Unmanned Systems Technology 017 | AAC HAMR UAV | Autopilots | Airborne surveillance | Primoco 500 two-stroke | Faro ScanBot UGV | Transponders | Intergeo, CUAV Expo and CUAV Show reports

97 force sent to the motors – the primary controller in clockwise, and the other in anticlockwise – at a slow pace. As soon as you command a new position, they return to their normal operation. “The current consumption increases by just a few per cent, which is not really noticeable in the overall operation of the vehicle.” The company is also working on enhanced versions of the electromechanical actuator clutches for its Duplex actuators on optionally piloted vehicles (OPVs) flying through civil or segregated airspace, where they may be required to deactivate the ‘UAV mode’ and assume direct control. The enhanced versions will come with stronger motors to produce a much higher rate of torque output. The company showcased an overload clutch for its DA 15-N servo as well. This is its smallest system, weighing 30 g. If the servo is overloaded – as can occur during launch or recovery, owing to stalls or shock loads from parachutes, nets, or mishandling – the clutch will override the servo to compensate. As soon as the load is gone it will return to the commanded position. “A lot of geartrains get stripped by conventional UAV recovery systems, but this feature can reduce the rate at which servos must be replaced between missions,” Juhrig said. The DA 15-N is also now available with an RS-485 serial interface to enable users to command the servo and receive diagnostic information such as current consumption, voltage or temperature from it, in order to gauge changes in the servo’s performance and health, and determine future maintenance requirements. Battery manufacturer Amicell was showing its new line of lithium-polymer battery cells for UAS applications. Hana Manor said, “The batteries have an energy density of 309.4 Wh/kg. The weight of a given cell is 218 g, and measures 170 x 70 x 8.4 cm.” The company opted to avoid using cadmium, mercury or other heavy metals in the system in order to provide a more environmentally friendly solution. The batteries have a maximum charging voltage of 4.2 V, and a maximum continuous discharge current of 2 Coulombs, and can operate at temperatures from -20 C to +60 C. The technology can be scaled up to an energy capacity of 22,000 mAh. Unmanned Systems Technology | December/January 2018 Intergeo, CUAV Expo and CUAV Show | Show reports Voltz was showing an overload clutch for its smallest servo, the DA 15-N One of Amicell’s new lithium-polymer batteries