74 Show report | Xponential 2023 of companies in retrofitting their own UAVs, particularly for defence and law enforcement operations in the US.” Microlink is also becoming increasingly involved in the manufacture of heterojunction bipolar transistors, as a consequence of President Biden’s CHIPS Act. Further ahead, it is planning to build a new $100 million facility in Wisconsin for volume production of its solar cells in order to meet the demand for its technology. “Until now we’ve been principally a research company, but this year alone so far we’ve had a demand for over 30 kW of solar cells, and projections indicate we’ll be asked for 50-60 kW next year, and over 300 kW around 3 years down the line,” Tyler said. With Remote ID now imperative for UAS operations across much of the world, uAvionix showcased its new pingRID (ping Remote ID), a retrofit broadcast unit designed for conformity with the relevant FAA regulations. “In September this year, the FAA will start requiring drones to have Remote ID,” explained Brit Wanick. “It will come in two flavours: Standard Remote ID built directly into the core hardware of an UAV, or if it’s an older aircraft design it’ll need what’s called a Remote ID Broadcast module. “The pingRID is our broadcast module that adheres to the FAA’s accepted Means of Compliance. Its operation is simple: turn it on and attach it to the UAV using the 3M lock-tape provided; it then acquires a GNSS reading, and it’s ready to fly. Once in flight, it broadcasts its platform’s take-off position and all subsequent GNSS positions of the aircraft during flight.” That will allow law enforcement, ATC and UTM organisations to use scanning devices to track UAVs equipped with pingRID over Bluetooth. The unit weighs 21 g and has a battery that lasts for more than 2 hours, while also being USBrechargeable between flights. “There’s no app or device configuration required to install and use pingRID – users simply have to register a serial number with the FAA’s registration site, as they would for any remote ID device,”Wanick said. The company also unveiled its truSky ADS-B validation system, which is designed to provide UAS operators and ATC confidence in the integrity and accuracy of ADS-B signals, and thereby verify whether the signal is truly coming from an aircraft with ADS-B or if it is being spoofed. Alva Industries attended the 2023 expo to show its updated portfolio of production-ready electric motors, its engineers having moved beyond the design and concept phases and into scale production. “First, we showed the propulsion system Altus X60 last year, but it’s progressed a lot since then,” said Anton Franzen. “We’ve carried out a lot of testing and flying, and therefore have several iterations of the design, and June/July 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Alva Industries Altus X60 Duo coaxial electric motor Microlink’s Quartex solar cell
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