Unmanned Systems Technology 018 | CES show report | ASV Global C-Cat 3 USV | Test centres | UUVs insight | Limbach L 275 EF | Lidar systems | Heliceo DroneBox | Composites

82 Digest | Heliceo DroneBox The choice of autopilot was governed by the need to account for fixed-wing, multi-rotor, marine and terrestrial operations. Geomatics engineers at Heliceo developed the flight software to allow management and fully automated control of the UAVs in three dimensions but also to support marine and terrestrial platforms in 2D. Heliceo has also developed a catamaran, called the Bathysphere, for operation at sea. There are different firmware images for the DroneBox depending on the nature of the platform. The firmware is loaded at the start of the operation according to the requirements of a given mission, whether it be for the FoxyPro6 VTOL, a multi-rotor craft or the Bathysphere. Loading is via a USB connector on the box. Flight data is also downloaded via this port, and both use either a PC or Android interface. This is key element of the modular structure that allows the DroneBox hardware to be used across the different platforms. Telemetry  The telemetry operates in the unlicenced 450-900 kHz bands with varying power levels depending on the country in which a system is operating. A third- party supplier is used for this module, but their identity is confidential, says Baudet, and in any event the supplier varies according to the country of use to ensure the radio systems conform to local regulations. A 2.4 GHz link is used for the radio control and 1.5 GHz for video. Heliceo has developed its own radio control link for managing the RTK. Flight data is stored on a high-speed SD card. February/March 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology The DroneBox is used to provide the control and navigation systems for a seaborne catamaran system called the Bathysphere. The engines used are ROV types from a commercial supplier (Courtesy of Heliceo) A hyperspectral camera from RedM can be integrated into the Heliceo platforms (Courtesy of RedM)