Ocean Pioneer How ACUA Ocean engineers its H-USVs for certification Plug and go Connectors keep up with big data Swarm mentality New tech for simultaneous autonomy Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 60 : FEB/MAR 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22
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3 February/March 2025 | Contents Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2025 26 04 Intro From the world’s first certified operation of an uncrewed passenger aircraft to self-driving systems, the potential is huge 06 Platform one: Mission-critical info NASA publishes accident report into the failure of a rotorcraft on Mars, a flexible photovoltaic solar cell that performs well in space, powered descent guidance algos for reusable rockets, single-swipe takeoff and hover for a production helicopter, a mobile robot with AI accelerator, an analogue system fault detector, autonomous mine-hunting, and more 20 In conversation: Robin Murphy The AI robotics expert discusses the use of robots to save lives in dangerous situations, avoiding peril to personnel in the field 26 Dossier: ACUA Ocean USV A heavyweight hydrogen SWATH vessel with a twin-hull configuration that aims to deliver high-quality data amid the harsh waves and weather of severe sea states 40 Focus: Swarming New swarming technologies are emerging for autonomous platforms, from dramatic air displays to groups of driverless cars - and companies are coming up with new uses for them as well 50 Digest: Robotnik RB-WATCHER This ruggedised robot integrating a raft of sensors is designed to navigate and inspect the inside and outside of industrial facilities with little risk from external hazards or single points of failure 58 In operation: Dropla mine countermeasures Surveying, detecting and clearing landmines in Ukraine with a range of cameras, magnetic and EM sensors, Lidars and metal detectors – all collecting data to find potential mine locations 66 Dossier: Suter Industries Building a new wave of powerful, spark-ignited, twin two-strokes for the UAV space, ideal for military and commercial spheres 80 Insight: UUVs The latest submersible vehicles and robots gathering priceless data in every ocean around the world for every application 88 Focus: Connectors Manufacturers are rethinking their approach to customers and projects amid rising demand and evolving AI and IoT systems 100 In operation: Black Widow It pays to be small when it comes to intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions in modern warfare 106 Digest: FIXAR 025 A UAV with a unique shape, able to simultaneously generate aerodynamic surface-lift forces and vertical-lift force 114 PS: Kepler Advance system The latest system to be validated in flight, which exploits the RF signals between a UAV and its GCS to find the vessel’s position 50 100 66 40
ELECTRIC, HYBRID & INTERNAL COMBUSTION for PERFORMANCE ISSUE 156 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2025 Formula One 2026 An epic reset Reinventing CNC The future is now Ramping up the thumper Buell V2 development www.highpowermedia.com UK £15, US/CN $25, EUROPE €22 THE COMMUNICATIONS HUB OF THE ELECTRIFIED POWERTRAIN Read all back issues and exclusive online-only content at www.emobility-engineering.com ISSUE 029 | JAN/FEB 2025 UK £15 USA $30 EUROPE €22 Layer by layer Scaling up Assembling and validating battery cells Adaptability wins for modular systems Evice electrify the Spirit of Ecstasy Timeless classic 4 Intro | February/March 2025 With Ehang starting the first certified operation of an uncrewed passenger aircraft, the technology is in commercial operation in the skies over Shanghai, China. The US is not far behind, with driverless cars showing maturing technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Fully self-driving systems are expected at next year’s show, ahead of certification, highlighting the continuing progression of the technology in key areas. We discuss the implications with leading academic Prof Robin Murphy (page 20), plus the latest mine-clearance application (page 58) and other marine vehicles (page 80, UUVs, and page 26, ACUA Ocean). As the technology for individual autonomous systems is improving, so systems are starting to be used together in swarms (page 40) for sensing. While arrays of UAVs have delighted audiences with light shows in recent years, heterogeneous networks of myriad craft are being used for marine applications. There is even a patent for UAVs to follow a Jeep offroad to detail terrain. This progression is creating a wealth of opportunities for safer systems. Nick Flaherty | Technology Editor Beyond autopilot Ocean Pioneer How ACUA Ocean engineers its H-USVs for certification Plug and go Connectors keep up with big data Swarm mentality New tech for simultaneous autonomy Read all back issues online www.ust-media.com UST 60 : FEB/MAR 2025 UK £15, USA $30, EUROPE €22 Deputy Editor Rory Jackson Technology Editor Nick Flaherty Production Editor Vickie Johnstone Contributor Peter Donaldson Editorial Consultant Ian Bamsey Technical Consultants Paul Weighell Ian Williams-Wynn Dr Donough Wilson Prof James Scanlan Dr David Barrett Design Andrew Metcalfe [email protected] UST Ad Sales Please direct all enquiries to Simon Moss [email protected] Subscriptions Frankie Robins [email protected] Publishing Director Simon Moss [email protected] General Manager Chris Perry Limited space now remaining The medium Our content is accessible online and in print, enabling a global network of engineers to read it however and whenever they choose. 