Features

PS

Replacing lost insects

The global decline of insect populations has sparked alarm across scientific and agricultural communities. With pollinators like bees disappearing at an unprecedented rate and traditional pest control methods proving increasingly unsustainable...

Digest

ISS Aerospace Sensus L heavy-lift multicopter

Developed by ISS Aerospace in Chieveley, Berkshire, in England’s Thames Valley, the Sensus L is a modular heavy-lift multicopter built to handle demanding, data-intensive tasks in a variety of industries. Initially created to tackle oil giant Total’s METIS programme...

Show Report

Xponential Europe 2025

Founding a new trade exhibition and conference is among the riskiest business ventures out there, but after the doors opened to the AUVSI’s first official Xponential Europe event (co-located with the European Drone Forum), it quickly became clear across...

Focus on...

Motor controllers

Until around ten years ago, manufacturers of electric drones were generally stuck with using hobby-grade ESCs (electronic speed controllers) for control of their electric motors. Such low-quality components frequently suffered from issues such as poor transient...

Insight

UGVs

As we have often heard over the years, it makes little sense for car makers to boast of a new model having the most powerful engine ever, or any other singular parameter or achievement, if they have forgotten to make the components work together at the system level....

Dossier

Alpha-Otto REV Force

We featured Michigan-based Strange Development in 2020 (see Issue 33), for its two-stroke, inline, two-cylinder, spark-ignited REVolution engine, integrating a rotary exhaust valve (REV) to leverage forced induction when adjusting its dynamic compression ratio...

In Operation

Seasats Lightfish USV

Autonomously crossing the world’s great oceans is a challenging undertaking, but one made easier when uncrewed systems engineers have a large budget to work with, as the last few years have proven. But managing such stable, fault-free and persistent...

Digest

RigiTech Eiger UAV

With the advent of uncrewed logistics solutions in air, and on land and sea, it pays to understand there are fundamental differences between what logistics operators need of their UAS, and what conventional UASs (designed most often for imaging-based work) bring to the table...

Focus on...

Lidar

Various laser technologies are competing fiercely to reduce the size, weight and cost of sensors for uncrewed systems. Lidar ranging systems are a key technology for long-range sensing for driverless vehicles and autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs)...

Dossier

LOXO Alpha & Digital Driver

As far as harsh proving grounds for autonomy go, Switzerland sets the bar high. A mountainous nation, many Swiss highways and other intercity roads pass through tunnels that blot out GNSS signals and create cramped, traffic-congested spaces that are deeply...

In Conversation

Professor Barry Lennox

Decommissioning nuclear power plants is an immense task. The estimate for the Sellafield facility in Cumbria is £136 billion over more than a century. During the last 14 years, Barry Lennox, professor of applied control at the University of Manchester...

PS

Kepler Advance system

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are spectacularly effective sources of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) information, but they all rely on low-power, short-wavelength radio signals that are vulnerable to spoofing and jamming...

Digest

FIXAR 025

The value of UAVs for mapping and inspection is directly linked to the efficiency with which they carry their sensor payloads. While this has been known for years, it is only recently that advances in modern design capabilities have enabled aerospace engineers to pursue alternatives...

In Operation

Red Cat Holdings Black Widow

Small UAVs have carved themselves a dominant position in modern land warfare of late, with both sides in the Ukraine War using them for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions. The war has been characterised by demanding physical conditions...

Focus on...

Connectors

All around the world, connector manufacturers are building factories and hiring people to cope with booming demand for their products as uncrewed vehicles and other high-end vehicular and electronic systems are output in greater quantities...

Insight

UUVs

Since the first AUVs were developed in US universities between the 1950s and 1970s, new UUV systems have been engineered and deployed in every ocean around the world, gathering priceless data for defence, offshore industry, scientific research and...

Dossier

Suter Industries

With regulations in the EU aimed at curbing and eventually eliminating internal combustion engines in road vehicles, the future of European engines – and particularly the expertise and innovative capacity around them – is likely to lie not amidst the automotive...

In Operation

Dropla mine countermeasures

In August 2023, much of the media surrounding the war in Ukraine was focused on an incipient counteroffensive, aimed at retaking occupied territories, including the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. By December, however...

Digest

Robotnik RB-WATCHER

As uncrewed systems transition away from being little more than one-off science experiments and evolve into serious industrial tools that are as essential to industrial facility workers as a screwdriver, they are being designed with tougher reliability...

Focus on...

