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94 W ith the ongoing pandemic making international travel untenable, the Intergeo Digital event provided a vast online forum for geospatial systems and autonomous vehicles technologies to be unveiled and details about them to be shared. More than 330,000 digital interactions were recorded, with an estimated 12,000 participants from 153 countries attending sessions. Although typically a manufacturer of connectors, Rosenberger is developing an automated charging station for multi- rotor UAVs, with an eye to enabling end-to-end full autonomy for UAVs conducting routine operations. “The impetus for it came from an increasing number of requests for our magnetic connector solutions, with the intention to use them for automated, self-mating charging solutions,” said Toni Scheuerlein. “In December 2018 we started to collect ideas for a charging station and to develop concepts tailored to meet end-users’ needs. Our first proof-of-concept prototype was tested in summer 2019, and since last summer we have been cooperating with two universities on its development. “The first tests with autonomously flying drones, including the automatic landing and charging of the drone in our charging station, was set to take place before the end of last year, and we aim to present a market-ready solution in Q4 this year.” The charging concept uses contact- based conductive charging, as the company says this is more energy efficient than inductive charging. Power transmission comes from four points around the square- concave base plate, with power input contacts on the outer parts of the UAV’s landing struts acting as receivers. This approach has also been motivated by Rosenberger’s findings that the required components for conductive charging weigh Rory Jackson reports on some key geospatial products and technologies that were showcased at this online event Covering new ground December/January 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology Rosenberger’s automated charging station is designed to enable end-to-end autonomy for multi-rotor UAVs