16 Dr Donough Wilson Dr Wilson is innovation lead at aviation, defence, and homeland security innovation consultants, VIVID/ futureVision. His defence innovations include the cockpit vision system that protects military aircrew from asymmetric high-energy laser attack. He was first to propose the automatic tracking and satellite download of airliner black box and cockpit voice recorder data in the event of an airliner’s unplanned excursion from its assigned flight level or track. For his ‘outstanding and practical contribution to the safer operation of aircraft’ he was awarded The Sir James Martin Award 2018/19, by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. Paul Weighell Paul has been involved with electronics, computer design and programming since 1966. He has worked in the realtime and failsafe data acquisition and automation industry using mainframes, minis, micros and cloud-based hardware on applications as diverse as defence, Siberian gas pipeline control, UK nuclear power, robotics, the Thames Barrier, Formula One and automated financial trading systems. Ian Williams-Wynn Ian has been involved with uncrewed and autonomous systems for more than 20 years. He started his career in the military, working with early prototype uncrewed systems and exploiting imagery from a range of systems from global suppliers. He has also been involved in ground-breaking research including novel power and propulsion systems, sensor technologies, communications, avionics and physical platforms. His experience covers a broad spectrum of domains from space, air, maritime and ground, and in both defence and civil applications including, more recently, connected autonomous cars. Professor James Scanlan Professor Scanlan is the director of the Strategic Research Centre in Autonomous Systems at the University of Southampton, in the UK. He also co-directs the Rolls-Royce University Technical Centre in design at Southampton. He has an interest in design research, and in particular how complex systems (especially aerospace systems) can be optimised. More recently, he established a group at Southampton that undertakes research into uncrewed aircraft systems. He produced the world’s first ‘printed aircraft’, the SULSA, which was flown by the Royal Navy in the Antarctic in 2016. He also led the team that developed the ULTRA platform, the largest UK commercial UAV, which has flown BVLOS extensively in the UK. He is a qualified full-size aircraft pilot and also has UAV flight qualifications. Dr David Barrett Dr David Barrett’s career includes senior positions with companies such as iRobot and Walt Disney Imagineering. He has also held posts with research institutions including the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, MIT and Olin College, where he is now Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics, and Principal Investigator for the Olin Intelligent Vehicle Laboratory. He also serves in an advisory capacity on the boards of several robotics companies. Uncrewed Systems Technology’s consultants October/November 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Seven teams have competed for the title of the world’s best autonomous boat at Njord Challenge 2024 in Trondheim, Norway, writes Nick Flaherty. Navier USN from the University of South-Eastern Norway claimed first place, with Técnico Solar Boat from Portugal finishing second and AGH Solar Boat Team from Poland securing third. Students from Navier USN collaborated with Kongsberg on the sensor fusion of cameras and Lidar for their autonomous surface vehicle. The challenge provided them with an opportunity to test their project in real-world scenarios. The Navier USN design uses several GNSS satellite navigation systems coupled with cameras with various machine-learning algorithms to detect buoys and other objects. It also used Lidar a laser sensor to provide distance data. “Initially, we wanted to 3D-print the hull in ASA [acrylic styrene acrylonitrile], but it proved to be challenging,” said Lise Trehjørningen, responsible for product design. “ASA requires higher, more stable temperatures, and there was a greater risk of things going wrong, which would have put the whole project on hold. Therefore, we decided to print the hull with PLA [polylactic acid] and reinforce it with fibre glass.” The team is working on completing a new and improved hull, which is a trimaran, combining the characteristics of monohulls and catamarans, making it unique among autonomous vessels. “In the mechanical department, we have closely collaborated with the software and hardware teams to create a new boat that meets requirements. Finding a good solution that satisfies everyone’s wishes has been educational and challenging. The new hull is significantly larger than the previous one, providing us with more opportunities for component placement and the ability to install new equipment,” added Lise. Autonomous boats A hull of a boat Autonomous ship designs (Image courtesy of Kongsberg)
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