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

70 In operation | Skypersonic Skycopter and Skyrover The quadrotor can incorporate numerous sensors of interest to the astronauts, including as standard a 4K camera mounted on a radio-controllable gimbal (which can record live video on an SD card or stream it live over Skypersonic’s data link) as well as a multi- gas sensor, which potentially would be interesting in the survey of gases on Etna and even on Mars. A Mirion DMC 3000 personal electronic dosimeter can also be installed for detecting radiation that might have an impact on human habitability. To enhance the survivability (and hence practical autonomy) of the UAV, the electric motors are fully enclosed and dustproof, and six LEDs are installed around the cage to ensure illumination and navigability at night, in caves and so on. “The first prototype of the Skycopter was created in 2015,” Santangelo says. “It was based on the idea of a drone that could roll as well as fly, and be protected by a moveable ball-shaped cage, in order to inspect enclosed spaces like sewers, chimneys and dams. As a result, it’s well- suited to inspecting geological features like lava tubes and drained river beds that can feature on Mt Etna as well as Mars. “The Skycopter has been a mature design and commercially available since 2019, and since physically travelling to each customer to train them in its use was costly and laborious, we developed our very low latency, long-range data link technology for remote monitoring and piloting. That enables users to become familiar with our UI and FPV control of the UAV, no matter where they are in the world.” For trialling uncrewed ground exploration as well as key physical interactions with the Etna andMars environments, Skypersonic has also developed the Skyrover, a small four-wheeled UGV around 50 cmwide, 100 cm long, 35 cm tall, and weighing roughly 15 kg. “This was our first time developing a rover UGV, but it was much simpler than creating the Skycopter – the Skyrover took maybe 2 months of r&d before it was ready for deployment,” Santangelo recounts. “The Skyrover includes a periscoped camera on top of the hull for a wide FoV around the rover, and a 1.2 m robotic arm for picking up or placing objects, along with a small basket on the back for storing scientific samples or devices for surveys, experiments, localisation or other purposes. We used external suppliers like Rover Robotics for the chassis, the arm and the computer inside embedded with all our software; our technology contributions were the video cameras, encoding and transmission systems inside. “The rover won’t necessarily go to Mars; its purpose was to train the astronauts in using a rover with the same practical functions that they’re likely to be working with on any rover they do end up using, and Skyrover is hence fit for purpose in that regard.” February/March 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The rover won’t necessarily go to Mars; its purpose was to train the astronauts in using one with the same functions as any rover they do use The Skyrover is a 35 cm-tall UGV featuring a camera periscope and a 1.2 m robotic arm