Swarming

There are many types of swarm technologies for autonomous platforms, varying from dramatic displays of hundreds of UAVs to groups of driverless cars, to combined ground, air and sea platforms all working together autonomously...

Dossier

ACUA Ocean Pioneer-class H-USV

As an island nation, dependent on seafaring vessels for trade, defence and more, the UK’s traditions for innovative and robust shipbuilding date back centuries. Small wonder then that today, amid booming demand for automated ocean logistics...

In Conversation

Professor Robin Murphy

Professor Robin Murphy is an expert in using robots to save lives and rebuild communities following a disaster. She wrote a book on the subject, Disaster Robotics, which has become a key reference work. She is also the Raytheon professor of...

Digest

IM Solutions Monodrone IM 3000 Mk2

Sebastien Manigot, operations manager at USV developer IM Solutions, describes the company’s new Monodrone IM 3000 Mk2 as a gap-filler in its range of vessels, which also includes 1.3, 1.8 and 7 m craft. The rigid-hull boat was developed at the request of some of the company’s customers...

In Operation

Vantis BVLOS network

As commercial and government UAV operations look set to become an increasingly common part of our daily lives, conversations are being had about the kinds of permanent infrastructure needed for ensuring the safety of autonomous aircraft performing survey, logistics, security and other tasks...

Dossier

Honeywell 600U, 600U-HV and 1200U fuel cells

In UST 14 (June/July 2017) we featured the hydrogen fuel cell from the Protonex Technology Corporation, which at the time was principally used by Insitu...

Show Report

DroneX 2022

Advanced motor and sensor technologies, innovative propulsion concepts and flexible multi-vehicle control systems vied with UAV platforms for attention at DroneX 2022...

Show Report

CUAV Expo Americas 2022

After three years of being kept away by the coronavirus pandemic, Uncrewed Systems Technology returned to Las Vegas for the Commercial UAV Expo Americas...

Insight

Space vehicles

While many of the world’s newsrooms and social media platforms discuss plans for human colonies on the Moon and Mars, it must be remembered that an immense...

Digest

Seaber YUCO

As reported before in this magazine, shallow waters prove something of a sticking point for the otherwise widening reach of uncrewed systems...

Focus on...

Video systems

The technology of vision systems in the uncrewed sector is facing several competing demands. In some cases, it is for low latency, responsive video streams from multiple cameras to allow a remote operator to drive the platform safely, whether in the middle of the ocean or on the surface of Mars.

Dossier

IAC AV-21

Competitive motorsport has, for over a century, motivated countless innovations that have filtered through to safer, more comfortable and more efficient automotive solutions...

PS

Visual navigation

Along with many other animals, we humans are visual creatures who rely heavily on the sense of sight to find our way through complex, often hazardous environments – so much so that visual impairments...

Digest

Clogworks Dark Matter

While the multi-copter is almost the default configuration for VTOL UAVs, those designed for professional use and BVLOS operations...

Focus on...

Gimbals

The proliferation of small consumer UAVs in the early 2000s gave rise to very small, lightweight camera gimbals, which in turn propagated highly...

In Operation

Elroy Air Chaparral

Over the past few years, technological maturity among UAVs built for last mile logistics has spilled over into more complex aircraft systems...

Dossier

ULPower UL350i and UL350iHPS

ULPower Aero Engines is a Belgian company best known for designing and supplying power units for a variety of light sport aircraft. Its inception...

Show Report

AUVSI Xponential 2022

The AUVSI Xponential show is the largest annual technology exposition in the world for the autonomous and robotic vehicles industry. With so many new systems and subsystems making headlines, and companies looking to share their latest innovations with us...

Digest

Bayonet 350

As awareness of autonomous solutions grows among potential customer markets, some among them have begun to feel that UGVs have key benefits...

PS

Nanorobots

Nanobots are a staple of science fiction, usually depicted as bacteria-sized self-replicating machines created for benign purposes...

In Conversation

Professor Alan Wilson

Although he describes himself as more of a physicist than an engineer, Prof Alan Wilson has always loved building things. His recent repertoire...

Digest

New take on stability

Orthodrone is developing a multicopter technology it calls Pivot, which embodies the radical concept of stabilising the entire fuselage while the propulsion system moves around it to compensate for wind coming from any direction. The purpose of this departure from convention is...

Focus on...

Sense and Simulation

A wide range of testing and simulation strategies are being used to develop...

