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60 Report | AUVSI Xponential virtual 2020 image capture with 20x zoom, enabling operators to conduct missions at safe distances while capturing the thermal data and detail required.” The first thermal camera in the Vue TZ20 gimbal is a 95 º FoV FLIR Boson sensor for wide-angle shots; the second is a 19 º FoV narrow-angle Boson. Both have 640 x 512 resolution, with a 5x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom (hence 20x in total), in an IP44-rated enclosure and with a total weight of 640 g. Two micro SD cards are installed for onboard storage of data, with streaming also available at up to 30 Hz in full resolution, as MPEG video or TIFF still and multi-page image files. We spoke with Elsight about its Halo connectivity solution, which has been designed to enable ‘always on’ data links for unmanned systems, robotics and a range of other applications. It has recently received FCC and CE certifications, allowing distribution in the US and Europe respectively. “We envision Halo being used in the future for BVLOS operations of UAVs, including above populated areas,” said Yoav Amitai. The system can be configured as an 85 g OEM card for integration into platforms and electronics bays or as a 534 g enclosed standalone solution. It is available in different set-ups for comms over 5G, 4G LTE, or 3G, along with RF comms and others. All the comms links are used together to create a stable and reliable connection from VLOS to BVLOS. Elsight’s bidirectional algorithm splits any kind of data – be it video, audio, telemetry or others – into encrypted packets before using secure VPN tunnelling to transmit them via multiple IP links (5G/4G LTE/3G/RF), decrypting and recombining them at the destination. The algorithm will also automatically detect any failed channels, and switch seamlessly to the most suitable available transmission method. Delta Digital Video discussed the Model 7805R, its newest rugged video encoder capable of H.265 compression. It has been developed for real-time full motion video streaming of HD feeds from unmanned aircraft, using lessons learned from the integration of the previous Model 6805R into the US Army’s Shadow UAS. “The most substantial advance for the Model 7805R is the implementation of the H.265 video compression algorithm, which provides a 50% improvement in compression efficiency compared with its predecessor, H.264,” said George Nelson. “This equates to bandwidth reduction or twice the video channels, or video quality over the same datalink.” The Model 7805R weighs 227 g and comes in a 97.53 x 92.0 x 29.97 mm package (rated to 21.5 g of shock and HALT-tested for vibration tolerance) along with MISB/Stanag-compliant streaming video to ensure downstream interoperability. Iridium launched its new Certus 9770 modem for satellite- based mobile comms, which has been anticipated since the announcement of its beta partners earlier this year, many of whom are working on incorporating the new modem into UAVs or components for autonomous systems. “For example, Blue Sky Network and Telespazio have developed small, lightweight, low-power devices that are appropriate for command & control links, or even payload comms,” said Joe Darden. “These products are still in development, but we expect to see them start to hit the market in the second half of this year. They will feature Iridium Certus satellite data comms, LTE, Bluetooth and other connectivity means, to enable fully redundant comms links for delivering truly global line of sight. The Certus 9770 provides 22/88 kbit/s (up/down), more than 10 times the throughput of previously available narrowband offerings. It weighs 180 g and measures 160 x 60 x 16 mm. Darden added, “The new system is a result of us refreshing our original Iridium constellation with a brand new system and upgraded capabilities. Iridium Certus is a weather-resilient [L-band] specialty broadband service that offers the fastest L-band broadband speeds in the industry – up to 704 kbit/s. “The Certus 9770 is what we refer to as a mid-band product. It won’t do the 704 kbit/s speeds, having been designed for portable products, but as a result of the smaller size, weight and power, it fits well into autonomous systems, IoT devices, and similar device categories that require global connectivity.” December/January 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology Delta’s 7805R video encoder adds H.265 video compression