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Martin, with mission management and
redundant flight control computers
connected via data links to a ground
controller.
It uses twin counter-rotating main
rotors to eliminate the need for a tail
rotor drive system. Without a tail rotor, all
engine power goes directly to the main
rotors for improved lift performance over
traditional helicopters, and this is critical
to maintaining power and performance at
high altitudes and temperatures.
K-MAX is being combined with a
battery-powered quadcopter called
Indago that is used to fly over a fire
area and detect outbreaks. The data
from the Indago is fed back to an
operator who then directs the K-MAX
helicopter to lift and drop more than
10 tonnes (24,000 lb) of water to help
extinguish a fire.
“Indago has been used for firefighting
activities in Australia, disaster
assessments following Cyclone Pam in
Vanuatu, and coastal erosion surveying in
Australia,” says Jay McConville, business
development director at Lockheed Martin
Unmanned Systems.
“Now Indago 2, the Elite Pro, will be
the full production model. It’s based on
the original Indago but it also has some
improved design elements, including
moulded plastics, more efficient motors,
a secure digital data link, improved
range, an improved battery and
advanced payloads, as well as quieter
operation,” he says.
The Elite Pro has an endurance of 40-
50 minutes depending on the payload,
which can be a 30x zoom 18 megapixel
EO camera or a dual EO and infrared
camera. It can fly in winds of up to
25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph at
distances up to 2 km and a typical height
of 150 m (500 ft). It uses an AES-256
encrypted link in the S band and military
frequencies.
Mass transport
Commercial UAV technology is also being
extended to mass-transport applications.
Companies such as Volocopter are using
systems with multiple rotors, large motors
and large batteries to lift one or two
people into the air for a few minutes at a
time as a taxi service.
Another approach is to adapt
existing craft such as helicopters for
autonomous operation. This has been
done by Lockheed Martin, for example,
through its subsidiary Sikorski’s Matrix
technology programme.
Sikorsky has converted a retired
UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter for
autonomous operation. It has internal as
well as external cargo capability, lifting
up to 4 tonnes (9000 lb), and
the design target is to lose only one
craft per 100,000 flight hours. The first
flight demonstration was at the end of
2015.
Inspection
Dutch developer HighEye has updated
its HEF30 long-endurance rotary
platform, adding a Lidar sensor payload
using a Riegl VUX-SYS system, as
well as integrating a nautical GPS-
based compass, to allow it to fly in
very high latitudes such as the polar
region without having to rely on a
magnetometer. The platform has a flight
time of over three hours, and HighEye
is also integrating a secondary, non-line
of sight-based data link to send payload
data back to the ground control station.
The company has also added
emergency flotation devices to prevent
the unit from sinking during an
accidental ditch, and three landing pads
for landing on snow.
Monitoring
Rotary systems are also being used for
wider monitoring applications. “Apart
from firefighting, another thing related
to Indago is Project Lifesaver,” says
Lockheed Martin’s McConville.
“People who suffer from Alzheimer’s,
autism or dementia are prone to wander
some times, but Project Lifesaver has a
system that is used to track and recover
them quickly. We’ve therefore teamed
up with them to be able to extend this
into the air, to help find these vulnerable
people as quickly as possible,” he says.
Delivery
Quadcopters have seen some adoption
as delivery systems with Amazon and the
Google Wing project, and Amazon has
set up a new r&d centre in Graz, Austria,
June/July 2016 |
Unmanned Systems Technology
The Indago Elite Pro quadcopter can be
teamed up with the K-MAX autonomous
helicopter (Courtesy of Lockheed Martin)