zoom in and look at them in more detail. “This removes the so-called ‘soda straw’ effect where the operator has to observe a large area on a narrow FOV, while still retaining human target detectability at a range of 2000 m.” Previous payloads combining EO/IR with laser sensors have been far heavier – some estimates put that at 15-18 times as much – meaning such precision night-time surveillance can now be performed by small UASs at a fraction of the operating cost previously incurred by using MALE-type systems. The company is also working on a new Epsilon 175 gimbal with a mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) sensor, due out this year. Airborne vehicles Upgraded gimbal is ‘smallest on market’ The Octopus Epsilon 140Z is said to offer precision surveillance by small UASs