Sixton UAV system

November 27th, 2012   Filed under: Alpi Aviation, MAV, quadcopter, uav airplane, uav predator, UAV related, uavs Add Comment

The SIXTON UAV, produced by the Alpi Aviation, is part of the remotely piloted “MICRO” aircraft family.  It has the ability automatically take-off and land,being a Electrical Maneuvers Class VTOL UAS Unit, it has been built for Maneuverability and Special Operation support. Since the Sixton is a Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicle (VTOL) its has the capability with human surveillance to preforms take off and landing sequences autonomously. The system and its minimal operable configuration can be carried in a light weight back pack.
quadcopter
Example sixton quadcopter
The Sixtons can be assembled on the spot in no more then 5 minutes with a mission endurance of 30 minutes. Due to its easy transportability the entire system can be controlled by just one operator. Once in the air the flight can be modified on the go, interaction with the pay load allows it to have the ability to be flown during the day and at night with its night time pay load equipped with night vision through an IR camera.
The entire system consists of six brush less engines, perch and stare capability, continuous mission ability, virtually no noise, no visible cross section or recognizable radar, as well as the ability to operate up to 3 other systems at the same time. The Sixton was developed to aid short range tactical units. It has proved its self in unpredictable weather conditions, rough landing environment as well as limited training.

Aeryon Scout (The flying camera)

November 24th, 2012   Filed under: Aeryon, Aeryon Scout, MAV, micro, quadcopter, uav, uav airplane, UAV related Add Comment

uav quadcopterThe Aeryon Scout or the flying camera as it is so accurately named, was developed from 2007 to 2009 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. What sets the scout apart from other UAVs in its class is its design which was developed to allow it to operate consistently in harsh and unpredictable weather conditions. The craft has been recorded enduring wind speeds up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph) and extreme temperatures ranging from -30°C to +50°C. Weighing in at less than 3lb and powered by four brush less DC motors and which has almost silent operation, The Scout has the ability to be operated beyond the line of sight at up to 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) away from the system, with an operational altitude of 300 to 500 feet and average flying speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour (31 miles per hour). Among other abilities the Scout requires no launch equipment and can hover in a fixed position for precise observation due to its vertical take-off and landing VTOL quad-rotor.

Length

80 cm (28.8 in)

Height

30cm (1 ft)

Loaded Weight

1.4 kg (3.1 lb)

Maximum Takeoff Weight

1.7 kg (3.74 lb)

Rotor Diameter

80 cm (28.8 in)

Propeller Diameter

30 cm (12 inch)

Cruise Speed

40 km/h

Maximum Speed

50 km/h (31 mph)

Range

3 km (2 mi)

Rate Of Climb

2 m/s (6 ft/s)

The Tablet PC-based interface system, that sets the Scout apart from other UAVs, differs from the standard method of joystick control allowing minimal training for operations of  the vehicle. Tablet PC-   allows the scout to be piloted by the user pointing to an area on the map that they wishes to fly to. Height is controlled  similarly with a scroll on the touch screen interface allowing altitude to be monitored. The scout can be flown real-time or pre-programmed to fly a series of GPS coordinates. With the ability to constantly monitor conditions, the Scout is able to make decisions on a course of action to take. The scouts built in intelligence allows for it’s return home, immediate landing, or to hover and wait. To prevent hijacking and video interception the scouts communications are digitally encrypted. The aircraft, as well as having a quick-change payload interface, is able to detect the type of payload it is  connected to, and configure and operate it accordingly.

Wasp III MAV (Micro UAV)

November 11th, 2012   Filed under: darpa, MAV, micro, micro uav, uav, uav airplane, usaf, Wasp III 1 Comment

       Developed under the DARPA Micro-UAV program,  The AFSOC selected the Wasp III to be it’s Battlefield Air Targeting Micro Air Vehicle in 2006.  The  Wasp III Micro unmanned aircraft was created by Aerovironment is a quite little, electrically powered unmanned aerial vehicle. The Wasp III comes equipped with forward and side (color video) cameras in its arsenal, as well as a modular forward or side looking electo-optical infrared payload. Weighing in at just 1 pound with a 2.375 ft (72 cm) wingspan. It’s high tech payload allows for many cameras all  performing different tasks at once. To keep consistent coverage of a target, the Wasp automatically circles around it, keeping the target in the side camera’s line of sight. The front camera allows for constant  field orientation with a broad view of whats in front of it, at the same time the side view camera, which has a higher power magnification is used,most often,  for target surveillance.            

