Unmanned Systems Technology 028 | ecoSUB Robotics AUVs I ECUs focus I Space vehicles insight I AMZ Driverless gotthard I InterDrone 2019 report I ATI WAM 167-BB I Video systems focus I Aerdron HL4 Herculift

UAV designer High Eye has redesigned its autonomous helicopter to reduce the number of parts and increase the time between maintenance (writes Nick Flaherty). The latest version of the HEF 32 uses a redesigned transmission and engine interface. The new gearbox systems are oil-lubricated and maintenance-free between overhauls, and a new air-cooled boxer engine uses the same heavy diesel as the ships it operates from. This gives the 16 kg platform a flight time of 3.5 h and a range of 50 km with a 5 kg payload. The main and tail rotor heads are now made entirely of aircraft-grade titanium, and include maintenance-free, oil- lubricated bearing packs. The rotor blades are made using manned-aviation resin transfer moulding production processes. All the protruding antennas have been replaced with integral antennas in the landing gear legs, stabilisers and other aerodynamic fairings. The comms systems layout has been revised to include a standalone secondary radio system, which adds redundancy. Improvements to the flight control system allow ship-based operations so that the HEF 32 can be operated semi- or fully automatically from smaller or unprepared ship decks. Dead-reckoning capabilities allow the aircraft to maintain automatic navigational capabilities and redundancy if there is a loss of GPS or external heading information. Integrating a laser-based altimeter as standard supports autorotation with a fully automatic flare-out capability. Contrary to other UAV designs, High Eye has aimed to minimise the number of sensors on the platform, as the company sees these as a key point of failure. Sensors are protected by full redundancy with EMI shielding, noise filtering and a software back-up. Two pitot tubes developed in-house provide barometric inputs to the avionics and are electrically heated to protect against icing up in flight. The autopilot has been updated to support a range of flight modes, all of which can be activated or changed at any time during flight. It provides semi- as well as fully automatic flight modes, including multiple waypoints, automatic take-offs and landings, and clearly defined back-up modes. Aerial vehicles UAV revamp cuts upkeep www.fc-air.com Phone: +1-604-454-0900 We deliver fuel cell power for a sustainable planet • 90 Minute Flight Time • Low Noise • Expanded operational capability • Low Operational Cost • Ready For Your Mission – Today