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6 February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Mission-critical info for uncrewed systems professionals Platform one US space agency NASA has published its accident report into the failure of its Ingenuity rotorcraft on Mars, showing early designs for its successor, writes Nick Flaherty. Ingenuity lasted 72 missions on Mars and flew 30 times further than intended. Engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and AeroVironment completed a detailed assessment of the final flight on January 18, 2024, in the first extraterrestrial accident report. The investigation concludes that the inability of Ingenuity’s navigation system to provide accurate data during the flight probably caused a chain of events that ended the mission. Flight 72 was planned as a brief, vertical hop to assess Ingenuity’s flight systems and photograph the area. Data from the flight shows the vessel climbing to 12 m (40 ft), hovering and capturing images. It initiated its descent at 19 seconds, and by 32 seconds the rotorcraft was back on the surface and had halted communications. The next day, communications were reestablished and images sent six days after the flight showed Ingenuity had sustained severe damage to its rotor blades. “When running an accident investigation from 100 million miles away, you don’t have any blackboxes or eyewitnesses,” said Ingenuity’s first pilot, Håvard Grip of JPL Robotics. “While multiple scenarios are viable with the available data, we have one we believe is most likely: lack of surface texture gave the navigation system too little information to work with.” The helicopter’s vision navigation system was designed to track visual features on the surface using a downward-looking camera over well-textured (pebbly) but flat terrain. This limited tracking capability could carry out Ingenuity’s first five flights, but by Flight 72, the helicopter was in a region of Jezero crater on Mars filled with steep, relatively featureless sand ripples. Data sent down during Flight 72 shows that about 20 seconds after takeoff, the navigation system couldn’t find enough surface features to track, leading to high horizontal velocities at touchdown, causing pitch and roll. The rapid attitude change resulted in loads on the fast-rotating four rotor blades beyond their design limits, snapping them off at their weakest point, a third of the way from the tip. The damaged blades caused excessive vibration in the rotor system, ripping the remainder of one blade from its root and generating an excessive power demand that resulted in loss of communications. Although this permanently grounded Ingenuity, the helicopter still beams weather and avionics test data to the Perseverance rover about once a week. “Because Ingenuity was designed to be affordable while demanding huge amounts of computer power, we became the first mission to fly commercial off-the-shelf cellphone processors in deep space,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager. “We’re now approaching four years of continuous operations.” The successor design, Chopper, is being developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. Chopper would be about the size of an SUV with six rotors, each with six blades. It could be used to carry science payloads of up to 5 kg over distances up to 3 km per Martian day (or sol). Space NASA report on Ingenuity rotorcraft’s failure on Mars The Chopper next-generation Mars helicopter (Image courtesy of NASA)
7 Platform one Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2025 Blue Origin and Space X have shown how rocket launchers can return autonomously to Earth, and now researchers in China have published algorithms for powered descent guidance (PDG) for reusable rockets to accomplish high-precision landing, writes Nick Flaherty. This is different from the PDG algorithms for autonomous landings on the Moon or Mars, as the powered descent guidance is required to accommodate nonlinear dynamics and more disturbing flight conditions, including engine-thrust fluctuations and aerodynamic uncertainty. Existing works have considered six-degrees-of-freedom dynamics and the aerodynamic model, but not disturbances in the guidance design. The team of researchers is led by Huifeng Li and Ran Zhang from Beihang University, China. “We formulated a novel problem called endoatmospheric powered descent guidance with disturbance rejection (Endo-PDG-DR) by dividing and conquering disturbances,” said Huifeng Li, professor at the School of Astronautics at Beihang University, whose research interests focus on the field-of-flight vehicle guidance and control. “The disturbances are divided into two parts: modelled and unmodelled disturbances. As a result, two different disturbance rejection strategies are accordingly adopted to deal with the two kinds of disturbances. “The modelled disturbance is proactively exploited by optimising