PS

L-DRIC and Firestorm

A new, blended-reality environment for integrating crewed and uncrewed systems and, separately, a semi-automated...

In Operation

Knightscope K5 robot

Now in its fifth generation, Knightscope’s K5 outdoor autonomous security robot (ASR) stands as a pioneering venture...

Show Report

DroneX

Once again, the DroneX trade show and conference made its way to the halls of London’s ExCeL in September 2024...

In Operation

Magazino logistics UGV

A firm is building this large mobile robot to move large quantities of materials around factories...

Focus on...

Launch & recovery

Despite there being many VTOL-capable UAVs that can take off and land without needing a runway or special equipment...

Insight

Uncrewed platform development funding

Whether from climate change, military conflict or changing work environments, new ideas abound for uncrewed systems...

Dossier

UAVE 120 cc four-stroke

UAVE (pronounced ‘wave’) is a UAV manufacturer and operator that has been active for some time, during which it has accrued an eclectic range of missions and capabilities, flying many extreme environments and advanced payloads with its Prion UAVs. At the centre of all its works has been the DS120, a four-stroke, single-cylinder, spark-ignited engine, unique to this UK-based company and its aircraft. While UAVE does not sell this engine...

Show Report

Intergeo

In September 2024, Intergeo continued its record of leading the way as a platform for new innovations and announcements...

Digest

SeaTrac SP-48 USV

While environmental data is important for tracking and analysing climate change, it is also used in a range...

Focus on...

Embedded computing tech

The drive to reduce size, weight and power (SWaP) in autonomous systems is an engineering challenge...

Dossier

ACC Thunder Wasp UAV

Across land and sea, industry is crying out for ever-safer and more efficient heavy-lifting capabilities. UAVs represent the promise of highly flexible and cost-effective logistics: an uncrewed heavy lifter for picking up anything and placing it anywhere. However, the most prolific UAVs...

In Conversation

Pam Oakes

A key consideration for the long-term acceptability of fully autonomous vehicles on the open road (SAE Level 5) is the quality of support...

Show Report

CES 2024

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) returned to Las Vegas, USA, for its 2024 edition...

In Operation

Blueflite

Under development by Blueflite, Slate and Cobalt are a pair of uncrewed, tiltrotor cargo vehicles...

Show Report

CUAV Expo 2024

Staged in Las Vegas on September 3-5, the Commercial UAV Expo put the spotlight on a wide range...

In Operation

Maritime Robotics

Earlier this year, Norwegian USV developer and manufacturer Maritime Robotics made headlines...

Dossier

Wave J-1

Pulsejet engines are, mechanically speaking, among the simplest combustion engines in existence. They typically consist of a short, stubby intake pipe, a longer exhaust pipe, a combustion chamber, an ECU, and some fuel valving and injection parts possibly present in modern versions.

In Operation

Swiss-Mile UGV

Of all types of bio-inspired uncrewed systems around the world, legged UGVs, and particularly quadrupeds...

Focus on...

Transponders

The past few years have seen a marked rise in demand for transponders, transceivers, and related solutions...

Dossier

Avadi Engines

The era of UAVs has ushered in a variety of new approaches to power and propulsion as uncrewed aircraft manufacturers race to offer improved flight endurance, lower maintenance overheads, better fuel efficiencies, less vibration and other advantages over their competitors....

Show Report

Xponential Defence

Burgeoning use of uncrewed systems in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and during US preparations...

Dossier

Schiebel Camcopter

There is an adage among uncrewed aircraft engineers: “If your UAV doesn’t break in the first 100 flight hours...

Show Report

Xponential 2024 Part 1

Though California is already known as a major tech hub the world over, 2024 saw the ‘City in Motion’ of San Diego...

In Operation

IQUA Robotics Soundtiles

Forward-looking sonars (FLSs) are increasingly being adopted by UUV manufacturers...

Focus on...

Antennas

Since before this publication started printing there has been a strong tendency throughout the uncrewed systems...

Insight

USVs

The ‘blue economy’ comprises ocean data markets, offshore industries, maritime logistics...

Dossier

Launchpoint EPS HPS400

As advancements in electric aviation outpace those in battery energy density new designs for lightweight...

Digest

IDV Robotics Viking UGV

IDV Robotics (IDV-R) is a company at the veritable heart of the UK’s UGV development pipeline for defence applications...

Dossier

Insitu’s ScanEagle & Integrator

Since the dawn of the century, countless programmes for high-end, long-endurance UAVs...

