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96 because now all the components can easily be connected to the box, and only one cable has to be changed in case of a failure,” Cetinkaya added. Components such as the motors, motor controllers, ailerons, rudders and payload – if operated directly by the user at the GCS – can now take commands and power solely through the AvBoxMini. The system also adds CAN bus functionality, which the company says can enable control and comms links to more than 30 additional components throughout the UAV. UAV Factory publicised new innovations at the show that are aimed at improving the endurance and protection of its systems. The first of these is a powertrain upgrade to enable its UAV28-EFI engine to operate in desert conditions, to withstand severe heat as well as sand and dust storms. “The construction of the engine is the same, but we’ve worked on enhancing the air and fuel filtering and cooling systems, which have now been qualified for continuous operation at outside air temperatures of up to 55 C, as well as sandy or dusty conditions,” said Konstantins Krivovs. He added that the pneumatic launch catapult has also received a high- temperature upgrade. This includes an enhanced cooling system and air filtering system that allows continuous operation during dust or sand storms. To increase the reliability of its systems, UAV Factory is also implementing new forms of testing. These include Highly Accelerated Life Tests (or HALT), a stress testing methodology for enhancing product reliability, and Highly Accelerated Stress Screen (HASS), an accelerated reliability screen that can reveal latent flaws not detected by environmental stress screening, burn-in or other test methods. “HALT testing for all our equipment during the r&d phase will involve testing products and their separate components under combinations of temperature and vibration far beyond their specified capabilities, to determine the weakest points and improve them,” Krivovs said. “By contrast, HASS testing will be used during production to find and correct any defects that used to show up as ‘out of the box’ infant failures.” Volz Servos was exhibiting the latest development for its DA 26 and DA 30-Duplex servos. Introduced in 2015, they have received a firmware update aimed at preventing backlash in their motors. “A necessity in a redundant actuator is having a geartrain that is easy to back-drive,” Mark Juhrig told us. “If one side fails, the other side needs to back-drive the failed motor, but such an actuator typically has more backlash than normal servo geartrains, by about a degree. “The new firmware eliminates that backlash by introducing some minor force fighting, so that the two motors generate a bit of torque against each other, with a constant offset to the December/January 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology The UAV28-EFI engine from UAV Factory has been upgraded to operate in desert conditions weight and class from 2 to 150 kg. It has a dual redundant altimeter, airspeed sensor, digital compass, IMU and GPS, as well as a voltage sensor and an option to include RTK GNSS functionality for more precise geotagging in mapping applications. These are housed in a 5 x 2.9 x 1.3 in enclosure and can withstand temperatures from -20 to +80 C, Adnan Cetinkaya told us. The system can also be integrated with the company’s autopilot algorithms, in addition to being tested on multicopter platforms ranging from quadrotors to octocopters. VTOL fixed-wing aircraft can use A-Techsyn’s SLT (Separate Lift and Thrust) control algorithms to operate and guide a UAV during vertical take-off and horizontal flight. The company was also exhibiting its AvBoxMini, a modified version of the PilotUS that adds a dedicated power card to the system, enabling all servos as well as 5 and 12 V components to get their power through it, and separates all distinct connections on the box. “That eliminates the annoying cabling mess that can occur inside UAVs,