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

76 Digest | Singular Aircraft FlyOx The rugged boxes can also be used for medicines that have been tested to show that they survive the drop. This allows more specific deliveries of drugs to health centres and hospitals in a matter of hours rather than days. Normally, a large or sensitive load such as drugs would be delivered using a parachute, but that can lead to them landing in the wrong place depending on the wind patterns. Direct drops are more accurate. The bay doors can be triggered using the mission plan on the autopilot or through the FlyOx’s system bus. Once the system is armed, it can be triggered by a message over the radio link or a coordinate from the GNSS navigation sensor. This can take 1-2 s, but with the aircraft moving at 45-70 m/s then even if the signal is 2-3 s late, that is a difference of 120 m from the target. But as Lostao says, “If you are delivering food or medicine that’s not much.”. However, the release of the cargo has a major impact on the operation of the aircraft, which has to be taken into account by the autopilot or remote operator. Releasing the 1850 kg of cargo all in one go equates to a change of 40% in the weight of the 2200 kg aircraft, which means it could jump 4-5 m into the air in less than a second. The FlyOx’s centre of gravity is deliberately designed to account for that, but it can still be challenging for a remote operator. The best way to handle it is to have fully autonomous operation, with the autopilot adapting to the new configuration to maintain altitude and speed, correcting the angle of attack and power, and usually reducing the speed on the return leg as the weight is so much lower. Once the FlyOx returns to base, the landing is always autonomous. Configurable fuel load The FlyOx has a fuel capacity of 2.3 m 3 in two tanks by each wing, but this is configurable, as space in the cargo bay can also be used for fuel to extend the range. Tanks carrying 300 or 600 litres can be added in the bay, reducing the cargo capacity. There are four divisions in the bay, and ‘slices’ of thin fuel tanks can be added or removed as required. The extra 600 litres provide a range of 500 nautical miles or 5 hours of flight time. However, the fuel can also count as payload, delivering fuel to a disaster area, although the aircraft has to land to deliver it. The tanks can also hold chemicals for crop spraying, giving the platform more flexibility. One challenge with the design of the systems in the aircraft is that aid organisations and different countries use remote pilots who are trained on a range of different systems, usually based around particular autopilots. Singular Aircraft has therefore developed most of the components of the FlyOx with a clear interface to a range of autopilots. “That was because we saw that customers, mainly governments, already had their people trained to a particular system, so they don’t need so much training,” Lostao says. “With our system the pilot knows he is flying a different plane but the basics are the same.” The level of autonomy is for the customer to decide, whether it be fully autonomous, fully manual or something in between. “We developed everything in-house up to the control law from June/July 2019 | Unmanned Systems Technology The loading doors can be seen under the high wings of the FlyOx. These allow the cargo bay to be refilled in 20 minutes with up to 3000 ration packages