torque ripple, current analysis, vibration analysis and reaction time analysis.” The system comes with a Python API, allowing users to control the stand via Python, an in/out API for connecting additional sensors, and a replay feature where users can upload flight-controller data and replay their flight with their propulsion system on the stand. Tyto started developing the Flight Stand 500 after some customers said its previously largest stand, the 150, was not big enough, despite measuring 150 kg of thrust force and 150 Nm of torque. “We have completed many hours of rigorous testing, and we expect the first unit to ship this summer,” Nagel said. Exail showcased the Phins 9 Compact, a high-performance inertial navigation system (INS) for all types of UUVs, with a particular engineering focus on performance, reliability and SWaP efficiency. Maxime Le Roy at Exail told us: “The Phins 9 Compact has dimensions of 88.9 x 130 mm, and doppler velocity logger (DVL)-aided position accuracy of 0.1% TD (travelled distance), with a heading accuracy of 0.07°, a pitchand-roll accuracy of 0.01° and power consumption of less than 7 W. “It has been designed for newgeneration AUV manufacturers and e-ROV operators who are looking to save power without compromising on data-processing capabilities, and it will be commercially available in July or August.” The Phins 9 Compact has been built around Exail’s UmiX 40 compact FOG IMU, which, in addition to its northfinding fibre-optic sensor, integrates miniaturised, in-house accelerometers that are designed for high dynamics. It features new, custom-built FOGs. Exail anticipates the Phins 9 Compact serving subsea navigation applications in a wide range of aquatic missions, including survey-grade coastal and offshore seabed mapping, inspection repair and maintenance (IRM), and defence. VISIONAIRtronics promoted several new systems, particularly two products for power management in its latest generation of high-power UAVs. Its 2 kW Generator Control Unit (GCU), a configurable, multi-channel AC/DC solution, is designed for 60-150 kg, VTOL-transitioning hybrid UAVs using 60 V, 12-14 S lift batteries (which could not always be charged onboard due to voltage incompatibilities), although manufacturers with platforms of 1501500 kg have adopted it more rapidly. “The 2 kW GCU is designed with a modular approach for diverse aircraft configurations, including helicopters, multirotors, fixed-wing and VTOLtransitioning craft; its smallest host aircraft weighing around 80 kg,” said Ben Tschida of VISIONAIRtronics. “It can be configured for single-output, dual-output or triple-output, and with many different combinations of voltage and power levels to efficiently and safely power different groups of onboard systems; for instance, PDUs [power distribution units] further distributing and converting into different voltages.” VISIONAIRtronics also showcased its 1.8 kW PDU, designed around two of its 900 W PDUs to cater for higher-power UAV manufacturers. Presently, they are separately controlled, but an upcoming revision will arrange them in a masterslave configuration, enabling control via a single interface. It features three inputs – ideally one from a ground control unit (GCU), and one or two separate battery inputs – ensuring redundant input power to securely provide power to the PDU. “With six configurable outputs, the PDU has four redundant and two non-redundant outputs, which are programmable in terms of voltage. End-users can read all the data on, say, voltage and current per output and input, as well as temperature and error messages,” Tschida said. The 2 kW GCU and the 1.8 kW PDU are housed in IP67-rated machined aluminium enclosures, and they can operate in environments from -40 C to 55 C, and at altitudes up to 10,000 m. “Both are built around power converters and PCBs that we’ve designed in-house from scratch, with solid-state controllers, such that if a microcontroller fails, the product will continue to function until it is powered off or disconnected from batteries,” Tschida said. 107 Uncrewed Systems Technology | April/May 2024 Tyto Robotics’ Flight Stand 500 can measure up to 500 kg of thrust force and 1500 Nm of torque (Image courtesy of Tyto Robotics) VISIONAIRtronics’ 2 kW GCU (Image courtesy of VISIONAIRtronics)
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