Uncrewed Systems Technology 049 - April/May 2023

We’re on a search and employ mission www.uncrewedengineeringjobs.com Eurolink Systems Beluga | Digest in the Beluga, and that for each proposed solution, Eurolink’s background in military avionics enables it to take the lead on managing the configuration and life cycle for the UAV’s flight controllers. In addition to obstacle recognition and avoidance, facial recognition and hand and voice command are among the AI capabilities developed and installed by Eurolink on the Beluga’s GPUs. “We can use different GPUs, and indeed more than one GPU if necessary,” Lapiana says. “Part of the reason we designed our systemwith modular interfaces is because the GPU industry has such a strong tendency to evolve and iterate its products so quickly. “AMD, Xilinx and many others are releasing a new processor every 15- 16 months, and users in the military and emergency services need a drone that’s always at the peak of processing capabilities. So they need us to be able to install the newest GPU, regardless of the model.” Comms and swarming For users operating multiple uncrewed systems in the air and on land, Eurolink currently offers UXV Technologies’ GCSs and its own common GUIs as a means of seamlessly switching between monitoring data from different vehicles. The UXV stations’ ruggedness is cited as a particularly strong draw for Eurolink, and its modularity in radio integrations enables a wide range of data links and up to four comms channels at once, so one operator can theoretically be in the loop with four vehicles at a time. Remiddi adds, “As we use this common ecosystem of hardware and software across our uncrewed systems, we can move some AI capabilities from our Doberbot UGV [see UGVs Insight, page 66] to the Beluga. For instance, as the Doberbot can recognise when objects are moved or removed from a room it has been to before, we can import this ‘change detection’ to a UAV for similar use.” Eurolink’s UAVs and UGVs can also share common information in real time, for example in surveying outdoor areas for vehicle movements or even indoor areas, should the end-user choose to operate a Beluga through corridors, which is possible owing to the AI’s visual odometry and obstacle avoidance. Aswell as performing securitymissions, the Beluga’s computer vision can recognise fire using EO imagery, meaning that the EO-only payload can be used in fire surveys without the need for an IR camera’s In addition to using conventional propellers that fold, and feature winglets to reduce noise, the UAV can also be equipped with serrated props (pictured) inspired by owl wings for even quieter flight Searching for the perfect engineering job in the uncrewed industry just got a whole lot easier uncrewedengineeringjobs.com We’re on a search and employ mission