joint integrity, and ball grid arrays – or check their locations to see if the device has been assembled correctly. “Our process is non-destructive, so if technicians take a subsystem from a UAV that failed during operations, they don’t necessarily have to disassemble the part to do a post-mortem on it.” The display at maXerial’s stand showed a demonstration of an embedded computer being X-ray scanned and reconstructed, although Herger added that engine crankshafts, bearings, servo actuators, carbon composite hulls and many other parts can be checked using its X-ray tomography. A high-quality scan is expected to take 30-60 minutes, but it be accelerated for quality assurance in production, including the use of the company’s own de-noising algorithm applied during post-processing for clearer reconstruction. “Behind this is our AI product, the 1-click AI trainer, which we offer for AI engineers who need to retrain their image data analytics models,” Herger added. “With one click, end-users can apply our machine learning routines to their AI models. Our solution trains them, then runs tests with them and interprets if their quantitative analyses have improved.” Amprius drew particular attention at the show for presenting its newest grade of lithium-ion batteries, one of which can store 500 Wh/kg. The cells, which have been validated by independent test lab Mobile Power Solutions, set a new bar for gravimetric energy density, Amprius said, and it is working with key customers to provide cell prototypes. “That said, we’re able to manufacture and ship 450 Wh/kg cells at the moment,” said Erik Vaknine. “The key enabling technology behind our energy density is our silicon nanowire anode; the cathode and electrolyte are quite typical of lithium polymer and lithium-ion cells.” The company customises its cells to maximise the energy density or power density for a particular application, and noted that the 500 Wh/kg cell will probably be supplied for integration in platforms where high discharge rates and long-cycle lifespans are not critical requirements. “Although our technology is improving all the time, there are trade-offs depending on customer requirements. Someone wanting ultra-high energy density for example will need to be okay with sacrificing other characteristics, like discharge rates: you might need thicker electrode layers and other inert materials to enable higher power,” Vaknine said. “As our roadmap progresses, we’ll continue to make advances in developing new platforms for high-power and highenergy cells that would surpass our current levels of performance.” Unitree Robotics was performing demonstrations of its quadruped robot technologies, including its latest system, the B1, which is designed as an industrialgrade system for a range of routine or potentially dangerous applications. “Our company founder studied at Shanghai University, where he developed the Xdog1, a prototype which later became the first generation of our quadruped robots,” Tony Yang told us. “In 2019, we started building the Aliengo, our first industrial-grade robot, then in 2020 came the A1 robot for educational and research purposes. Although that is now discontinued in favour of the much smaller Go1, which we launched in 2021; the B1 was also unveiled that year.” The B1 measures 1126 x 467 x 636 mm when standing, and weighs 50 kg in total, including its battery pack (which weighs about 5 kg). It can carry up to 20 kg when walking, and technically up to 80 kg 77 Uncrewed Systems Technology | August/September 2023 maXerial’s technology being used to scan a PCB system Amprius’ lithium-ion battery cell
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