Unmanned Systems Technology 025 | iXblue DriX I Maintenance I UGVs I IDEX 2019 I Planck Aero Shearwater I Sky Power hybrid system I Delph Dynamics RH4 I GCSs I StreetDrone Twizy I Oceanology Americas 2019

iXblue DriX | Dossier standard propeller for survey applications – chosen for its ability to deliver the required power over the correct range of speeds with a minimum of noise – Eudeline says the key parameters are all mission-dependent. The parameters include the diameter, pitch, number, area and shape of the blades. Eudeline stresses that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and that although iXblue has used propellers from a number of suppliers, it is currently working with French manufacturer France Helices. “In a nutshell, we are quite agnostic as far as the propeller is concerned. It is entirely mission-driven,” he says. He adds that iXblue has recently completed a study into propellers for other applications, including military ones. In most such applications it is critical to avoid cavitation – the formation and collapse of water vapour bubbles on the low-pressure faces of the blades, creating a high-frequency singing noise – and the generation of air bubbles. Cavitation can erode propellers over time, but the noise can also interfere with sensors and, in military operations, increase the risk of detection by an enemy. The rudder is conventional enough, but a lot of effort went into the control of actuation for the DriX’s helming system, Eudeline says. For that the team turned to iXblue’s Motion Systems division that makes servo controls for measurement tables used in the production of high- performance inertial navigation systems. It handed the development of the entire helming system to an engineer who specialises in these actuators. Eudeline says the company could have bought a system off the shelf, but chose to develop one in-house to get a thorough understanding of how to obtain the best combination of accuracy and reliability. “We were not looking for a dynamic positioning system, but we did want something capable of holding a We wanted an engine that could be used in a workboat, and this was the best we found. We almost don’t hear it at the gondola