Unmanned Systems Technology 036

7 Platform one Unmanned Systems Technology | February/March 2021 Easy Aerial has developed a tethered six-rotor UAV that can be launched from anywhere in the world, then untethered to operate autonomously with payloads of up to 4 kg (writes Nick Flaherty). The Albatross is produced entirely using additive manufacturing (AM), to allow variants to be produced for specific customer requirements. It is aimed at surveillance applications for commercial sites, public safety, firefighting, border patrol as well as monitoring infrastructure. “Albatross is the only UAV that can be launched remotely from its box. For clients in Japan and Israel, for example, we manage their flights from New York,” said Ivan Stamatovski, chief technology officer at Easy Aerial. In tethered mode the Albatross can be launched from its charging station, even from the back of a pick-up truck moving at 25 mph. The UAV is operated remotely without the intervention of the driver. Power is supplied over a 300 ft (100 m) line that also carries the data. “We run data over a 400 V power line, getting 25 Mbit/s over 300 ft with our own design,” Stamatovski said. The company has also designed its own release latch for the tether, called Raptor, which includes a parachute. This allows the user to switch between power from the tether and the battery, according to changes in a mission. “This switch decides the time to release the tether, in milliseconds,” said Stamatovski. The tether falls on the parachute and is reeled back into the ground station, and the Albatross lands in the ground station to recharge. The UAV has side hardpoints with a carrying capacity of up to 2 kg. The bottom hardpoint can carry payloads of up to 4 kg. Side payload stations have a standard mounting, as well as Picatinny rails to support payloads such as floodlights, comms relays, loudspeakers, and cyber-related and other commercial and military electronic systems. The bottom hardpoint is designed for gimballed cameras or large ISR payloads such as radars and comms jammers. More than 20 EO/IR cameras, including the WIRIS Security and FLIR Duo Pro R, are compatible. The Albatross is built using selective laser sintering AM. “This allows the shape of a production aircraft to be changed from one batch to another, if a customer needs that,” Stamatovski said. “These days everyone wants something different, from the onboard charger to the payloads. Using AM means we can take a dozen different payloads with different types of radio and types of antennas. “We want an exact fit for the radios, and we test for interference and route the antennas in order to avoid it. For example, we are working with a company that wants bright LEDs on both sides, so we took the existing design and added side rails to support them,” he said. • Focus on additive manufacturing, page 84 Airborne vehicles UAV can be let off tether The Albatross optionally tethered UAV is fully 3D-printed