the formulated guidance problem, where the modelled disturbance is augmented as a new state of the dynamics model. “The unmodelled disturbance is reactively attenuated by adjusting the second-order partial derivative of the Hamiltonian of the optimal guidance problem with a parameterised, timevarying, quadratic performance index. “The optimal feedback guidance law unifies two functions: the adaptive optimal steering and disturbance attenuation. Adaptive optimal steering accommodates the disturbance, and the disturbance attenuation compensates for the state perturbation effect induced by the remaining unmodelled disturbance.” All this led to a simple, practical quadraticweighting parameter to compensate for the unmodelled disturbances. Space Powered descent guidance algos for reusable rockets Researchers in the US have developed a flexible, organic, photovoltaic (OPV) solar cell that functions well in space, writes Nick Flaherty. Space missions often decide on gallium arsenide for its high efficiency and resistance to damage from protons, but it is expensive, heavy and inflexible. In contrast, organic solar cells can be flexible and are much lighter. “Silicon semiconductors aren’t stable in space because of proton irradiation coming from the sun,” said Yongxi Li, associate research scientist in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan. “We tested organic photovoltaics with protons because they are considered the most damaging particles in space for electronic materials.” The research shows organic solar cells made with small molecules don’t seem to have trouble with protons, showing no damage after three years of radiation. In contrast, those made with long-chain polymers lost half their efficiency. “We found protons cleave some of the side chains and that leaves an electron trap that degrades solar-cell performance,” said Stephen Forrest, professor of engineering at the University of Michigan. These traps grab onto electrons freed by light hitting the cell, stopping them flowing to the electrodes harvesting the electricity. “You can heal this by thermal annealing or heating the solar cell, but we might find ways to fill the traps with other atoms, eliminating this problem,” said Forrest. The OPVs have the potential to achieve a high specific power of 40 W/g and they can be grown using vacuum thermal evaporation (VPE) rather than a solutionbased process. This VPE allows the cells to be resistant to degradation by 30 keV proton radiation, in contrast to polymerbased OPVs, which suffer a 50% efficiency loss under similar conditions. Radiation-tolerant organic solar cells for space (Image courtesy of University of Michigan) Solar Organic photovoltaic solar cell works in space Two different disturbance rejection strategies are adopted to deal with the two kinds of disturbances (Image courtesy of Beihang University, China)
8 Researchers in Scotland have developed a 3D printer that can operate in zero gravity in orbit, writes Nick Flaherty. Instead of the filaments used in 3D printers on Earth, the printer uses a granular material, designed to work effectively in microgravity and the vacuum of space. The properties of the material and the 3D-printing system allow the former to be drawn reliably from the prototype’s feedstock tank and delivered to the printer’s nozzle faster than any other method. A conveyance system transports the thermoplastic granules to the end effector without the need of a hopper with a gravity feed. The granules move differently in a microgravity, and using the conveyor also reduces the mass of the end effector to make it easier to control in zero gravity. This reduces internal torque and vibration, which is an important factor for operating in an environment such as a space station, where strong vibrations can upset other experiments and even cause structural damage. The researchers are exploring methods of embedding electronics into the materials as part of the printing process, opening up the possibility of creating functional components for use in devices created in space, as well as recyclable space systems. Dr Gilles Bailet, of the University of Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering, has been awarded a patent for the system that covers many ways of implementing the basic idea. A prototype of the 3D printer has been tested during a series of trips on zerogravity research aircraft flights. “Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is capable of producing remarkably complex materials quickly at low cost. Putting that technology in space and printing what we need for assembly in orbit would be fantastically useful,” he said. “However, what works well here on Earth is often less robust in the vacuum of space, and 3D printing has never been done outside of the pressurised modules of the International Space Station. The filaments in conventional 3D printers often break or jam in microgravity and in vacuum, which is a problem that needs to be solved before they can be reliably used in space. “Through this research, we now have technology that brings us much closer to being able to do that, providing positive impacts for the whole world in the years to come.” The team took their prototype system on three test flights, which provided them with more than 90 brief periods of weightlessness. During each 22-second period of weightlessness, the team closely monitored the prototype’s dynamics and power consumption, which showed the system worked as designed against the challenges of microgravity. “We’ve tested the technology extensively in the lab and now in microgravity, and we’re confident that it’s ready to perform as expected, opening up the possibility of 3D-printing of antenna and other spacecraft parts in space,” Bailet added. Materials 3D printing isn’t lost in space in zero gravity Platform one xx February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Gilles Bailet with a zero-gravity 3D printer (Image courtesy of the University of Glasgow)