In Operation

Skygauge

This publication has featured many ways in which infra-red (IR) cameras, Lidars and other contactless sensors can be used...

Show Report

CUAV Expo 2023

UAS manufacturers, component suppliers and potential operators gathered in Caesars Forum in Las Vegas...

PS

Powerplant options for BVLOS UAVs

While UAV operations conducted BVLOS are not yet routine around the world, the regulatory framework...

Digest

Zero USV Oceanus12

The future of uncrewed systems hinges on the future of their regulation. Many anticipate that establishing...

Focus on...

Ground control stations

A GCS must be an intuitive, tactile and multidimensional device, with varying arrangements of processors...

Insight

Space vehicles

The next few years will see a dramatic move forward for autonomous space systems. Several key projects...

Show Report

Eurosatory 2024

As conflicts continue to rage inside Europe’s borders and beyond, demand for uncrewed systems is surging...

Dossier

We Ride Robotics Robobus

The French Open is one of the largest tennis tournaments in the world, held every year at Stade Roland Garros in Paris. The 2024 event ran from May 26 to June 9, with not only a plethora of head-to-heads between elite athletes but, most unusually, a driverless minibus shuttle service for taking VIPs and media to and from the stadium...

In Conversation

Ronald Broberg

Dark Wolf Solutions’ Ronald Broberg talks cybersecurity and the importance of hacking lessons...

PS

AI for fighters

A series of live air combat simulations carried out by the US Air Force, pitting an autonomously controlled F16...

Show Report

Xponential Part 2

The biggest show in the world for autonomous systems, AUVSI Xponential, landed at San Diego...

Insight

UAVs

While the words ‘drone’ and ‘UAV’ still conjure up images of toy multirotors in the mind of the average person...

Digest

Bedrock Ocean UAV

Founded in January 2020, Bedrock Ocean Exploration’s original ambition was the scalable...

Focus on...

UTM

Today’s UAV designs require sense and avoid systems, and broader links with UTM systems for beyond line-of-sight operations...

In Conversation

Andy Lacher

Integrating uncrewed vehicles into controlled airspace that has evolved to handle aircraft carrying human pilots...

PS

UAVs deliver to offshore wind farms

We all forget small things from time to time, or we come to do a repair job and realise we can’t...

Show Report

Oceanology International 2024

Oceanology International 2024, staged on 10-12 March at London’s ExCeL, was a busy event...

Focus on...

Data Storage

The demands of high-performance sensors, coupled with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)...

In Conversation

Dr. Richard Dowdeswell

When Richard Dowdeswell was headhunted in 2017 to turn around the long-established but struggling Kongsberg GeoAcoustics...

In Operation

Robotican’s Goshawk

As uncrewed aircraft evolve, so too must counter-UAS (C-UAS) solutions. For most of the last decade...

Dossier

Applied EV Blanc Robot

Founded in 2015, Applied EV is a company based in Sydney, Australia, whose raison d’être is to create transport solutions...

PS

Red Bull Racing camera missile

Until very recently, the only thing able to keep up with an Formula One car around a track was another...

UVD

CyloTech Bumblebee 2.0

There is a lot of overlap between uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and electric vehicle take-off and landing...

Show Report

UMEX

The sixth edition of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) and Simulation and Training Exhibition...

In Operation

Arkeocean’s Inca & Maya anti-sub warfare UUVs

Of all the different types of military mission being tackled today by uncrewed systems...

Focus on...

Autopilots

Over the last five years, autopilots for uncrewed systems have evolved to become much more than ‘black boxes’...

UVD

Roboat & Holland Shipyards Group

Four years ago, we covered the work being performed by Roboat, a Netherlands-based spin-out...

Dossier

UAVHE RW1 rotary

UAVHE (Unmanned Air Vehicle Hybrid Engines) is a Barcelona-based engine manufacturer...

Insight

UGVs

Since this publication started printing, the world of uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) has changed from...

Focus on...

Battery technology

A new generation of materials is boosting the performance of lithium battery cells in commercial production...

In Conversation

Amanda Smith

Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become essential inspection tools at Sellafield...

Dossier

uWare’s uOne UUV

Many of today’s most successful UAVs leverage precise flight and hover controls with valuable payloads...

PS

Hypersonic flight

An uncomfortable realisation in the West that it is trailing both Russia and China in the technologies...

Focus on...

IMUS, gyros and accelometers

The uncrewed systems world is vast, complex and multifaceted, which can make it difficult to identify the trends...

