84 Show report | DroneX 2023 supplied without its enclosure for OEM integrations. Also installed in the system are a GNSS receiver and a SMARC processor to support edge computing or compression of data pre-transmission. Flygildi debuted a prototype of its Silent Flyer UAV, a biomimetic aircraft shaped like a bird that is being developed to fly using flapping wings. By blending in among avian fauna, and flying without noise-generating jet engines or rotors, the company anticipates applying the UAV in covert operations across intelligence, security and wildlife monitoring. “The wing-flapping prototype is currently undergoing indoor testing, to optimise the wing-flapping pattern for maximising the propulsion efficiency,” Peter Holler said. “We also use a version with non-flapping wings to optimise the aerodynamics by exploring variations of aerofoils and shapes of the main wings and tail in open-air flight tests. “Engineering the Silent Flyer has come with challenges in finding highly energydense batteries, power-dense actuators for the wings for climbing flight and agile manoeuvring, as well as a control system which has the logic to handle the complex aerodynamics created by the wings flapping. “Some solutions are unusual for the UAV industry. For instance, some loadbearing parts are additively printed from titanium and aluminium, which helps save the weight budget for batteries and payloads. “While the current prototype is equipped with an array of PID controllers to control its attitude, the evolving control system will be based on machine learning techniques, trained by wind tunnel data using laminar airstreams and stochastic airflow disturbances. So the controller can learn which actuations achieve which attitude corrections.” Although some parameters are not yet defined, Flygildi anticipates the Silent Flyer will be able to fly at 55 kph, carry up to 200 g payloads, and take off and land without ground infrastructure. CAV Systems exhibited at DroneX to show and discuss its anti-icing technology for UAV propellers, which the company has previously supplied to general aviation aircraft, and is now scaling it to suit the much smaller geometries, higher speeds and hence faster ice accumulation rates of UAS props. “Our solution is a mechanism that an aircraft operator or a UAV’s autopilot can turn on when an icing situation is encountered in flight, such as a very cold cloud or freezing precipitation,” explained Brock Harden. When activated, CAV Systems’ solution pumps a de-icing, glycol-based fluid out to the propeller, which flows and spreads across the blade by centrifugal force. The fluid prevents ice-cold droplets from freezing on the blade, instead forcing them to remain liquid. As a result, the water will be shed from the propeller as it spins, instead of accumulating as ice. “Integrating our solution can be achieved by working with propeller manufacturers or UAV OEMs,” Harden continued. “The technology is at the mid-to-late prototyping stage at the moment, and there are some more steps we want to take to see if we can optimise it further, in terms of how the fluid delivery is performed, and in using market-ready components.” We met Delphys Dynamics at the event to learn about its flying saucershaped ADIFO (All Directions Flying Object) UAV. “Its shape allows it to fly in all directions with the same aerodynamics, and to perform sudden lateral translations and sudden yaw rotations at very high speeds – something not really possible with any other aircraft design,” explained December/January 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Flygildi’s Silent Flyer UAV CAV Systems’ ice protection system, installed on a multi-rotor UAV
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