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10 Skyryse has successfully implemented single-swipe takeoff and hover for a production helicopter for the first time, writes Nick Flaherty. Each time, Skyryse performed a textbook-perfect seamless and stable hover. While it wasn’t the first time the aircraft achieved this, having accomplished it countless times in test vessels, it is the first time it has been achieved in a fullyconforming, triple-redundant production unit without any backup conventional controls in the cockpit. “Until today, every helicopter ever built has taken off using basically the same mechanical controls that Igor Sikorsky used in his first flight 85 years ago,” said Dr Mark Groden, CEO of Skyryse. NexAIoT in Taiwan has developed an autonomous mobile robot platform using an AI accelerator from Kneron, writes Nick Flaherty. The NexMOV-2 uses the Kneron KL730 neural-processing unit for SLAM and obstacle avoidance, and it replaces a 2D Lidar laser sensor with a camera via an integrated image signal processor (ISP). The chip is automotive-qualified for reliability, and it has four ARM Cortex-A55 processor cores alongside a neural processor unit, a vision digital-signal processor (DSP) based on the Tensilica DSP core from Cadence Design Systems and the ISP. The A55 cores and integrated units provide the performance of up to 4 tera operations per second (TOPS). This is four times more power-efficient than the earlier Kneron AI chips. “Running AI requires AI-dedicated chips with an architecture that is completely different from anything we’ve seen before. The NexMOV-2 AGV engine-start with the swipe of a finger – will allow any pilot, regardless of experience level, to achieve a perfect takeoff every time with just the swipe of a finger.” Skyryse updated its SkyOS universal operating system to be scalable to make any aircraft optionally piloted. SkyOS runs on SkySentinel, a proprietary, tripleredundant computer and fully-digitised, fly-by-wire backbone, developed by the company. “The benefit of digitising the controls is that it gives us the flexibility to create the most ergonomically-advanced cockpit ever designed,” said Groden. “This updated design not only makes the aircraft easier and safer to operate, but also allows us to create a truly modern cockpit that will become the standard for aviation.” the NexMOV-2 demonstrates the potential of integrating Kudan’s Visual SLAM technology to address complex localisation challenges across diverse operational environments. By relying solely on Visual SLAM for positioning and AI-powered 3D vision for navigation, the NexMOV-2 proves how advanced visual perception can enhance the performance of autonomous mobile robots while streamlining hardware and reducing costs,” said Tian Hao, chief operating officer at Kudan. Airborne vehicles Ground vehicles Takeoff with the swipe of a finger Robot with advanced visual perception “This latest accomplishment – following our successful achievement of the world’s first fully-automated autorotation, the world’s first aircraft flown with a single control stick, and the world’s first A simple re-appropriation of adjacent technologies, such as graphics-dedicated GPU chips, simply isn’t going to do the job,” says Albert Liu, founder and CEO of Kneron. The SLAM software comes from Kudan Global and runs on the ROS2 robot operating system. The Kneron chip can run the same transformer AI frameworks used in ChatGPT that are improving the detection of objects in images. Our collaboration with NexAIoT on xx Platform one February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology SkyOS allows autonomous helicopter operation (Image courtesy of Skyryse)
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12 February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology An algorithm can double the resolution of a radar system without replacing the equipment, writes Nick Flaherty. In Korea, the algo developed by researchers at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology enables precise object recognition using existing hardware specifications without the need for bandwidth expansion. This approach also enables the precise identification of objects outside the vehicle with lower-cost hardware or more resolution for autonomous vehicles. Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) radar systems for automotive and aerospace applications require resolutionenhancement technologies to improve eYs3D Microelectronics, a subsidiary of Etron, has launched a multi-sensor image controller for autonomous systems, writes Nick Flaherty. The eSP936 supports the synchronous processing of data from up to seven visual sensors to provide high image-recognition accuracy. The eSP936 can be integrated with multi-modal visual language models in automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots and UAVs. The eSP936 can process multiple 2D images at high speeds and generate 3D depth maps, enhancing precise environmental recognition. The eSP936 has a built-in DRAM chip and wide-angle image de-warping technology, enabling high-precision environmental perception and multi-view, 3D-depth map generation. The algorithm analyses the features of received signals from two targets – the beats of the signal envelope – to improve the resolution of target detection using the same bandwidth. This achieves nearly twice the resolution through signal processing on existing radar hardware. The algorithm is based on the fact that the envelope of the beat signal contains information about the difference between two frequencies. This is used to estimate the frequencies missed due to the insufficient size of the observation window. Specifically, it uses the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) results that were incorrectly estimated as a single target, along with the FFT results of the envelope of the beat signal. resolution, and synchronises four RGB cameras for enhanced perception range and recognition accuracy. A highlight of the YX9170 is intelligent sensing. The embedded AI algorithms enable real-time, multi-object recognition from synchronised images, achieving a 30% reduction in system computational load and latency. The eSP936 is used in the YX9670 navigation system for autonomous vehicles. As well as dual-depth sensors and quad RGB cameras giving a 278o panoramic field of view, a monochrome camera provides a 145o overhead view alongside a thermal imaging sensor. An attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) is used for vehicle coordination. The YX9670’s embedded AI algorithms enable real-time panoramic object recognition, navigation direction analysis and multi-target tracking. Sensing Sensing Algo enables precise object recognition without boosting bandwidth Image controller synchronises data from seven visual sensors object recognition. The answer typically involves boosting bandwidth or using ultra high-resolution algorithms with significant complexity, but this increases both costs and system complexity. The range resolution of FMCW radars is determined by bandwidth – its size being proportional to the observation window (OW). If the OW is sufficiently large, multiple frequencies with small differences between sinusoids can be well estimated. However, if the OW is insufficient, multiple sinusoids with similar frequencies may be incorrectly assumed to be a single frequency. The research team discovered that additional information embedded in the envelope of radar signals could be used. It also features high-performance data-compression to reduce latency. The MIPI+USB simultaneous processing technology ensures high-quality 2D image and 3D depth map output, improving image recognition accuracy. The eSP936 and XINK-ll edge spatial computing platform is used in the YX9170 sensor-fusion system. This integrates dual-depth sensors, supporting highdefinition images up to 1280 x 720 xx A range of control systems based on the eSP936 controller (Image courtesy of Etron) Platform one
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14 Platform one ABLIC has developed an analogue power system that can detect faults in autonomous vehicles 20 times faster than digital devices, writes Nick Flaherty. These high-speed voltage regulators are key to the safety of autonomous vehicles, but creating entirely errorfree, malfunction-proof systems is increasingly challenging. If the steer-by-wire fails during autonomous operation, there is a risk of losing vehicle control and an increased likelihood of lane departure. To mitigate this, the system switches to a subsystem that provides minimal steering assistance before transitioning to manual operation. However, even after control is transferred to the driver, the loss of power assistance significantly impairs operability, making it crucial to have robust fail-safe mechanisms in place. Similarly, a failure in the battery management system (BMS) can necessitate an emergency stop, potentially causing high-speed collisions, especially with following vehicles. A multi-tiered approach is essential to address the challenges of functional safety in autonomous vehicles. This strategy emphasises the importance of systems transitioning to a safe state when encountering unexpected situations. For example, electronic steering should switch to a subsystem, providing minimal steering assistance through a safety mechanism before transitioning to manual. Similarly, the BMS should have a backup power supply to maintain critical functionalities. This layered approach provides redundancy, ensuring multiple safety mechanisms are in place to prevent or mitigate potential accidents. Transitioning to a safe state is a crucial process and involves three anomalies significantly faster than digital devices. Operating up to 20 times