Dossier

DeltaHawk DHK180

DeltaHawk Engines is a Wisconsin-based company, dedicated to the development of compression-ignition engines...

Insight

UUVs

Among the various types of uncrewed vehicles, UUVs have arguably led the race towards full autonomy...

In Operation

Rheinmetall

Medical evacuations (or medevacs) in complex terrain present significant challenges to crewed vehicles...

Focus on...

Radio and telemetry

Radio connections for uncrewed systems are going through significant changes...

In Conversation

Angelo Corsaro

Deploying multiple types of uncrewed vehicle systems at scale and managing them from remote facilities...

PS

AI uncrewed system comms

It’s usually a mistake to make absolute statements about the complexity of the real world...

In Operation

Skyline Robotics Ozmo

Cleaning the windows of high-rise buildings is one of those dull/dirty/dangerous jobs that cries out for an automated...

Show Report

DSEI 2023

The Defence and Security Equipment International remains the biggest defence technology show in the world...

Focus on...

Thermal imaging

Looking at the various inspection and monitoring missions uncrewed systems carry out these days...

Show Report

Dronex 2023

The DroneX trade show and conference returned to the ExCeL in the London Docklands in September this year...

Dossier

INNengine Rex-B

In the young world of uncrewed systems, propulsion systems inevitably draw primarily on established technology...

Insight

Defence systems

Defence applications are arguably the longest running use cases for uncrewed systems, stretching back...

Digest

GPA Seabots 100

With most of the world’s cities and a growing proportion of the global economy directly connected to our oceans...

Focus on...

Real-time operating systems

Real-time operating system (RTOS) implementations are changing as uncrewed system platforms evolve...

Dossier

AALTO Zephyr 8

The stratosphere is the second-highest layer of the atmosphere, and over the past few decades...

In Conversation

Dr. Bryan Cole

With scientists for parents, a biology teacher uncle and a childhood spent largely outdoors, environmental science called to Dr Bryan Cole from an early age...

Digest

Nauticus Robotics Aquanaut

Nauticus Robotics’ Aquanaut Mk2 is part of a system designed to reduce the cost of offshore...

Focus on...

Cable harnesses

In many ways, cable harnesses are a microcosm of the autonomous vehicle world. As uncrewed systems become bigger...

Insight

Uncrewed space vehicles

For many years, space companies have been developing novel uncrewed vehicle concepts for exploring and researching...

In Operation

Subsea Tech SeaCAT

In the north Pacific sits a patch of debris covering about 1.6 millionsqkm and containing up to 130,000 t of marine...

Focus on...

Video encoding

Video encoding technology is undergoing a fundamental shift to reduce the bandwidth and improve...

Dossier

Keybotic Keyper

The three Ds – dull, dirty and dangerous – have for some time been applied to the kinds of jobs that industry...

Insight

UAVs

In the 8 eight years since we began reporting on UAV developments, we have seen the technology evolve into dozens of different classes...

Show Report

Paris Air Show 2023

The 2023 edition of the Paris Air Show was held from 19 to 25 June at Le Bourget exhibition centre...

Insight

SkyPower’s SP engines

Rory Jackson finds out how this company is offering engines with common components to suit different UAV types...

PS

Security of UAV data links

Recent conflicts have highlighted the vulnerability of UAV data links to a variety of attacks on them...

Dossier

Dufour Aerospace Aero2

A highly effective VTOL-transition system is key to building a modern multi-role UAV. An uncrewed aircraft that doesn’t need launch or recovery infrastructure...

In Conversation

Davide Scaramuzza

A native of Terni in the province of Umbria, central Italy, Dr Davide Scaramuzza leads a team of researchers...

PS

Quantum Navigation

These days, inertial sensing is the basis of all navigation systems that don’t rely on an external signal...

Digest

Tampa Deep Sea Barracuda

Tampa Deep Sea Xplorers’ Barracuda AUV stands out from the growing range of small AUV designs...

Focus on...

Servos

Although advances in servo design and technology are always in demand throughout the UAV industry...

Dossier

Aant Farm TPR72

Although turbine engines offer benefits to fuel-powered UAVs in terms of efficiency, reliability...

Show Report

Xponential 2023 part 2

The show was a grand return to scale and form following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic...

Insight

UAVs

Amid discussions of safety and related certifications in the halls of UAV conferences...

