Unmanned Systems Technology 014 | Quantum Tron | Radio links and telemetry | Unmanned Aerial Vehicles | Protonex fuel cell | Ancillary systems | AUVSI 2017 Show report

70 T he Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Centre in Dallas, Texas, played host to the 2017 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Xponential show. Now well established as a flagship event for the industry, with more than 3000 organisations from 30 countries, we walked the exhibition floor in search of the latest technological achievements on display, and the engineering marvels behind them. UAVOS showcased its unique approach to high-altitude, very long endurance solar-powered ‘pseudo- satellite’ UASs. Whereas previous approaches to this type of aircraft have used a single fuselage and long, stiff wings, the Apus features a flexible wing that does without longerons in the design, allowing a high aspect ratio, and three fuselages operating as if in fixed formation, each with its own independent autopilot. “This is a key point for core stability of aircraft such as this that have extreme wingspan ratios,” said Aliaksei Stratsilatau. “We control the vee shape depending on the current bank angle to maintain the core stability and zero slip of the aircraft.” The autopilots share a minimum of data with each other to coordinate formation flight, with the system architecture following what the company terms ‘distributed computing’. “The system uses all its nodes to estimate its position or compute some data – there is Ian Bamsey and Rory Jackson report from Dallas with our annual round-up of the technology on show at this premier event Looking in on the Big D June/July 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology Xponential came to Dallas for 2017 and attracted a wide range of visitors