Unmanned Systems Technology 012 | AutoNaut USV | Connectors | Unmanned Ground Vehicles | Cobra Aero A33i | Intel Falcon 8+ UAV | Propellers | CES Show report

63 conditions. It also has a maximum climb rate of 10 m/s and a top airspeed of 16 m/s (in manual mode; for improved safety, GPS mode allows for a 3 m/s maximum climb and 12 m/s speed). Unlike octocopters with an X-8 coaxial rotor design or eight-armed configuration, the Falcon 8+ has a unique V-shaped set of two motor rails, which connect to the UAV’s hub via a centre cross-assembly. The patented 768 x 817 x 160 mm shape is intended to allow the camera to pan ±90 º without its field of view ever being disrupted by propellers, occlusion or any other obstruction that might stem from the UAV. That enables missions for surveying and inspecting objects from a lower altitude, such as the undersides of bridges, transmission equipment or unfinished construction works. Such missions can be augmented by a range of photography payloads, including HD and IR cameras such as the FLIR Tau 2 for LWIR imaging and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ71 for HD video. Camera and gimbal together consume up to 250 mW of power while providing real-time images over a 5.1-5.8 GHz digital link. Stumpf says, “The latency of the video link is specced to 3 ms. We add a bit of latency through our processing depending on the payload but we’re still within about 20 ms, which is required for broadcasting and which we aid by support for full HD 1080p images and an HDMI output.” Autopilot As mentioned, the Falcon 8+ has a range of redundancies, chief among which is a triple-redundant autopilot, through which continuous sensor fusion with three IMUs enables a constant stream of position and attitude data for the UAV to carry out its missions with a stable centre of gravity for the duration while withstanding navigation errors and changes in wind conditions. Although triple-redundant autopilots have existed since the 1960s, they are a relatively new feature for UAVs; the Falcon 8+ uses the Ascending Technologies Trinity. Each of the three flight controller boards weighs 8 g, measures 68 x 20 x 5 mm and consumes 100 mW. In the event that the UAV is subjected to unexpected damage or disruptions during a mission, an internal high-speed SD card connected to the flight computer through an SDIO port enables data logging for post-mission analysis. The control software is aimed at improving flight stability through adaptive algorithms. “We call the software our adaptive flight controller, and it is basically an algorithmic solution to a problem that many UAVs have,” Stumpf says. “A UAV’s centre of gravity has to be perfectly balanced to overcome drift – if you put weight on one side the UAV will drift to that side.  “Our algorithm learns when the UAV needs more power on one side to compensate for uneven weight, so it can cope with different cameras, different lenses and even if one, two or up to four propellers stop, so long as one remains working in each quadrant.” Unmanned Systems Technology | February/March 2017 Eight 125 W brushless dc motors in a carbon composite frame enable the Falcon 8+ to carry 800 g of payload, yet it has a MTOW of only 2.8 kg (Images courtesy of Intel) The Falcon 8+ has a unique V-shaped configuration that allows photography in a vertical field of view without being obstructed by the propellers Intel Falcon 8+ UAV | Digest