Unmanned Systems Technology 023 I Milrem Multiscope I Wireless charging I Logistics insight I InterGeo, CUAV London & USA show reports I VideoRay Defender I OS Engines GR400U-FI I Ultrabeam Hydrographic Ultra-2 I IMUs

93 been incorporated. RedEdge-M users often flew their UAV with a FLIR thermal camera, but as these were not integrated the data was unaligned, and making comparisons between sets was difficult. The Altum also comes with MicaSense’s new Downwelling Light Sensor (DLS-2), which uses 12 light sensors installed at different angles atop a UAV to detect the position of the Sun. That gives users more accurate radiometric calibration, as the metadata of the Altum’s outputted image file can account for the Sun’s effects on visual and temperature data, for example. Ewatt Aerospace displayed its newest UAV, the G3V. Designed as a platform for delivery and logistics operations, the fixed-wing aircraft has four vertically mounted electric motors for VTOL and a push-propeller drive with a two-stroke, dual-cylinder 40 cc engine producing 4.1 hp for flight speeds up to 130 kph. “We’ve been working with one of the top three e-commerce companies in China, designing this UAV specifically to fit their capability requirements for package delivery testing,” said Chang Liu. “However, having unveiled it in the US for the first time at this show, we’re now receiving a lot of queries about integrating and testing a Lidar payload on the G3V, to investigate its use in survey applications.” The system can fly for five hours without payload, or for up to three hours while carrying 5 kg, and has an MTOW of 24 kg. The standard fuel tank holds 3 litres of gasoline, with an option for a 6 litre tank for longer missions (size and weight constraints permitting). Delivery packages are intended to be held in a mechanical payload system mounted under the craft to allow parachute drops from the air or automatic safe release of goods after landing. Vtrus unveiled a design for a quadcopter that is capable of simultaneous localisation and mapping (SLAM) for autonomous indoor navigation and data collection in GPS- denied environments. Carlos Sanchez told us, “All the perception and mapping is done through computer vision. We use a structured- light depth sensor, similar to the Microsoft Kinect, where each pixel has a depth value. “We couple that with our software to instantly fuse those depth values as the UAV moves, thus constructing a real- time 3D map of the surroundings. That is useful for navigation and geo-tagging data in areas without GPS.” The system, called ABI Zero Drone, is also configured to remember locations throughout indoor industrial facilities. It can also be programmed to trigger specific inspection points for applications such as routine checks of pipes, thermal readings on a pump or leaks in a turbine. After each mission, the UAV can be programmed to return to its base station, which automatically charges the craft’s battery through two contact points on the front of the airframe. This sealed contact charge method enables safe, high- current charging. Trimble subsidiary Applanix showcased its latest integrated GNSS INS solutions for efficient mapping by UAVs. Of the three, the APX-20 has the highest performance, and includes dual IMUs. “One IMU is for installing onboard the airframe, and the other is a more accurate external IMU that can go on the sensor, on a stabilised mount,” said Joe Hutton. “The advantage of that is you have two sets of orientations, so you can measure the differences from one relative to the other. That is important for translating the position data from the GPS antenna to the sensor on the gimbal, so you can geo-reference accurately.” The second system, the APX-18, is for rotary UASs that need accurate heading output while they are stationary or hovering. It is designed to use headings derived from GNSS position data received from two antennas mounted atop the UAV. The third system, the APX-15 El, has a similar configuration to the APX-20 but uses a lower-grade external IMU, for payloads requiring less power and accuracy. Commercial UAV Expo 2018 | Show report Unmanned Systems Technology | December/January 2019 The G3V from Ewatt Aerospace SLAM-enabled quadcopter from VTRUS