Unmanned Systems Technology 021 | Robot Aviation FX450 l Imaging Sensors focus l UAVs Insight l Liquid-Piston X-Mini l Riptide l Eurosatory 2018 show report l Zipline l Electric Motors focus l ASTS show report

3 August/September 2018 | Contents Unmanned Systems Technology | August/September 2018 04 Intro As the Airbus Zephyr S enters production – the first HALE UAV to do so – we pay tribute to the engineer behind its design 06 Platform one: Mission-critical info Steerable phased array satellite transceiver for UAVs, new machine learning algorithms for driverless cars, autonomous system to monitor schools of fish in real time, and more 18 In conversation: Robert Hannaford UDS co-founder describes the company’s Bat Hawk UAV as an African solution to an African problem – here’s why 22 Dossier: Robot Aviation FX450 How this emerging OEM designed its distinctive canard-pusher UAV to appeal to the industrial as well as military sectors 34 Focus: Imaging sensors More powerful, lighter and cheaper sensors are emerging, thanks to advances in the underlying technology 44 Insight: UAVs Smaller is better for UAV designers these days, a trend supported by the shrinking size of onboard systems 52 Dossier: Liquid-Piston X-Mini The details and development history of this innovative new take on a rotary engine for UAVs 64 Digest: Riptide Autonomous Solutions Open source software and COTS components are enabling this UUV developer to build low-cost craft for undersea missions 70 Show report: Eurosatory 2018 Product highlights from the world’s largest military exhibition 76 In operation: Zipline The systems behind this fleet of UAVs for delivering medical supplies to hospitals in Rwanda, East Africa 82 Focus: Electric motors How to match a motor type to a UAV’s mission envelope 94 Show report: AST Symposium Our snapshot of the latest systems and craft for the burgeoning autonomous shipping industry 98 PS: ‘Weaponised’ AI Using AI for military purposes is facing a battle of its own 34 76 64 06 22