112 seen very low on the horizon and as a result the received signal is very weak. We’ve also pared the weight down to 88 g, or about 75 g without the ground plane.” The antenna’s enclosure is IP67-rated, though Calian is currently working on IP69K certification, which most of its antennas have. The mechanical team has also optimised its curved shape for handling and distributing stresses efficiently, making it a robust antenna. Calian also recently released its low profile helical, the HC990XF; like the SSL990XF it is a full-band GNSS antenna including coverage of Galileo HAS. The low profile helical HC990XF antenna does not need a ground plane, and weighs in at 45 g. It too is IP67-rated with IP69K rating expected in the future. Inertial Labs attended the show to exhibit its growing ecosystem of modular navigation solutions and sensor fusion capabilities. “Good navigation starts with a good IMU; Inertial Labs develops IMUs and recently added the Kernel-201 with 0.5 degrees per hour gyro bias in-run stability and tactical grade accelerometer as the core of our small size INS,” explained Jamie Marraccini. “We’ve been heavily focused for the last year or two on building-out an ecosystem of aiding-data sources for feeding critical external information into users’ INSs. This comes in addition to core data from things like its IMU, barometer, magnetometer, and GNSS receiver, to create a more complete and robust system for navigating in GNSSdenied environments. “Some of those external sources are computer vision modules, airspeed sensors, air data computers, alternative navigation receivers - from sources like LEO satellites - radio TOF systems, and one of the latest we’ve integrated is a controlled reception pattern antenna (CRPA) product, which helps mitigate jamming for much larger mission portions than what was previously possible.” When customers approach Inertial Labs to add a new external aiding sensor to one of their INSs, the company first investigates the quality and type of data that would be yielded, for instance how accurate they might be when used for position or velocity updates. Subsequently, they examine the feasibility and extent of cooperation with the aiding sensor manufacturer (such as sharing of interface control documents or anything else needed for extracting the necessary data from the system). “Something like a TOF radio would be more challenging just to get the TOF data out of it, but something like a CRPA is relatively simple and plug-andplay, despite being complex systems themselves,” Marraccini said. “To develop our computer vision, we first had to tightly integrate and calibrate our camera sensor so that dewarping and lever arms were accounted for in outputs, then we had to write the software - though we’ve also made allowances for third parties to write their own software, activate it and licence it within our module if they prefer. We also offer our system with NVidia processors all the way down to much lighter Linux processors.” Mejzlik is continuing to develop its new hot-press production line, anticipated to greatly increase the rate and consistency of carbon propeller manufacturing. “The first versions of the hot press machine produced props with a 100% scrap rate, but we’ve advanced to just an 8% scrap rate, and further decreasing it; doing so involves optimising how we lay-up the propeller materials, discovering which ones don’t bond correctly, examining why some batches come with voids in the material, and other factors,” said Tomas Mejzlik Jr. “As one example of the parameters involved: our foam core technology has to be pressed with very precise temperatures, pressures and timing. If you press too much a little early on, for instance, the epoxy resin won’t have liquidised enough, and the core gets crushed.” Extensive scanning of props taken from the hot press (including ultrasound to observe internal voids and cracks and 3D to measure the dimensional tolerances and bending) is yielding critical data for Mejzlik to understand the tunings required to stabilise and optimise the process. The June/July 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Show report | Xponential 2024 Calian’s new SSL990XF antenna contains a four-petal element designed as a lightweight, miniaturised version of the VeroStar’s distinctive eight-petal element, inside an IP67-rated housing Inertial Labs has fostered a diverse ecosystem of external aiding sensors for enhancing INS capabilities; this Visual Navigation Module is one of them
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