Digest

Steel E-Motive robotaxi

Market analysis of the trends affecting the future of personal mobility predict that consumer...

Digest

Ocius Bluebottle USV

On land, Australia is famed for its range of species and climates, but its coastline is also rich in animal...

Focus on...

Power management

For UAVs this means longer range, while for driverless cars it addresses issues of the power consumption...

Dossier

Primoco One 150

To invest time and resources in developing a UAV weighing 150 kg purely out of a passion for aviation...

In Conversation

Dr. Cara LaPointe

There can be few more ambitious goals than ensuring the safe integration of AI and autonomous systems...

PS

Modular vehicles

Modularity has been a buzzword in the marketing of complex engineered products for decades...

In Operation

Armach Robotics HSR

Marine life is notorious for attaching itself to any structure that people place in the sea, and a barnacle-encrusted...

Show Report

Ocean Business 2023

In April 2023, ocean science and engineering experts from around the world converged in Southampton...

Focus on...

Fuel systems

As discussed in our cover feature on page 24, the world of UAVs is converging around fuel-based powertrains...

Dossier

Electric Flytrain EFT-Hybrid-1x

As the automotive world becomes increasingly dominated by electric and hybrid vehicles...

Show Report

Xponential 2023 part 1

In May this year, AUVSI’s Xponential event returned to Denver for the first time in 5 years, the halls...

Insight

USVs

Autonomous vessels for marine applications continue to be developed and matured in a similar...

In Operation

Skyfish M6 and M4

Aerial photogrammetry is one of the longest-running and most common UAS services in the world...

Digest

Addverb Dynamo 1T

While it is tempting to attribute the rising use of UGVs in warehouse operations...

Focus on...

Additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D printing are pushing the limits of materials, processes and designs...

Dossier

50 issues and counting

In the words of Dr Donough Wilson in our inaugural issue, in November 2014, There are no rules...

In Conversation

Dr. David Barrett

Propulsive efficiency under water is one of many areas in which nature has had the advantage...

In Conversation

Noel Helks

While she wasn’t born among robots and high technology, Noel Heiks was introduced to them at an early age. That set her on a career path as an engineer, serial entrepreneur and investor that has led to positions on the boards of companies including long-range BVLOS UAV systems developer Censys Technologies, and made her an evangelist for the integration of UAVs with advanced sensors and machine learning (ML)...

Dossier

Marine Advanced Robotics WAM-V

Anyone with first-hand experience of seasickness will know how unpleasant it is, and the range of measures available to avoid feeling it again. For the creators of the Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V) though...

Focus on...

Image sensors

One of the key tools for autonomous systems is the image sensor. To put that into perspective, about 30,000 people are killed on US freeways each year, and image sensor developers have the ambitious aim of reducing that to 300 using advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS)...

Digest

Ottonomy Ottobot

Many organisations will remember the difficulties the Covid-19 pandemic caused as they were trying to keep their businesses going amid the repeated lockdowns and social distancing advice...

Digest

Eurolink Systems Beluga

Since its founding in Rome, Italy, in 1994, Eurolink Systems has been known primarily as a value-added distributor and integrator of mission-critical electronics for defence applications. Its customers include companies such as Leonardo...

Insight

UGVs

Not so long ago, UGV developers were few and far between, but now there are hundreds of them, tailoring autonomous robotic solutions for organisations and markets of every stripe...

Show Report

IDEX 2023

The International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) returned to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in February 2023, along with its marine counterpart, the Naval Defence & Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX)..

Dossier

Rotron RT600-HC

We last featured Rotron Power in UST 4 (Autumn 2015), its RT600 twin-rotor Wankel gasoline engine having enjoyed significant commercial success, in both of the versions that were then available...

PS

The human body as a UAV platform

As UAVs become part of everyday life, how we interact with them is growing in importance, and physical interaction is a key aspect of that. Landing on people automatically could be important for police officers and others who might need a UAV’s eye view of their surroundings several times during a mission but are too busy with their primary tasks to manage UAV landings. It might also include people who need rescue or urgent medical attention...

In Operation

Cleo Robotics Dronut X1

In the past 2 years there has been a growth in uncrewed systems designed for autonomous operations in enclosed, indoor spaces, where GNSS cannot be relied on for navigation. Although SLAM (often the key to indoor autonomous navigation) might once have been confined to high-end military systems...

Focus on...

Sonar systems

In the world of autonomous vehicles, demand has arguably grown faster for marine systems than for any other vehicle type...

