Unmanned Systems Technology 026 I Tecdron TC800-FF I Propellers I USVs I AUVSI 2019 part 1 I Robby Moto UAVE I Singular Aircraft FlyOx I Teledyne SeaRaptor I Simulation & Testing I Ocean Business 2019 report

28 Dossier | Tecdron TC800-FF more power, and if their speed, torque and temperature limitations are respected they have an almost unlimited life and need little or no maintenance. The extra complication arises from the need to apply current very precisely to each phase of the rotor’s windings as it rotates. To provide that, the controller needs to know the rotor’s angular position throughout its rotation, information that is provided by a Hall effect sensor. Brushed motors, by contrast, need no sensors or synchronisation to run, only a constant electrical supply. New electronic architecture The TC800-FF also has a new electronic architecture, both in terms of hardware and software. Tecdron developed its own embedded computer that monitors the operation and health of all the vehicle’s major components. The computer continuously analyses and controls more than 50 parameters, including speed, torque, inputs, outputs and so on, and makes adjustments in real time to protect the vehicle and its onboard systems. It also keeps the operator in the picture by sending alarms over the comms link whenever one of these operating limits is reached. For example, if motor temperature exceeds 130 C, the robot stops then sends an alarm. The limits for the battery and electronics are 60 and 75 C respectively. Mammana says this has enabled them to make sure everything is working properly and to program in safety measures that prevent components from exceeding predetermined limits to avoid damaging them or compromising their reliability. The embedded computer also offers other advanced functions including a data logger, remote network access and a closed-loop motor control system. The data logger records everything the robot does in operation and, says Mammana, timestamps all the measured values against the computer’s real-time clock, which records the data every 100 ms or whenever an event occurs. The data gathered and recorded by the logger comes from multiple temperature sensors, which are mounted externally on the vehicle as well as inside the motors, batteries and electronic components. There are also voltage and current sensors on the motors, brakes and batteries, and rotary speed sensors on the motors. The system also gathers data from the TC800-FF’s GNSS and inertial sensors so that every one of its routes can be recorded and played back. The data logger has a continuous recording capacity of several months’ worth of operations. All the data it logs can be exported via the comms link, which can use the vehicle’s onboard wi-fi router or a 3G/4G cellular network as the bearer, and fed into diagnostic software tools that Tecdron has developed to determine whether any components will need maintenance. This remote network access also enables the TC800-FF’s software to be updated or patched over the air, removing the need to return it to Tecdron. “This is useful if a client discovers a bug and needs a fix as fast as possible or wants a new feature, such as the ability to handle a new device,” Mammana says. He adds that Tecdron can access a number of the robot’s key parameters, such as speed and power limits, and enable certain features over wi-fi. “These parameters are specific to each robot, and are not affected by software upgrades,” he says. “That means we can have one core software suite for all our TC800-FFs and adapt their features for individual clients.” In-house computer Tecdron developed the computer’s open architecture to support the integration of a wide range of external devices and advanced services such as the data logger, remote diagnostics and the remote software upgrade capability, Mammana notes. He adds that Tecdron needed fast computer hardware capable of handling all the devices connected to it in real time, and with very low energy consumption, so it chose an embedded June/July 2019 | Unmanned Systems Technology Based in La Rochelle on the Bay of Biscay in western France, Tecdron specialises in mobile land-based robotic vehicles for indoor and outdoor applications. As well as designing and producing bespoke robotic platforms for customers ranging from small and medium-sized enterprises to large multinationals, the company also develops others that it markets under its own brand name. Tecdron’s firefighting UGVs fit into the second category. These include the Scarab TX, its first fully operational vehicle introduced in 2016 that was developed from several prototypes tested in cooperation with the Paris Fire Brigade. Subsequently, the Amsterdam Fire Department bought a Scarab TX and operates it with payloads and sensors including a water monitor (a remotely steerable nozzle for a fire hose), a smoke extraction fan, a Lidar and a stretcher holder. Tecdron’s CEO Jean-Charles Mammana arrived in late 2016. He is a software engineer with more than a decade of experience in robotics with companies including warehousing firm Scallog, SoftBank Robotics, and Gostai Robotics, a robot manufacturer and AI house. He wanted to change the company’s direction towards developing a wide range of options and services as well as integrated robotic platforms, the first focus of which is the TC800-FF, and is now looking for distributors for them. Tecdron’s raison d’etre