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

80 UAVs have also been integrated (via a proprietary interface) with ultrasonic sensors for obstacle avoidance in most of the flights. If these systems detect that the craft is too close to the ground or a structure, the flight controller can be preset to override the GCS and automated flight path, and veer away. Pulling power Dunlevy makes particular note of his company’s new ‘line-stringing’ capability, which was publicised earlier this year after a successful mission for power line company Xcel Energy. This solution involves using an MFD 5000 to help lift electrical wires onto pylons. As Dunlevy explains, “We use the unmanned aircraft to carry a lead line – a rope that’s smaller and lighter than the potentially dangerous conductor wire – and string the lead line into a fixed pulley on the power line tower, so that the lead line can then be used to reel up the electric cable.” Statistics estimate that at least two people a year are killed in the US alone in accidents relating to the conventional method of line-stringing, which typically involves a crew on a helicopter or using a ladder or cherry-picker. Using UAVs avoids the operating costs of helicopters and cherry pickers, and the need to lift utility workers to precarious heights. As these missions take the MFD precariously close to utility infrastructures, several eyes on the ground are present at all times, and a second UAV – a Firefly Alta 8 – is flown simultaneously to provide the operator with a second aerial vantage point. That ‘support craft’ has an MTOW of 18.1 kg, and its arms and props can be folded to a diameter of 66 cm (from its 132.5 cm operational diameter) for easier transportation in road vehicles to power line sites. Each of the eight props is driven by a Freefly F45 motor that produces 350 W of continuous power (950 W peak), with six 3.7 V battery cells connected in series (for 22.2 V in total) to provide the power. Ongoing engineering To help make future operations safer and more efficient, Dunlevy and his team are now working to reconfigure their batteries and propeller geometries to reduce the power consumed (and the risk of battery failure) per flight. The use of a new UAV is also under consideration. Dunlevy highlights the xFold Dragon x6 Hexa, a hexacopter powered by a 4 or 2.4 kW two-stroke gas-electric engine from Pegasus Aeronautics, as being a future potential lead UAV that could carry more lead lines or sensors. At the time of writing, SkySkopes had bought one Dragon x6 for its commercial operations. As Dunlevy explains, “That could well be the future of unmanned aerial surveys. The Dragon x6 can carry up to 15 kg for 3 hours, and we’ll be able to integrate our Lidar, 24 MP camera and OGI sensor, and operate them simultaneously, to generate a vast amount of critical data for energy companies. That’s what’s been made possible with these new heavy-lift, long-endurance UAV designs that are now coming out.” October/November 2019 | Unmanned Systems Technology In conversation | Matt Dunlevy Matt Dunlevy was raised in Shoreview, a suburb of the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul. He spent his early childhood assembling model aircraft, before turning towards building and operating remote- controlled planes, and progressed to flying gliders and recreational aircraft in his mid-teens. He started his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Dakota in 2006, signing up to undergraduate programmes in aviation and aerospace-focused mechanical engineering, where he learned about the design, componentry and control systems for air vehicles. In the following years he worked to establish partnerships and win contracts for researchers in and around Grand Forks to explore the feasibility of using UAVs to inspect utility infrastructures and detect any damage. Dunlevy founded SkySkopes in 2014, and in that time the company has grown from just a few employees to several dozen, comprising UAS engineers, pilots, technicians and experts across many fields of aviation. During the same period, he has also taught at the University of North Dakota on a variety of courses, including Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering, New Product Development, and Technology Entrepreneurship. As well as overseeing thousands of successful unmanned aerial missions for SkySkopes, Dunlevy has led UAS teams flying BVLOS research missions for NASA. He also oversaw the first commercial UAV flight at the Grand Sky aviation technology park at Grand Forks Air Force Base, now a well-known UAS testing centre that’s in high demand. Matt Dunlevy