Uncrewed Systems Technology 048 | Kodiak Driver | 5G focus | Tiburon USV | Skypersonic Skycopter and Skyrover | CES 2023 | Limbach L 2400 DX and L 550 EFG | NXInnovation NX 100 Enviro | Solar power focus | Protegimus Protection

23 run into difficulties, perhaps stemming from a degree of overconfidence. “The average age of drone company founders and owners is below 30, and most of them have technical affinities stemming from a Linux and/or embedded systems background,” he says. “That leads them to think they can and should come up with all the solutions in-house, as it seems to be more cost-effective. “That might be right for some proof- of-concept builds, but in production at scale it could result in systems that do not perform as well as expected, and lost market opportunities. The issue is that they don’t stay focused on their core business, whether it be manufacturing or operating drones.” Resistance to the cost of its industrial-grade cellular comms systems from UAV developers is why Puff decided to develop satcom systems at LikeAbird, as these essential back-ups also seem to serve as a back door into the market. “If we sell them the satellite systems, they then tend to ask, ‘Can we combine satellite with cellular for smooth switching?’ Our answer is yes, but you need our router. That usually gets them interested.” At LikeAbird, he focuses on building modular, scalable solutions that are as near to the plug-and-play ideal as possible, which presents challenges from both the hardware and software perspectives, he explains. “Due to their modularity, our solutions are often larger than others. Developing hardware is expensive, and the variety of unmanned systems operations is very wide, so I prefer to develop modular hardware blocks that can be easily adapted to different operational scenarios instead of specific printed circuit boards for each one. “On the software side, coming from the data centre world, I’m used to thinking in a scalable manner and about how the software solutions should be open, modular and flexible.” The extent to which the solutions that are delivered are truly plug-and-play really depends on the final requirements, expectations and use cases, he notes. “Sometimes the whole system is truly plug-and-play, but sometimes it applies to the hardware only, as some customer interaction with Linux scripts or interpretation of protocols is required.” Looking to the future, he expects UAVs and other uncrewed systems to play an increasingly important role in society, with urban air mobility (UAM) ramping up quickly to offer a new means of personal transport. That raises the issue of safety. “The reliability that we are used to seeing in crewed aircraft must be engineered into drones and UAMs,” he says. “I’m not willing to risk being hit by a falling drone just because it has lost a propulsion system. “That is a cost factor, but there should not be a loophole for drones and UAMs that permits less reliability and safety for the sake of faster adoption and shorter time to market.” More specifically, he also anticipates major improvements in satcom installations. “They will be more miniaturised, more cost-effective and have better airtime plans. Satcom is mandatory for flight termination and/or as a back-up link in case 4G/5G coverage is not available.” As to personal ambitions, he would be glad to accept a job offer from Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. “Joking aside, I will be increasingly focused on comms projects across the globe and creating the first cross-continent low-latency drone network,” he says. “But I don’t think I will see the fulfilment of that dream in my career.” Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2023 Born in 1973 in South Tyrol, Italy, and educated in the region, Jarno Puff excelled in electronics andmechanical subjects at school. He was captivated by the early games consoles and PCs that were his introduction to electronics, IT and computer programming. He also developed an enthusiasm for everything that flies, his dream job as a youngster being to fly either jet fighters or helicopters. He pursued further education at the Fachhochschule fur Elektronik und Elektrotechnik) in Bozen (Bolzano). Then came a specialist course in industrial robotics in the same city, followed by a year’s national service in the Italian Army. Technical, engineering and training jobswith an Apple reseller, surgical laser manufacturer StemLaser, andmajor storage area networking provider McData followed. In 2003, he founded his first company, SAN Experts Facility, which until 2016 provided consultancy and other services to the storage area networkingmarket. Also in 2003, he co-founded the Emergency Flight Department (EFD) of the Italian Volunteer Civil Defence Association, a pioneer in the use of UAVs and other low-cost aerial platforms in the voluntary sector. He worked there for 10 years. His involvement with the EFD led him to start Advanced Aviation Technology (A2Tech) to develop industrial-grade UAV systems and cockpit-style GCSs, running it alongside SAN Experts Facility from 2005 to 2016. Since 2018, he has served as the CTO and instructor and speaker at 3D Xperts, which provides education and training consultancy in additive manufacturing. These days he is also CTO of LikeAbird, which he founded in 2019 as a successor to A2Tech, focusing on OEM electronics and engineering services for uncrewed systems. Jarno Puff