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

67 Riegl unveiled its VUX-160 23 Lidar, a larger version of the VUX-120 sensor it released at Intergeo 2020. The company also updated its VUX- 120 system, renaming it the VUX-120 ²³ , which included raising its maximum pulse repetition rate to 2.4 MHz from the previous model’s 1.8 MHz. “What’s unique about the VUX-160 ²³ – as well as the VUX-120 ²³ – is that it has a very innovative scan pattern,” explained My-Linh Truong. “Most airborne laser scanning sensors have a rotating mirror design, with a matrix scan pattern on the ground looking towards their nadir. However, these Lidars use what we call NFB, or Nadir/Forward/ Backward scanning – one nadir-pointing perspective, one canted forwards 10 º and one canted backwards 10 º . “That gives three perspectives per flight pass, providing much more complete coverage than is typical of most airborne laser scanners, even in complex applications such as deep canyon terrain mapping or 3D modelling of vertical structures like powerlines.” She added that the VUX-160 ²³ offers a maximum pulse repetition rate of 2.4 MHz, a 100 º FoV, and an operating ceiling of 900 m AGL, enabling its use over a wide range of terrains and altitudes, while weighing 2.65 kg to suit the payload capacity of various UAVs. “For precise georeferencing of our laser scan data, we continue to integrate Applanix IMUs with Applanix’s new AP+ Series IMU/GNSS; depending on customer selection, the board stack for either the AP+30 or the AP+50 models are built inside the VUX-160 ²³ ,” Truong said. “The VUX-160 ²³ also supports the integration of up to five cameras for mapping and surveying to achieve additional data gathering, fusion and analysis.” Both Lidars are now commercially available and first deliveries are targeted for 2023. VectorNav Technologies is continuing to collaborate with the Indy Autonomous Challenge through supply of its VN-310 dual antenna GNSS INS to the AV-21 autonomous racecar (as featured in UST 46, October/November 2022). “Our system provides the team’s self-driving racecars with precision RTK-GNSS as they drive around the racetracks, and we’ll be working with the teams in a technical capacity during their next race event at the Texas Motor Speedway,” said Jeremy Davis. “Aerospace and racing have similar environmental considerations as far as INS environments and capabilities are concerned,” he added. “We’ve done a lot of UAV applications in the past that had high-speed launches which were comparable to the kinds of speeds, forces and NVH that the AV-21 cars go through. “And our Industrial series of products have gone through even more use cases of a high-speed, high-dynamics nature. For instance, the VN-300 has been used for telemetry in the Red Bull Air Race.” The 160 g VN-310 provides dynamic heading readings accurate to 0.05-0.1 º , with less than 10 µ g of accelerometer in-run bias and less than 1 º /hour of gyroscope in-run bias. Navigation data is output for the racecars at 400 Hz, with IMU data transmitting at 800 Hz. Intergeo 2022 | Show report Uncrewed Systems Technology | December/January 2023 Riegl’s VUX-160 ²³ Lidar VectorNav’s VN 310 in the AV-21 (below the Luminar Lidar box)