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

93 Marine unmanned electronics company Dynautics launched its Phantom AUV, development of which began following an order in November 2018, with its first sea trial taking place 105 days later. “The system successfully completed an autotuned roll manoeuvre within 2 s, and roll was controlled to within less than 1°,” said Dr Henry Robinson. “The vehicle was developed largely from a blank sheet, and engineered to meet the customer’s particular list of requirements for an AUV for tight control in shallow waters rather than heavy payload capacity or deep diving.” Dynautics undertook the r&d and design work, with the Phantom’s blueprints being completed within the first month of the development schedule, at which point the hull drawings were sent to be machined by a third-party manufacturer over the subsequent eight weeks. The r&d team was able to adapt its Spectre autopilot, which has been developed over 20 years, with only minor changes needed to meet the specific mission requirements. “No significant alterations were needed for the autonomy – the Spectre’s algorithms are designed for versatility, so it can be used by anything from a 20 m USV to this 1.3 m AUV,” Robinson said. This version of the Phantom is rated down to 30 m, although it has been pressure tested to 50 m depth and is estimated to be fit for 100 m. It travels at up to 5 knots, can operate for up to an hour at a cruising speed of 4 knots, and weighs 11 kg in air. The design is intended to be flexible and modular to allow for multiple payloads and missions. SeateChrim exhibited an AUV antenna system designed to double as an ice drill, for AUVs operating under ice floes and in need of rapid surfacing (for comms, transmitting survey data or gaining a GNSS position fix). “You can attach this system to the hull and power supply of your AUV, to provide mounting, power and also a forward push of the drill into the ice,” said Vladimir Stoyanov. “Tests have shown it to take 4 minutes to drill through a layer of ice 2.5 m thick.” The drill motor drives the shaft for a drilling speed of 1-1.4 cm/s, boring holes roughly 35 mm wide in the ice, and the upper part of the drill contains an Iridium antenna for transmitting data via satellite to the AUV operator. The system can be mounted atop the middle of an AUV’s hull, in a vertical- or forward- pointing configuration, depending on the propulsion system. Swift Engineering presented its latest UAV, the Swift 021, which is intended as the successor to the Swift 020 VTOL-transition tailsitter, the company’s first UAV (detailed in UST 16, October/November 2017). “We’ve made some improvements, primarily to the main centre body, replacing the moving landing gear with static landing struts, and including design changes for manufacturability and to improve ease of operation, set-up and dismantling,” said Ryan Chase. “These were done in order to increase stability on uneven surfaces when landing and taking off, to reduce overall weight, cost and complexity, and increase overall efficiency in operations.” In addition, the larger centre body is meant to provide easier integration of new subsystems and payloads without requiring a redesign of the airframe. Like its predecessor, the Swift 021 can still land and take off vertically, independent of runways, is operated by one person and fits within confined spaces such as ship decks that can accommodate its 4 m wingspan. Software changes have also been made, with Pixhawk and QGroundControl now compatible with the Swift 021. Ocean Business 2019 | Show report Unmanned Systems Technology | June/July 2019 SBG Systems’ Horizon-grade IMU (right) is IP68-rated and weighs 4.9 kg The Dynautics Phantom AUV is rated down to 30 m