faster, they contribute to meeting FTTI requirements. This improvement allows for more time in fault handling, enabling complex safety mechanisms. For example, ABLIC’s S-19990/9 series of automotive, analogue, step-up switching-regulator controllers can be used for backup power for electronic control units (ECUs). While most ECUs operate using 12 V auxiliary batteries as their main power supply, if a vehicle is subject to a severe impact, such as in a traffic accident or collision, and power is lost, the S-19990/9 series will stop operating. Backup power supplies can be installed for the ECU in, for example, electric door latches and emergency communication systems to maintain operation for a set period of time, even after an accident. These backup supplies are generally composed of capacitors/batteries and a step-up circuit. When they use lowvoltage capacitors/batteries to achieve downsizing and lower costs, a stepup circuit is required to boost this low voltage to 12 V of backup power. Safety key steps: detection, notification and handling. The time to complete these steps is critical and is regulated by the Fault Tolerant Time Interval (FTTI), as specified in ISO 26262. Detection involves identifying anomalies within the system. Notification is the process of communicating the detected anomaly to the relevant parts of the system responsible for managing faults. Handling is the final step, where the system takes action to mitigate the detected issue. This could involve activating backup systems, adjusting operational parameters or initiating a safe shutdown procedure. Optimising detection and notification can significantly enhance overall system safety. By doing this, particularly with detection and notification, autonomous vehicle systems can have more time for appropriate fault handling. This could allow for the implementation of more sophisticated safety mechanisms or enable new handling methods to enhance vehicle safety. Analogue voltage-monitoring integrated circuits detect and notify February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Detecting faults in autonomous vehicles 20 times faster Analogue voltage regulators for autonomous safety (Image courtesy of ABLIC)
CLICK BOND CHANGE YOUR HOLE APPROACH I WILL EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS #06 RIVETLESS NUTPLATE CB6014 Exceeds NASM25027 strength requirements No. More. Holes Why is bonding better? CLICKBOND.COM/BENEFITS Researchers in Korea have collected data on how passengers interact with driverless vehicles to improve trust, which has been a challenge for the widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles operating at SAE L4 and L5, writes Nick Flaherty. Providing timely, passenger-specific explanations for vehicle decisions can bridge this trust gap, say researchers at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST). Existing explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) approaches cater to developers, focusing on high-risk scenarios, but this is unsuitable for passengers. The GIST team have developed TimelyTale, a dataset designed to capture real-world driving scenarios and passenger explanation needs. “Our research shifts the focus of XAI in autonomous driving from developers to passengers,” said Prof SeungJun Kim. The TimelyTale dataset includes information on the external environment, such as sights and sounds, proprioceptive data about the passenger’s body positions and movements, and interoceptive data about its sensations such as temperature. This data was gathered from passengers using sensors in various naturalistic driving scenarios to predict what explanations they would need. The dataset is publicly available for engineers to use. The research incorporates the concept of interruptibility, which is the shift in passenger focus from non-driving tasks to drivingrelated information. The visual explanations are combined with timing mechanisms that are constantly provided to be applied in risky scenarios. The team developed a machine-learning model that predicts the best time to provide an explanation and they carried out citywide modelling to generate textual explanations based on various locations. This found that visualising the vehicle’s perception state improves perceived usability, trust, safety and situational awareness without adding a cognitive burden on passengers. Driverless vehicles Discovering what passengers need to know in real driving scenarios AI algorithm boosts trust in driverless cars (Image courtesy of GIST)