In Operation

DroneWorks solar panel inspection

A small VTOL UAV fitted with a thermographic camera is a powerful tool for inspecting the integrity and energy efficiency of many kinds of installations that are difficult, time-consuming or dangerous to reach by methods that involve people working at height – and rooftop solar panels fit snugly into this category...

Show Report

CES 2023

Despite the slow lifting of international travel restrictions over the past 2 years, CES remains the biggest show for many tech companies worldwide, particularly those working towards the next generation of autonomous and robotic systems...

Dossier

Limbach 2400 DX and 550 EFG

We previously featured German aero engine manufacturer Limbach in UST 17 (February/March 2018). In that article, the company detailed its 7 kg L 275 EF two-stroke boxer twin that produces 18 kW and is aimed squarely at the kind of 25 kg MTOW UAV that has become the mainstay of aerial data and surveillance providers.

In Operation

NXInnovation 100 Enviro

While people around the world now acknowledge the importance of environmental sustainability and helping the planet, it remains a sad and common sight for those living in city waterfronts to see litter strewn in urban waters...

PS

Internet of quantum UAVs?

While the spooky science of quantum mechanics underpins modern microelectronics, there’s a great deal of excitement and no doubt hype about the far less familiar field of quantum computing and its impact on comms, cryptography, sensing and other areas in which uncrewed systems are closely involved...

In Conversation

Jarno Puff

An early enthusiasm for computers and aviation, combined with talents that leaned more towards the practical than the academic, led Jarno Puff, now CTO of uncrewed subsystems developer LikeAbird, into an eclectic career that has encompassed industrial robotics, computing, UAV design and HMI development, emergency aviation and cloud computing...

In Operation

Protegimus Protection

If uncrewed systems are to make the most of the opportunities offered by the need to secure large and often complex sites, they will have to exploit automation as far as possible, ensure safety and cost-effectiveness, and stay on the right side of the regulators...

Focus on...

Solar power

Many UAVs and USVs now come fitted with solar panels covering much of their surfaces. The interest in solar energy comes from more than it being a potentially limitless source of green power; for uncrewed systems it extends autonomy in a practical sense.

In Operation

Skypersonic Skycopter

Now that the presence of water ice on Mars has been confirmed, many organizations have committed themselves to establishing a human presence on the planet – NASA in particular...

Insight

UUVs

Many UUV platforms that are now well-known have been developed and supplied to civil, commercial and military markets since the 1990s...

Digest

SWL Robotics Tiburon

In the world of autonomous and intelligent systems, competencies developed in one type of vehicle can enable major breakthroughs for others. The marine sector in particular has benefited from innovations originally engineered elsewhere...

Dossier

Kodiak Driver

Road freight is vital to the US economy. The industry is worth more than $800 billion, and readers in the US can safely assume that two-thirds of the objects around them were transported at some point in a Class 8 truck such as the archetypical five-axle 18-wheeler...

Focus on...

5G networks

While 5G phones are now widely available, and network operators are rolling out commercial 5G networks in urban areas around the world, the technology is also being developed with uncrewed systems in mind...

PS

Seabed ‘harvesting’ robots

Mining is generally considered a particularly damaging activity for the environment, and the prospect of mining the seabed for industrially important metals is a controversial one (writes Peter Donaldson). It is also a major focus for developments in robotic technologies...

Dossier

Aergility ATLIS

As reported in the past in this publication, the traditional helicopter configuration has long left something to be desired among military and civilian end-users. Commonly cited weaknesses include the maintenance costs of their swashplate and other moving parts, the vulnerability of the tail rotor, and a tendency towards mechanical failures in mid-flight...

Focus on...

AI

Machine learning (ML) and AI are used in many different ways and in different parts of uncrewed systems for a range of functions to boost their performance. For example, AI is used extensively for applications based on image processing....

Show Report

AUSA 2022

The annual Association of the US Army (AUSA) meeting and exposition was held in October 2022 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington DC, with hundreds of companies presenting new technologies there...

In Operation

BeeX A.IKANBILIS

The global expansion of wind power has accelerated the uptake of uncrewed systems as a safe and cost-effective means of inspecting and maintaining wind turbines. And although UAVs and USVs might become ubiquitous in offshore wind farms, and even work together...

Focus on...

Propellers

Uncrewed systems have evolved over the past few years, leading to commercial, high-end UAV manufacturers attracting investment and setting up partnerships with organisations in markets including logistics, energy and defence....

