Sky Power’s SP-210 FI TS engine 82 Atomics MQ9s and MQ20s as well as Kratos’ XQ-58 in a pilot and safety-pilot interfacing capacity. “We’re also exploring new integrations in the maritime domain. There are so many more USV manufacturers now than 5 years ago, so it’s exciting to see how maritime swarms can be shaped and engineered through our system.” In addition, Autonodyne’s latest software release includes an AI-powered capability for rotating ISR, in which four uncrewed assets can sit on the ground near a target, taking it in turns to launch, observe and return to base when nearing energy depletion, to enable persistent surveillance. Through the GCS, the end-user can watch all four vehicles’ camera feeds at once, or just that of the active observer. “We’re also now announcing a hand-off capability from one GCS to another, so that one operator can request control of a vehicle, and the other can approve or deny the transfer from their interface,” Paddock noted. “We’ve designed the algorithms for quick, low-latency comms and transfer, as that’s really important to teams working in the field.” UAV Navigation-Grupo Oesia has continued work on its visual navigation system, the VNS01, which it last discussed with us in issue 32 (June/July 2020). “We’ve been heavily focused on improving our GNSS-denied navigation capabilities,” said Carlos Lazaro. “Our Vector autopilot would theoretically experience drift at a rate of up to 35 m/minute without GNSS, but with the VNS product we can reduce that to almost zero.” As its name suggests, the VNS01 is a vision-based navigation correction system. It weighs 100 g, features CAN 2.0, serial RS-232 and Ethernet interfaces, and consumes up to 5 W from a 12 V supply. Its configuration includes a camera pointed downwards from a UAV to identify specific points of terrain to use as visual flow references and hence a means of self-geolocation for the aircraft. “That means that if the UAV’s GNSS is spoofed or jammed, it can use the visual markers and keep tracking its latitude and longitude with good accuracy,” Lazaro said. “The VNS01 module is built around the most suitable camera for the necessary rate and resolution of image input, with embedded software for visual odometry and pattern recognition, and streamlined to minimise the necessary hardware. You integrate it into the underbelly of your UAV and connect it to the autopilot – it’s essentially plug and play.” In addition to displaying its range of piston and Wankel engines, Sky Power announced that it has increased the power output of its SP-210 FI TS. “We optimised the whole injection system without incurring any weight increase, paying particular attention to the throttle valve,” said Karsten Schudt. “We then completely changed the exhaust system to maintain back-pressure, and also did a complete re-mapping. “We did the modifications on a brokenin engine unit, and increased the power from 11 kW to 14 kW at peak output. Given the scale of the increase, we’ll be applying the upgrade as prudently as possible across the rest of our engines, and look at how much we can recreate the power enhancement.” The SP-210 FI TS is a two-cylinder, two-stroke boxer engine displacing August/September 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology Show report | Xponential 2023 UAV Navigation’s VNS01
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