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

56 I n this age of data, efficiency is everything – both the efficiency that organisations derive from analysing the data, and the efficiency of collecting it. For those with geographical assets that need rolling maintenance or projects that need to be constantly monitored for progress, uncrewed systems now surpass human- piloted vehicles as tools for collecting geospatial data. They are less costly and labour-intensive to operate than crewed aircraft and boats, they can work for longer than people, and they almost universally produce lower emissions. Energy infrastructure A huge range of autonomous systems and components are now available for anyone looking for efficient ways of mapping and inspecting assets of interest. Inspecting power lines and pipelines for instance comes with a number of critical requirements that an uncrewed vehicle must be able to satisfy, the most obvious being a long endurance and flight range to cover the distances of such infrastructures. There are therefore many new aircraft designs that are optimised for achieving such endurances. The Air Barrow from aeroDCS for one is designed with a blended wing body architecture for stable flight over long distances, and is fitted with seven electric motors – one in tractor configuration for forward flight and six vertically disposed motors for enabling a stable hover above points requiring particularly close inspection. “This VTOL-capable UAV is also powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with two, 9 litre onboard hydrogen tanks and 6.2 kWh worth of hydrogen gas, through which it is capable of up to 10 hours of flight and 478 nautical miles,” says Axel Konig, managing director of aeroDCS. “The fuel cell is a 2.4 kW system from Intelligent Energy, used in a range extender configuration, and we can integrate up to 5 kg of payload sensors for geospatial surveys, including EO cameras, hyperspectral cameras, Lidars Advances in uncrewed systems mean they are now better than crewed vehicles for collecting geospatial data. Rory Jackson looks at some of the latest on the market Looking good December/January 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Air Barrow uses a 2.4 kW fuel cell to fly for up to 10 hours and power high- end sensors for detailed geospatial surveys (Courtesy of aeroDCS)