Digest

Phoenix Wings Orca

With its rounded yet sleek fuselage and large horizontal tail surface, Phoenix Wings’ Orca bears a strong resemblance to the charismatic cetacean after which it is named, an impression strengthened by the paint scheme...

Show Report

Intergeo 2022

The wave of technology exhibitions returning to the international stage continues, with Intergeo 2022 having taken place in the German city of Essen for its latest iteration. This geospatial survey and mapping show featured 457 exhibitors from more than 30 countries, as well as around 14,000 trade visitors from more...

In Conversation

Ben Kinnaman

Ben Kinnaman, founder and CEO of Greensea Systems and originator of the Open Software and Equipment Architecture (OpenSea) robotics platform, came up through the hands-on, practical side of the marine industry...

Dossier

Infinity fuel cells

As PEM fuel cell solutions mature, so interest turns increasingly towards optimising their efficiency and minimising the amount of heat wasted...

Insight

Geospatial surveys

In this age of data, efficiency is everything – both the efficiency that organisations derive from analysing the data, and the efficiency of collecting it. For those with geographical assets that need rolling maintenance or projects that need to be constantly monitored for progress, uncrewed systems now surpass human-piloted vehicles as tools for collecting geospatial data...

Digest

Clevon 1

The ideal logistics company is a well-oiled machine, with packages arriving on or ahead of schedule via the most efficient routes, taking up storage space for the minimum amount of time, and never going missing. Helping logistics firms achieve these goals was what made Estonia-based Cleveron’s automation technologies...

Focus on...

Performance monitoring

Monitoring the performance of uncrewed systems is evolving. The increasing number of sensors in a platform, with more integrated electronics to provide data about system...

Dossier

TideWise USV Tupan

In Brazil, offshore energy is big business. The country is the world’s eighth-largest oil producer, most of which comes from basins off ...

In Conversation

Kelvin Hamilton

Artificial intelligence that learns by trial and error ,much like a human toddler, and the virtual twin of a real-world UAV, combine to develop flight control software automatically...

PS

Seabed 2030 project

It’s often said that we know more about the surface of the Moon than about the ocean floor. What this means is that about four-fifths of the seabed remains unmapped. To be more precise, the 2021 release of the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans...

Show Report

Oceanology International 2022

With most lockdowns now ending, people are returning not only to streets and airlines but also the seas, and the return of Oceanology International to the ExCeL in London’s Docklands heralded a wave of new products for the Blue Economy...

Focus on...

Connectors

The number of connections needed in an uncrewed vehicle for power and comms means that connector designs often reflect the nature of the vehicle itself. Lighter connectors help to make it less heavy, for example, while more rugged ones help it to better...

Digest

Accession Class USV

Adaptability through modularity was central to Unmanned Survey Solutions’ concept for its Accession Class USV. The craft can be operated in its 3.5 m-long base version, or extended to 4.25 or 5 m by inserting a modular hull section either 0.75 or 1.5 m long...

Show Report

AUVSI Xponential 2022

We present the first part of our review of the latest systems and technology on show at the 50th anniversary of this event...

Insight

USVs

Tailoring an autonomous vehicle to match the geography and altitude of its mission environment is most often the primary determinant of its success in operational and sales terms...

Digest

Stanley Robotics Stan UGV

The advent of self-driving cars is predicted to bring benefits such as more energy-efficient mobility, traffic reduction and reduced collisions, and all the necessary technology to do so has probably been invented by now...

Focus on...

Lidar Sensors

Lidar sensors are a key element in the design of many uncrewed platforms. A near-infrared laser, invisible to surrounding people, can provide detection of obstacles at distances of up to 300 m for driverless cars and trucks, or at ranges of 10-50 m for industrial robots...

In Conversation

Jakub Weglarz

Hybrid vehicles that can operate in more than one medium are always tricky to develop. The demands of flight, to minimise weight for example, conflict with the requirements of a vehicle that can operate on the ground and successfully negotiate different types of terrain...

Dossier

Xer Technologies X12 and X8

Rory Jackson traces the development of these electric multirotor UAVs that feature gasoline two-strokes for range extension...

Dossier

Cobra Aero A99H

In UST 12 (February/March 2017) we featured the A33i UAV engine, a spark-ignited single cylinder two-stroke developed through a collaboration between Power4Flight, Currawong Engineering and Cobra MOTO, the latter of which aptly spun off the Cobra Aero...

UPCOMING EVENTS