Issue 45 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Aug/Sept 2022 Tidewie USV Tupan | Performance monitoring | Bayonet 350 | UAVs insight | Xponential 2022 | ULPower UL350i and UL350iHPS | Elroy Air Chaparral | Gimbals | Clogworks Dark Matter

TideWise USV Tupan | Dossier ports. Such upgrades are expected within the next 2 years. “We use a relatively inexpensive GNSS-INS solution that combines the OpenIMU product from AceINNA and the F9 GNSS from u-blox, both of which are very high quality,” Joyeux says. “We fuse the data signals from two F9s to calculate heading readings from the GNSS, with one integrated directly into the INS.” GNSS signals are received via two Tallysman antennas, which TideWise describes as “not survey-grade but very high quality”. The main constraints on GNSS antenna selection were size, to fit on the antenna mast without creating interference, and the ability to support all the major constellations. The payload survey gear meanwhile uses its own dedicated GNSS antennas elsewhere on the mast for survey-grade accuracy of position data, which are installed as needed for a given mission. As a final navigation assistant, CV7 anemometers from LCJ Capteurs enable the user to account for wind speeds when operating the USV and UAV. WiseControl autonomy The main computer on the Tupan is a ruggedised COTS PC running Linux, while the WiseControl software is based on the Robot Construction Kit (aka Rock, from Rock Robotics) and an open-source robot framework Joyeux helped develop when he worked in Germany on the FlatFish project in Brazil. This was a joint venture between the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Brazilian Institute of Robotics and Shell, and was aimed at designing a long- endurance AUV for oil & gas inspections. “The main driver in creating our own software architecture was to have a very flexible layer for both system building and mission management, something we found lacking in the leading robotics software frameworks,” Joyeux says. “And while the current version of WiseControl uses AIS and cameras for obstacle detection, we are currently working on a robust data fusion algorithm that will integrate Lidar, EO/ IR cameras, radar and AIS. The system architecture has been designed to allow fusion of data from onboard sensors as well as data to be transmitted remotely from external sensors.” For example, the UAV could provide enhanced situation awareness for the USV in heavy water traffic or poor visibility, by taking off and streaming live geo- stamped video to the Tupan’s computer. Such streaming systems could also work from stationary sensors installed on harboursides and offshore infrastructure. Joyeux notes here that the reverse could also work: some port authorities have expressed an interest in receiving any live vessel data that the Tupan happens to pick up to help inform traffic management decisions when visibility is poor. » Tactical grade IMU: 0.8°/h Gyro Bias Instability » Robust to Vibrating Environments » Post-processing with Qinertia PPK Software 0.02° RTK Roll/Pitch RTK/PPK Position 1 cm RTK Heading 0.06° Outstanding Performance/ SWaP-C www.sbg-systems.com JOIN US at Intergeo • Hall 3, Stand E3.024 QUANTA MICRO