60 In operation | Skyfish M6 and M4 background to recognise 3D objects, put bounding boxes around them, and calculate a load of metadata about them that we can send to a CAD program. The CAD then rebuilds the idealised structures in exactly the way and format the infrastructure engineers need them for their analyses, including gauging the thicknesses of metals in pipes, antennas, electronics boxes and so on.” Recovery A key design target of the autonomy stack in theM6 andM4 has been configurability of their behaviours at the end of a survey. Pilskalns observes that withmost COTS aerial photogrammetry solutions, such as those fromDJI, UAVs are limited to autonomously returning to their launch point, which often runs counter to what customers actually want. “We havemany customers whowant the UAV to hover at a point, capturing data until every last ounce of battery energy is exhausted, and then land in place,” he says. “Even if youmake a smart return-to-home algorithm– andwe’vemade a fewdifferent ones, with different parameters that can be adjusted ad hoc – photogrammetry customers havewide and varying sets of requirements, so anything’s possiblewhen it comes to recovery.” Future plans In addition to working on its various next-generation components for its UAVs and photogrammetry products, Skyfish is expanding its range of customers, particularly towards large organisations in the private sector and the US government. These customers’ applications will be focused primarily on digital twinning of key infrastructure such as telecoms and power utilities, as well as roadworks and other transportation infrastructure. June/July 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology M6 Hexacopter Dimensions (unfolded): 174 x 174 x 57.4 cm Dimensions (folded): 59.7 x 50.8 x 57.4 cm MTOW: 17.7 kg Maximumpayload: 5.44 kg Maximum airspeed: 104.6 kph Maximum ascent/descent speed: 4.9 m/s Maximumpitch angle: 45o Operating temperature: 0 to 46 oC Flight ceiling: 610 m AGL M4 Quadcopter Dimensions (unfolded): 129.5 x 117.6 x 8.9 cm Dimensions (folded): 46.5 x 46.2 x 44.4 cm MTOW: 10.9 kg Maximum airspeed: 104.6 kph Maximum ascent/descent speed: 4.9 m/s Maximumpitch angle: 45o Operating temperature: -17.7 to 46 oC Flight ceiling: 610 m AGL Some key suppliers Cameras: Sony Hyperspectral cameras: Micasense IR cameras: Teledyne FLIR IR cameras: Workswell Lidars: GeoCue Gimbal: Gremsy Processors: Broadcom Processors: ARM GNSS: Swift Navigation GNSS: u-blox GCS: Panasonic Specifications Through Skyfish’s software, features such as bolts, vents and metal thicknesses can be intelligently recognised in the 3D models constructed post-flight
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