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

72 Report | AUSVI Xponential 2022 The FAA is working on issuing Sagetech Avionics a TSO authorisation for its MXS civil transponders. TSO certification of this critical avionics component will help simplify and accelerate uncrewed aircraft developers’ type certifications in non- military operations. “We’re receiving a TSO authorisation for our Mode S transponder, with ADS-B In and Out and integrated barometric altitude encoding,” said Tom Furey. “Last year we achieved military certification, which enabled all the same functions for defence UAVs with the addition of the military-specific Modes 1 and 2, as well as encrypted Mode 5, better known as IFF.” Using TSO-approved avionics components streamlines the type certification for aircraft compared to non-approved parts, which require an arduous review process. Sagetech’s transponders will subsequently be usable on certified UAVs in effectively any application. It also means the company’s MXS and MX12B transponders, which share a common platform, will be swappable for multi-role UAS users or manufacturers wanting to cover both civil and military missions. “Our certified system will achieve big improvements over uncertified ADS-B receivers in distinguishing between multiple aircraft, even when several are transmitting ADS-B data in congested airspace,” Furey added. “We’ve tested our MXS transponder against a few COTS transponders and ADS-B receivers, and the latter detect only around 40% of the traffic we’re seeing. That’s a major safety-critical improvement, and this will be the first time a really small transponder with ADS-B In/Out in the same box has been certified by the FAA, and will be the only small certified ADS-B receiver on the market.” The TSO is expected to be issued very soon. Looking to the future, the company is also working to introduce a detect and avoid (DAA) solution to host ACAS (airborne collision avoidance systems) logic algorithms to enable the necessary onboard intelligence for UAVs to safely conduct BVLOS operations in potentially congested airspaces. The Sagetech DAA computer for ACAS will readily integrate with the MXS.  Easy Aerial showcased its many solutions for aerial survey, ground control and tethered power systems, and highlighted a particularly novel solution for mine exploration applications. “We’ve made a compact hexacopter carrying Exyn’s proprietary Lidar-based payload, which rapidly rotates 360 º in the roll axis, and its point cloud data is processed in Exyn’s SLAM software to project a safe, obstruction-free path in front of the UAS through closed environments,” said Ivan Stamatovski. “Exyn approached us for a version of the hexacopter made in the US, and we took that opportunity to add more thrust capability, a different battery set- up and some other improvements. They’ve just successfully test-flown it fully autonomously through a 1 km-long mine tunnel.” The UAV – called the Hexyn at the time of writing – can hence fully map underground and open-pit mines, including unstable areas where miners might be trapped and in need of rescue, before returning intelligently to its launch point. Easy Aerial is now proceeding with plans to manufacture more than 100 units for Exyn, while simultaneously continuing to develop the system with new components for longer missions and higher thrust. June/July 2022 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Sagetech MXS civil transponder Easy Aerial’s hexacopter exploring a mine