Unmanned Systems Technology 015 | Martin UAV V-Bat | William Sachiti | Sonar Systems | USVs | Desert Aircraft DA150 EFI | SeaCat AUV/ROV | Gimbals

76 alternative, each isolator could consist of two opposed diaphragms and their housings, the first housing carried by the support frame the second by the stabilised platform that they support. The diaphragms are coupled together by a torsional flexure element, which could be a helical spring extending between their radial centres. The diaphragms and housings could contain damping fluid and be connected to a sink reservoir. Axial movement of the platforms would move fluid between the diaphragms and the sink reservoir to provide the damping. Magnetic voice coil actuators take the place of conventional servo motors in the drive system. These are direct- drive, limited-motion devices that use a permanent magnet field and coil winding to produce a force that is proportional to the current applied to the coil. Voice coil actuators are increasingly used in linear and rotary motion applications that require linear force or torque output, and high acceleration or high-frequency oscillation, particularly in applications that need proportional or tight servo control. Stabilised UAV payloads are complex feats of systems engineering, whose evolution fundamentally affects the capabilities of the aircraft that carry them. They rely on incremental improvements in many technologies that add up to more than the sum of their parts. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Hagay Azani at Controp, Konstantins Krivovs at Octopus ISR Systems and Magnus Sundstedt at DST for their help with researching this article. Other information was gathered from PV Labs, BEI Kimco, Safran, Dynamic Perspective, HoodTech Vision, DJI and Sofradir. August/September 2017 | Unmanned Systems Technology Focus | Gimbals AUSTRALIA UAV Vision +61 265 811994 www.uavvision.com AUSTRIA Dynamic Perspective +43 1 28 100 28 www.dynamicperspective.com DENMARK UAV Components +45 81 75 46 42 www.uavcomp.com ESTONIA Threod Systems +372 512 1154 www.threod.com FRANCE Merio UAV Payload Systems +33 4 28 37 00 27 www.merio.fr ISRAEL Controp Precision +972 9 744 0661 www.controp.com NextVision Stabilized Systems +972 77 534 2041 www.nextvision-sys.com ITALY Panoptes +39 915 80305 www.panoptes.it LATVIA UAV Factory/Octopus +371 29191590 www.octopus.uavfactory.com SWEDEN DST Control +46 13 211 080 www.dst.se USA Ascent Vision +1 406 388 2092 www.ascentvision.com Lockheed Martin Procerus Technologies +1 801 788 3200 www.lockheedmartin.com UKRAINE Ukrspecsystems +380 734 234 512 www.ukrspecsystems Examples of gimbal systems manufacturers and suppliers Voice coil actuators are highly responsive direct-drive devices that are beginning to provide an alternative to more conventional servo motors to power and stabilise gimbal axes in turrets (Courtesy of BEI Kimco)