Uncrewed Systems Technology 044 l Xer Technolgies X12 and X8 l Lidar sensors l Stan UGV l USVs insight l AUVSI Xponential 2022 l Cobra Aero A99H l Accession Class USV l Connectors I Oceanology International 2022

70 year scale factor repeatabilities will be within 400 ppm. “Development is ongoing, and we’ll be in full production of these new accelerometers by Q3 next year,” Feingold added. “We’ve also started r&d for an accelerometer that will have a one- year bias repeatability within 100 µ g .” Sky Power showcased the full range of its latest and most advanced engines. Taking centre stage were its newest Wankel hybrid-electric range extenders, the SP-360 DRE and the SP- 540 TRE. These are modular expansions on the SP-180 SRE previously featured in detail in UST 25 (April/May 2019). “While the SP-180 SRE signifies that this is a single-rotor Wankel displacing 180 ccm, the SP-360 DRE is a dual-rotor 360 ccm system, and the SP-540 TRE is effectively three SP-180 SREs with three rotors and chambers totalling 540 ccm,” said Karsten Schudt. “As well as enabling greater redundancy, users can hugely reduce their battery weight while increasing their flight times by switching to one of these engines.” The SP-360 DRE outputs up to 51 bhp at 6000 rpm, while the SP-540 TRE produces up to 74 bhp at the same speed. Like their predecessor, the engines can run on gasoline or heavy fuel, and a bigger version is expected in the near future. Also on display was the SP-55 FI TS, a new two-stroke, single-cylinder range extender with an air-based self-cooling system. “It’s based around our previous SP-55 FI TS ROS electronically fuel-injected single-cylinder gasoline engine, and can output up to 2 kW of continuous electric power at 48-60 V depending on the customer’s mission and cooling requirements,” Schudt added. “Usually our two-strokes run on a propeller for self-cooling, so developing self-cooling without that to enable this range extender to be packaged on a hovering UAV or away from any airflow was a major development challenge to overcome.” The system features a shroud-like construction on top to air-cool the hottest parts of the engine directly, saving weight over a liquid-cooling system. UAvionix debuted its SkyLine control and non-payload communications (CNPC) network management system, which monitors performance and manages the C2 link systems for BVLOS UAS operations as part of the Vantis network being developed in North Dakota. The system is designed to meet DO-377A standards, which will be fundamental for future BVLOS approvals as envisioned in DO-362A. “The philosophy behind Vantis is that its permanently installed infrastructure will enable operators to bring their UAVs to the system and start flying safely through standardised requirements,” explained Cyriel Kronenburg. “Using systems such as SkyLine with C-band radios will make it much easier to harmonise the way approvals are being obtained for BVLOS flight through minimum performance standards. “SkyLine manages a network of ground radios over the cloud, where the system monitors variables such as link quality for each radio, and independently determines which radio is best suited to control any flight in the system. Doing so with a network that is managed centrally prevents a UAV operator from having to establish their own ground radio network to sustain a BVLOS flight. “Through the Vantis network, we’ll provide that CNPC service as a C2 service provider using in essence a frequency assignment manager that will dynamically assign spectrum to users in the safest possible way,” he added. “We have also started deploying our SkyLink C-band radios, which are designed to DO-362A standards and will be compliant with the upcoming FAA TSO-213a, to enable easy integration into certified airframes and accelerate the certification process for others. The system currently works with both our microLink ISM solutions that have been used in the early test phase and SkyLink C-band.” Both the SkyLink radios, which operate on a protected spectrum, and the SkyLine network capabilities will play a big role in shifting the focus from recovery of a lost link to the prevention of a lost link, Kronenburg said. This will be essential for sustainable and scalable commercial BVLOS operations. Video processing solutions company SightLine Applications spoke with us about its new 3.5 software release with critical new capabilities, as well as its plans to expand its line of video processing hardware. “First we’re adding functionality to our AI Classifier, which classifies detections based on a training model June/July 2022 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Top to bottom: Sky Power’s SP-360 DRE, SP-540 TRE and SP-55 FI TS