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

7 Platform one Goodyear unveiled a ‘two-in-one’ concept tyre at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show that can be used for an autonomous car and as a propeller on an aircraft (writes Nick Flaherty). The Aero is a multimodal tilt-rotor concept. It would serve as a drivetrain to transfer and absorb forces to and from the road in a traditional orientation, and as an aircraft propulsion system to provide lift in another orientation. In hybrid craft it would be used for propulsion as they take off. The spokes are designed to provide support to carry the vehicle’s weight and act as fan blades to provide lift when the tyre is tilted. The airless tyre uses a non-pneumatic structure that is flexible enough to dampen shocks when driving Textron Systems has integrated IMSAR’s NSP-3 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system into its Aerosonde small UAV (writes Rory Jackson). Software integration included programming the UAV to send radar flight plans directly to the Aerosonde’s operator. Mechanical integration involved installing the radar electronics within the fuselage- based payload bay, with an externally mounted antenna pod for transmitting and receiving the radio waves. Over the course of several test flights, the UAV and SAR demonstrated day and night operations, collection of SAR imagery at up to 30 cm resolution, as well as coherent change detection imagery and moving target indicator detection and tracking. Textron Systems’ David Philips said, “Unlike other wide-area search payloads on the road, yet strong enough to rotate at the high speeds necessary for the rotors to create vertical lift. that require daylight operations, SAR is capable of operating in both the day and at night over land and water. “Lidar and photogrammetry payloads are complementary to radar in mapping missions, but radar has a unique ability to augment full-motion video systems in tactical missions involving all-weather reconnaissance and surface search.” The NSP-3 system demonstrated by Textron is capable of all-weather reconnaissance through SAR imaging It would also use magnetic bearings to provide frictionless propulsion. This would enable the high rotating speeds required to drive the vehicle on the ground and, when the wheel is tilted, lift a vehicle into the air and propel it forward. Fibre-optic sensors integrated into the tyre would monitor road conditions, tyre wear and the structural integrity of the tyre itself. The concept even includes an embedded processor that would combine information from the tyre’s sensors with data from vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle- to-infrastructure comms. It would analyse the sensor data to recommend a course of action – allowing a vehicle to adapt to a flying or driving mode – and identify and resolve potential tyre-related issues before they occur. and surface searches in Ground and Maritime Moving Target Indication modes. Radar’s inherent ability to work in the dark and adverse weather enables missions to continue through night or cloud layers that could render other sensors (particularly EO cameras) inoperable. Also, the wide-area use of radar avoids the narrow visual field ‘soda-straw effect’ of high-zoom camera systems, allowing the payload operator to maintain a situational awareness of the wider area. The tyre that’s also a prop Day-night SAR system Propulsion Airborne vehicles The spokes in Goodyear’s tyre concept are designed to carry a vehicle’s weight and act as fan blades for aerial lift (Courtesy of Goodyear) Unmanned Systems Technology | April/May 2019 The IMSAR NSP-3 SAR on Textron’s Aerosonde also provides all-weather reconnaissance (Courtesy of Textron)