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59 CUAV Expo Americas 2020 | Report within visible HD 720p imagery. “Wherever there is a local partial discharge on high or medium power lines, UV radiation is emitted, as well as audio noise and ozone,” said Hannah Barzilay. “Finding those discharges discloses the locations of electrical faults. “The ability to see at a glance where the faulty components are located, and at the same time get sharp HD images of them, immensely reduces the time taken to investigate faults. Thereafter, the media bank of accumulated images and information is used for predictive maintenance.” The camera can communicate with remote control units via an onboard MAVlink, S-bus, GPS-NMEA, or the company’s micROM-Protocol, as well as stream the HD imagery to the UAV transmitter. It detects spots of UV light within the invisible spectral range of 240-280 nm – the solar blind zone – and overlays them on the visible inspected scene, with a minimum UV sensitivity of 7.8 x 10 -18 W/cm 2 . The system, including its IP42-rated housing, weighs 875 g, and it measures 156 x 112 x 71 mm. It consumes up to 12 W in normal operations over a power input range of 7-28 V DC. “Also, the micROM is shielded electromagnetically,” Barzilay said. “That is important, because UAVs will be flying in close proximity to power lines – the intensity of UV light diminishes exponentially with distance – so the electric and magnetic fields will be high. Our shielding is designed and tested to ensure consistent control of the camera and maintain HD video downlinks of infrastructure at all times.” BAAM Tech, a Kansas-based developer of UAVs and surveying technologies (represented at the show by the Alynix technology incubator group), has updated its end-to-end PPK data-tagging solution to make it compatible with the Micasense Altum and RedEdge sensors. The update will allow users of the Micasense product lines to tag their multi-spectral imagery using BAAM’s PPK software and its plug-and-play PPK hardware module. “We’re also backwards compatible with all previous versions of the Micasense Altum and RedEdge, including the Skyport variant,” said Ben Lindner. “The kit comes with mounting hardware for a wide variety of commercially available UAVs such as DJI’s M200 series.” The update has come about after numerous existing customers asked BAAM for a Micasense-compatible version of its PPK solution. Also, after BAAM approached Micasense about this, it found the latter had received similar requests. “Other available PPK products were too expensive for many customers, and were not easily integrated into their systems,” Lindner explained. “Our first completed systems shipped in September.” He added that the PPK hardware module’s mounts have been designed and built using a new technique for additive manufacturing, using nylon for lower weight and greater structural strength. We spoke to UAS fleet management solutions developer AlarisPro, which has released an update with a set of new features for its dynamic software platform. The features have been designed to exploit advanced monitoring capabilities and predictive analytics to ensure operational safety, reduce maintenance costs and improve efficiency for UAS operators and manufacturers. A key aspect of the new features is the ability to create and track projects, and assign pilots and UASs to specific projects or events. The software also allows operators to extend an aircraft’s suggested inspection (or replacement) time, thus enabling more flexible and efficient maintenance. For more comprehensive logging, the AlarisPro software’s maintenance documentation options have also been expanded beyond the FAA’s requirements for continuous analysis and surveillance system record-keeping, enabling UAS fleet manufacturers and operators to more easily document the maintenance required for Part 135 certification. The platform’s usability has also been enhanced with an improved user interface. New features include more detailed data visualisations, a more user-friendly dashboard and a mobile version of the design, along with new modules for project management of different UASs, projects, maintenance schedules and personnel. Unmanned Systems Technology | October/November 2020 BAAM’s PPK data-tagging unit has been updated