3 October/November 2023 | Contents Uncrewed Systems Technology | October/November 2023 20 24 58 108 04 Intro AI is is making its way into wireless systems, and cutting road deaths, but traditional technologies will still hold sway for a while 06 Platform one: Mission-critical info Simulator projects to improve sensor and data models, robot can take eight different forms to suit its environment, study shows how to make drivers take manual control, and much more 20 In conversation: Davide Scaramuzza This robotics and perception professor explains his work on developing vision-based navigation for UAVs 24 Dossier: Keybotic Keyper How having four legs allow this UGV to overcome the challenges of working in dirty and dangerous industrial environments 38 Focus: Video encoding Don’t turn to AI for compressing UAV video feeds just yet, there’s still plenty of life left in existing techniques, as we explain 48 Digest: Dufour Aerospace Aero2 Hybrid power and a tilt-wing layout help this UAV to carry heavy payloads over long distances. Here’s how it was developed 58 In operation: Subsea Tech SeaCAT This USV-ROV-UAV combination is aimed at marine clean-ups – we explain how the system was used in a major project 64 Insight: Uncrewed space vehicles Autonomy is making further inroads into space exploration, and is even spawning a separate industry supplying small satellites 74 Show report: CUAV Expo 2023 The sheer number and range of new uncrewed systems on display here has led to this, our most in-depth report on the expo 88 Insight: SkyPower’s SP engines How this engine developer uses commonality and modularity of components to allow integrators to choose the optimum UAV powertrain, or reconfigure it for different applications 94 Focus: Cable harnesses We explain the lengths harness suppliers go to in order to deliver the best designs and components for a given use case 104 Report: Paris Air Show 2023 Uncrewed and autonomous systems were just as much in evidence here as crewed aircraft, as we highlight here 108 Digest: Nauticus Robotics Aquanaut The development of this offshore survey AUV, which is part of a system that includes a small, optionally crewed topside vessel 114 PS: Security of UAV data links The various ways UAV data links can be subjected to cyber attacks, and how they can be countered 88
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4