Unmanned Systems Technology 022 | XOcean XO-450 l Radar systems l Space vehicles insight l Small Robot l BMPower FCPS l Prismatic HALE UAV l InterDrone 2018 show report l UpVision l Navigation systems

10 Platform one October/November 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology US start-up AviSight has launched a mobile control command centre that can boost the use of UAVs for collecting data beyond visual line of sight, or BVLOS (writes Nick Flaherty). The C3ube can extend the operation of a UAV by being placed at the halfway point of the operating range, and the company is developing repeaters that can sit on infrastructure such as power pylons to relay data back to the C3ube. This will allow UAVs with gasoline engines to operate at distances of up to 200 miles, said JB Bernstein at AviSight. “Our founders were instrumental in pulling together the Air Force programme on unmanned systems, and created a mobile command centre that allows for BVLOS,” he said. “There are lots of components that go into this,” he added. They include proprietary redundant, long-range wireless links for command and control in the unregulated ISM band that operate alongside UAV makers’ own video transmission protocols, as well as machine learning hardware in the module and cellular connections back to cloud computing systems. An industry association has started developing the specification for a physical layer for high-speed sensors in driverless cars (writes Nick Flaherty). The MIPI Alliance, which has previously developed standards for mobile phones, is now working with automotive OEMs, technology companies and suppliers on the specification of an interface that will work at 48 Gbit/s for radar imaging, optical cameras and Lidar sensors. “We’ve been at this for three years for day and night operations over people. It is UAV-agnostic and transfers data signals to and from the assets. “For example, an electro-optic sensor can stream live video back to the C3ube and the internet, and at the same time we have software analysing the video, for example for detecting faults such as burnt insulation on power lines.” For example, a 12 MP camera sensor running at 60 frames per second generates 10 Gbit/s of data that needs to be securely transferred. The development of the MIPI A-PHY specification is underway to meet 12-24 Gbit/s rates, but it is becoming apparent that it needs to be extended to more than 48 Gbit/s to support higher resolution sensors in the future. Version 1.0 of the MIPI A-PHY specification is expected to be available The control system allows the data to be usable by the machine learning software to automatically identify faults with a success rate of 90%. “What’s unique is the vertical integration – we come, we fly, we process data,” Bernstein said. “We didn’t patent the technology though as we didn’t want to tell people what we are doing.” to developers in late 2019. It will optimise the wiring, cost and weight requirements, given that high-speed data, control data and optional power share the same physical wiring. The PHY is asymmetric, with a point-to- point topology that will allow an interface design or component to be used in an ASIL D automotive system. The first vehicles using A-PHY components are expected to be in production in 2024. BVLOS command centre Driverless car PHY spec Airborne vehicles Sensors AviSight’s C3ube will allow gasoline-engined UAVs to operate up to 200 miles away