Xponential 2024 | Show report considering adapting the gearbox design to work on its other two-strokes as well as its rotary engines. “We’ve also developed a heavy fuel version of our SP-180 SRE rotary hybrid engine, for running on JP-8 or Jet-A1, and optimised it to now produce up to 22 kW shaft power and 15 kW electrical power, exactly like our gasoline engine,” Schudt added. SBG Systems has commenced production of its new Ekinox Micro compact INS, which consists broadly of its Quanta OEM board product, encased in an IP68-rated case. “It has dual antenna GNSS, giving heading and differential GNSS readings, with equal accuracy to our bigger Ekinox products, but in a smaller package to suit smaller vehicle platforms requiring tighter SWaP parameters,” said Jack Mawson. “Compared with the OEM product, it can be mounted much more easily thanks to its enclosure making it tolerant of wider environments and vibration profiles. It also has larger connectors and wires, so it’s easier to work with; you can solder the connectors, or use DB-9 connectors, rather than being stuck with board-mount connectors.” The 165 g Ekinox Micro can operate in temperatures from -40˚C to +71˚C, and is rated to Mil-STD-810H for vibration and shock tolerance, with a calculated MTBF of 246,000 hours. “It’s also designed with more I/Os than some of our other smaller units, so you can put more auxiliary inputs into it, and you can do more data syncing,” Mawson added. Vertiq attended AUVSI to showcase its line of high performance electric motors and ESCs for UAS applications, and discussed with us much of the engineering that has gone into optimising the efficiency, responsiveness, and reliability of their propulsion systems. “We integrate the motor and motor controller together and embed a position sensor inside that package. The sensor reads the orientation of the magnetic field generated by a magnet in the shaft of the motor and feeds that information into our control loop,” Jon Broome explained. “By knowing the rotor’s exact position, we can do some really interesting calibration and control techniques to optimise performance. We can make propulsion systems 5-10% more efficient, as well as smoother, quieter, and twice as fast in response time. We’ve also built in many more safety and reliability protocols compared to conventional BLDC motors and ESCs.” Currently, the company’s largest available solution is its 81-08 Module, a motor-ESC package designed for driving propellers of 20-34 in (50.8-86.36 cm) diameters on UAS weighing up to 25 kg. Its smallest solution is the 23-06 Module, which is designed to spin 5-7 in (12.7-17.78 cm) propellers and UAS weighing 1-2 kg. Seven electric motor modules have been unveiled by the company (five available now, the rest to become available within the next six months). These modules cover the size range in between the 23-06 and 81-08 Modules, as well as including a 81-17 Module, which will become its most powerful commercially available product when it is released. All of Vertiq’s new products are second generation ‘G2’ modules, which will allow UAS manufacturers to attach add-ons (including custom connectors, covers to increase IP rating, LEDs for FAA certification, and more) to the core motor and ESC. By tailoring the propulsion solution to the exact needs of the vehicle, UAV companies can both take advantage of Vertiq’s high end technology while customising it to optimise integration and capabilities. One of the biggest issues with UAV motors and ESCs is thermal management. “We approach this challenge on two fronts, in the design stage and in operation. We design the motors to shed as much heat as possible, and the tight pairing of the motor and ESC allows us to create a highly accurate thermal model of the entire propulsion system during flight using a temperature sensor on the ESC,” Broome adds. By measuring the ESC temperature and modelling the coil temperature, Vertiq’s modules can prevent the motors from overheating and inform the operator that the vehicle should be landed to prevent a crash. Calian launched several new GNSS antenna products, one of which was a miniaturised version of the VeroStar technology, the full band SSL990XF. With the introduction of Galileo’s new High Accuracy Service (HAS) providing GNSS corrections, full-band GNSS coverage has become highly desired. “The SSL990XF antenna element inside the enclosure is a lightweight, miniaturised version of our VeroStar mini antenna,” said Joseph Botros at Calian. “It features a four-petal element rather than the distinctive eight of the VeroStar, has a gain of about 3 dB at zenith over the entire GNSS spectrum, and a low roll off of about 6-8 dB from zenith to horizon, while also maintaining good axial ratio near horizon. This enables good multipath mitigation and good tracking of low elevation satellites. “These features make it very useful for receiving L-band corrections, especially for those operating uncrewed systems in the far northern or southern hemisphere. In this case geostationary satellites are 111 Uncrewed Systems Technology | June/July 2024 SBG Systems’ Ekinox Micro INS weighs 165 g, operates in temperatures from -40˚C to +71˚C, and is rated to Mil-STD-810H for vibration and shock tolerance
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