wasp III
Wasp III photo courtesy of: af.mil
            In 2007 the US Air Force received of the first version of the BATMAV. AV is producing the aircraft for under $45 million,  with five year contract to supply 30 systems to the US Air Force. With a water landing craft under development the US Marine Corps ordered the Wasp III for its ‘Tier I’ micro UAV requirement, In November 2007. The smaller Wasp III will be deployed at the platoon level unlike the dragon eye and raven made by AeroVironment that the corps have been using at the battalion  level. The USMC order totals about $19.3 million. With a mission endurance of 45 minutes, at a range of 5 km, the wasp lands horizontally over flat surface at its mission termination point. To keep using the aircraft simple, the wasp III uses a ground control system common to the Raven B and Puma mini UAVs. Packed in a small suitcase, with the convenience of rapid assembly the Wasp III can be ready within a few minutes and launched by hand toss.

Wait, so I can buy my own UAVs?

November 2nd, 2012   Filed under: drone, MAV, nanocopter, parrot, quadcopter, reconnaissance, spying, uav, uav airplane, uav predator, uavs Add Comment
Today I will bring you some information about quadcopters! These relatively new MAVs (Miniature unmanned vehicles) have great potential to be used world wide. With relatively small size and the ability to “perch and stare” these devices could provide surveillance for a variety of things. The best part is, you can buy one too! Quad-copters sell for less than a $1000 with all equipment included. I’ve even seen people at my school fly these around with a camera attached, not even watching the vehicle from the ground. These look like tons of fun and I’d love to fly one sometime.
quadcopter uav
An example of how torque is displaced on a quadcopter
Sourc: wikipedia.com

Due to the unique nature of these devices the torque of the propellers must be reversed on the x and y-axis. This can help with stability during flight. You may be asking, how do these devices even turn, and the answer is realtively simple. With each motor controlled by an ESC (Electronic Speed controller) they can be increased or decreased in power extremely fast, which when paired with a receiver can cause the quad copter to rotate on its x, y, and z-axis. These quadcopters are extremely agile, with the ability to fly in formation to accomplish tasks.

ar drone
Parrot AR.Drone 2.0
Source: wikipedia.com
One of the first successful quad-copter designs for sale to civilians was the Parrot AR drone. The Parrot AR drone is a flying quadroter helicopter developed by the French company Parrot. This device is intended to be controlled by iOS devices (iphone, itouch, and ipad) and android devices (HTC hero, etc). The drone originally presented at the Las Vegas International Consumer Electronics Show in 2010 is made of plastic and foam and ended up being around 30cm long. It has 2 onboard cameras that can be seen through the controller screen. This all goes to show just how quickly UAVs are developing, I might go by the store and pick one of these bad boys up just to show you guys!

 

If you’re interested you can buy the Parrot Drone here:

MAV (Miniature UAVs)

October 27th, 2012   Filed under: formation, helicopter, MAV, quadcopter, uav, uav airplane, UAV related 2 Comments

Miniature UAVs or MAVs have been in development since the early 1990s and have developed tremendously over the years. A large majority of the research done to produce these MAVs was done by universities and corporations. MAVs are generally smaller than 2 feet in size and are capable of hovering using propellers or various sorts of ducted propellor systems. You may even see some flying out at your local RC field. They’re called quadcopters, and show just how easy aerial surveillance can be with these aircraft.

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Quadcopter UAV design
Source: gizmag.com
A unique ability of the MAV is its ability to ‘perch and stare’ or land in a location and film. This has great advantages because the MAV can use tremendously less amounts of power than constantly flying, allowing for weeks of surveillance. One downside is that MAVs are traditionally line of sight, or unable to go beyond 100ft away from the operator. Some onboard cameras have been developed, as well as autonomous flight. This is still in testing but will be available soon I believe.
design mav
A proposed MAV design
Source: fas.org
Concept MAVs include designs coming from insects, that’s right insects. Dragonflies are small, and able to fly in any direction they want. Concept designers have tried taking advantage of this for surveillance but unfortunately have been unable to produce the same size and lift capability. Our technology just isn’t developed enough. Some say these could be available in the next 10 years, though.