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 Flying Ship in the US has shown the design of an autonomous sea-skimming vessel that is 10 times faster than a boat and a quarter of the cost of an aircraft, writes Nick Flaherty. It has performed over 70 test flights using ground effect, flying 2 m above water. This wing-in-ground (WIG) design uses the extra lift that comes from the reflection of air from the surface of the wafer as the craft ‘flies’. This creates a cushion of air that boosts the overall efficiency of the design. Five different-sized craft are planned, capable of carrying loads from 20 kg, with a 10 ft wingspan as a test vehicle for the sensors up to 2500 kg with a range of 2,300 nautical miles. Sister company Ground Effect Technology is developing the design, which uses a Lidar laser sensor to detect obstacles and maintain a maximum height above the waves of 2 m (6 ft). This means the design will operate alongside other waterborne craft and must use the same collision avoidance rules as conventional shipping – a key requirement for autonomous algos. This puts the craft into the Class A category in the Maritime Regulations, which allows for operation only in ground effect. The first version being designed is 36 ft long with a fully electric motor able to carry a 1100 kg (2500 lb) payload with a 300 nautical mile range. A larger version is being planned to carry larger payloads using a hybrid electric powertrain that generates power for the electric motors from a generator using traditional fuels. Using the ground effect and constant load generator together increases the efficiency of the design, allowing a longer range or larger payload. Ground effect lets the craft land on a beach or small slipway to deliver supplies to out-of-the-way locations and disaster zones where docks are unavailable. Autonomous vessels Autonomous seaskimmer performs over 70 test flights February/March 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Using ground effect for an autonomous marine craft (Image courtesy of Flying Ship)
Platform one A specialist project is exploring collaborative autonomy in uncrewed vehicles on and below the water, writes Nick Flaherty. The Collaborative Automations for Subsea Intervention (CASI) project, led by Robosys Automation, aims to address a growing market need for improving operation and maintenance, and inspections of offshore equipment using undersea vehicles. Robosys Automation will be delivering two work packages, which include Multiple Objective Autonomous Adaptive Path Optimization, specifically focusing on weather routing, and fuel consumption optimisation for traditional fuels and hydrogen. The second package is for the design of software architecture, and the simulation of collaborative autonomy between USVs and ROVs, and the development of software algorithms for station-keeping and obstacle avoidance in uncharted offshore windfarms. This feasibility study includes the software and algorithm design, as well as the architecture required for the vessel to arrive on station safely and efficiently, maintain station, and also collaborate with, track and autonomously follow an ROV. endurance of the vessel overcoming the impact of hydrogen’s low volumetric density. Other aspects of the project include engineering feasibility of the ROV’s launch-and-recovery systems (LARS), combined with the related impact on a vessel’s stability in these scenarios. ACUA Ocean (p.26) will develop the design of a new LARS and ROV with more vessel stability for full, open-ocean operations, and the launch and recovery of payloads in over four million significant wave heights. OREC will develop the test and evaluation criteria for the LARS, and conduct a lifecycle assessment. Underwater vehicles Exploring collaborative autonomy on and below water Maintenance, inspection and intervention costs are about £18m per year for a 1 GW offshore windfarm, rising to £900m for a 50 GW windfarm by 2030. Current state-of-the-art subsea inspection requires ROVs deployed from larger, heavy, diesel-burning crewed vessels, which are limited by safety, crewing, vessel availability and operational sea states. The project will help to develop maritime autonomous systems for dual-use operations, such as surveying, monitoring of critical offshore and underwater infrastructure, offshore energy and marine science. Route optimisation will increase the The Class of 2024 Access the directory online, or pick up a printed copy at leading uncrewed related tradeshows across the globe www.ust-media.com/ust-magazine/Co24 6 Class of 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Advanced Navigation Advanced Navigation is a world leader in AI-based robotics and navigation technologies across land, air, sea and space applications. Founded on a culture of research and discovery, Advanced Navigation’s mission is to be the catalyst of the autonomy revolution. Fields of expertise include artificial intelligence, sonar, GNSS, radio frequency systems, inertial sensors, robotics, quantum sensors and photonics. Today, Advanced Navigation is a supplier to some of the world’s largest companies, including Airbus, Boeing, Google, Tesla, NASA, Apple, and General Motors. Categories • Navigation System • IMUs, Gyros & Accelerometers • UUVs • Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Sonar/Acoustic Systems Address Level 12, 255 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia Website www.advancednavigation.com Telephone +61 2 9099 3800 Email [email protected] More info: Avionics & electronics 37 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2024 Development inputs COVE COVE is where marine technology leaders develop solutions for a better and sustainable world. On the water and around the world, COVE propels the ocean economy. COVE is where ideas become solutions, technologies become ventures, and opportunities become careers. We connect people, ideas, resources and assets to propel solutions and sustainable growth for Canada’s ocean sector. A 13-acre waterfront facility in Canada’s deepest harbour provides the best space in the world to turn ideas into commercial solutions. 