Uncrewed Systems Technology 047 l Aergility ATLIS l AI focus l Clevon 1 UGV l Geospatial insight l Intergeo 2022 report l AUSA 2022 report I Infinity fuel cell l BeeX A.IKANBILIS l Propellers focus I Phoenix Wings Orca

Platform one 17 Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2023 A differential oscillator is providing more accurate timing for autonomous vehicles (writes Nick Flaherty). The oscillator, developed by SiTime, uses a MEMS architecture to provide more accurate timing than existing oscillators that use quartz crystals. As automotive safety systems integrate more sensors and cameras, they are generating an explosion of data that is crucial for safe, autonomous operation. A typical vehicle generates 2 Tbytes of data each hour, according to the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium, but that is set to increase to 20 Tbytes per hour by 2025. All that sensor data must be transferred at very high speeds within the in-car network, even in the most demanding environments, to enable the central processing unit to make timely decisions for a safe, reliable journey. Timing technology is one of the weakest links in vehicle electronics. Quartz crystals provide a timing signal, but they are susceptible to vibration and shock, extreme temperatures, and exhibit performance degradation over time. The MEMS oscillator, built in silicon, uses a differential structure to cancel out internal noise and provide a typical jitter of 150 fs (femtosecond, a million billionth of a second) and ±30 ppm stability. Parts with a stability of ±25 ppm or better are also possible with the architecture, providing a signal from 1 MHz to 920 MHz. The differential output drivers include LVPECL, LVDS, HCSL and low-power HCSL. A proprietary FlexSwing output driver performs like LVPECL but provides independent control of voltage swing and DC offset. The oscillator is designed to interface with chipsets that have non-standard input voltage requirements without requiring external source-bias resistors. MEMS timer Driverless cars Dr Donough Wilson Dr Wilson is innovation lead at aviation, defence, and homeland security innovation consultants, VIVID/futureVision. His defence innovations include the cockpit vision system that protects military aircrew from asymmetric high-energy laser attack. He was first to propose the automatic tracking and satellite download of airliner black box and cockpit voice recorder data in the event of an airliner’s unplanned excursion from its assigned flight level or track. For his ‘outstanding and practical contribution to the safer operation of aircraft’ he was awarded The Sir James Martin Award 2018/19, by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. Paul Weighell Paul has been involved with electronics, computer design and programming since 1966. He has worked in the real-time and failsafe data acquisition and automation industry using mainframes, minis, micros and cloud-based hardware on applications as diverse as defence, Siberian gas pipeline control, UK nuclear power, robotics, the Thames Barrier, Formula One and automated financial trading systems. Ian Williams-Wynn Ian has been involved with uncrewed and autonomous systems for more than 20 years. He started his career in the military, working with early prototype uncrewed systems and exploiting imagery from a range of systems from global suppliers. He has also been involved in ground- breaking research including novel power and propulsion systems, sensor technologies, communications, avionics and physical platforms. His experience covers a broad spectrum of domains from space, air, maritime and ground, and in both defence and civil applications including, more recently, connected autonomous cars. Professor James Scanlan Professor Scanlan is the director of the Strategic Research Centre in Autonomous Systems at the University of Southampton, in the UK. He also co-directs the Rolls-Royce University Technical Centre in design at Southampton. He has an interest in design research, and in particular how complex systems (especially aerospace systems) can be optimised. More recently, he established a group at Southampton that undertakes research into uncrewed aircraft systems. He produced the world’s first ‘printed aircraft’, the SULSA, which was flown by the Royal Navy in the Antarctic in 2016. He also led the team that developed the ULTRA platform, the largest UK commercial UAV, which has flown BVLOS extensively in the UK. He is a qualified full-size aircraft pilot and also has UAV flight qualifications. Uncrewed Systems Technology’s consultants The MEMS timing oscillator is more accurate and robust than those based on quartz crystals