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It’s not about technology, it’s about your mission. TEKEVER UAS intelligence is fully proven and has been crucial in the most demanding scenarios. TEKEVER systems are easy to assemble and operate by design. We can provide them as a service, or give our customers full autonomy on their operation and maintenance through intensive training courses. TEKEVER UAS are built around intelligence. Combining complex systems, as drones that fly 20 hours, with satellite communication, powerful sensors, a cross-platform Ground Control Station and an AI/ML-powered data-centre to assure the right person gets the right information at the right moment. Categories • UAVs Address Heden Rossio Largo do Duque de Cadaval, 17 Fracção I, 1200160, Lisboa, Portugal Website www.tekever.com Telephone +351 21 330 4300 Email [email protected] More info: Platforms 57 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2024 maxon international ltd. maxon is the worldwide leading provider of high-precision drive systems. Our micromotors move everything that has to be rotated with high precision and reliability. At maxon, we develop and build electric drives that pack some real power. Our DC motors are leading the industry worldwide. They are used wherever the requirements are high and engineers cannot afford compromises. From the ocean floor to Mars! They are installed in insulin pumps and surgical power tools. You can find them in humanoid robots and in high-precision industrial applications, in tattoo machines, passenger aircraft, camera lenses, race cars, aquatic systems and cardiac pumps. For more than 60 years, we have focused on customer-specific solutions, quality, and innovation. Categories • Electric Motors • Motor Controllers • Propellers • Advanced Materials • Connectors • Electric Motors • Engines Address Brünigstrasse 2206072, Sachseln, Switzerland Website www.maxongroup.com Telephone +41 (41) 666 15 00 Email [email protected] More info: Powertrain 81 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2024 Futaba Corporation of America Futaba, a world leading manufacturer of radio control and servo products for over six decades, continues to enhance and adapt its product portfolio to meet the evolving demands of the diverse markets it serves. Futaba produces a wide variety of ruggedized servo actuators with varying specifications to meet many challenging applications operating in challenging environments. Wireless RF transmitter/ receiver systems are fully designed and engineered in-house, leveraging Futaba’s years of RF development experience to provide the most secure and reliable wireless communication link available. To further meet our customers’ demands, Futaba can develop semi-custom products from existing OTS parts and fully customized parts from scratch. With the introduction of the FMT05 Ground Control Station, integrating Panasonic’s Toughbook platform, Futaba provides next-level control sophistication and ruggedness for UAV applications. Contact Futaba to discuss all of your company’s radio control and actuator needs. Categories • Servo Actuators • Ground Control Stations • Radio Links & Telemetry Address 5401 Trillium Blvd, Suite A225 Hoffman Estates, IL 60192 Website www.futabairc.com Telephone +1 815 701 3650 Email [email protected] More info: Mission & application systems 89 Uncrewed Systems Technology | Class of 2024 No more holes. For more than 35 years, Click Bond has been a leader in the design and manufacture of adhesive-bonded assembly solutions for the aerospace, defense, marine, UAV, advanced air mobility, automotive, and industrial sectors. Adhesive bonding requires no installation holes, no welding, and no hot work. Fewer holes mean greater structural integrity. The adhesive bondline creates a powerful barrier between the fastener and substrate, preventing galvanic corrosion. Our fasteners are lightweight and easy to install. Click Bond’s 5,000+ products include structural hardware and systems installation fasteners, such as sleeves, mounts, studs, and standoffs. Our rivetless nutplates require no installation holes, so they install 80% faster than standard nutplates, saving time and labor. Our global reputation is rooted in providing advanced designs and solutions that achieve unmatched value over our customers’ product lifecycles. The future is adhesive bonding. The future is here. Stop welding. Stop drilling. Start bonding. Categories • Cable Harnesses • Maintenance • Fasteners • Bonds & Seals • Connectors • Composites • Advanced Materials Address 2151 Lockheed Way Carson City, NV 89706-0713 USA Website www.clickbond.com Telephone +1 775 885 8000 Email [email protected] More info: Structural & anatomical systems Click Bond Class of 2024 www.ust-media.com Navigate the world of uncrewed systems with our engineer-focused supplier directory Avionics & electronics Development inputs Platforms Powertrain Mission & application systems Structural & anatomical systems The CASH project combines ASVs and UUVs (Image courtesy of Robosys)
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