Unmanned Systems Technology - August/September 2018

• Intro - As the Airbus Zephyr S enters production – the first HALE UAV to do so – we pay tribute to the engineer behind its design 
• Platform one: Mission-critical info - Steerable phased array satellite transceiver for UAVs, new machine learning algorithms for driverless cars, autonomous system to monitor schools of fish in real time, and more 
• In conversation: Robert Hannaford - UDS co-founder describes the company’s Bat Hawk UAV as an African solution to an African problem – here’s why 
• Dossier: Robot Aviation FX450 - How this emerging OEM designed its distinctive canard-pusher UAV to appeal to the industrial as well as military sectors 
• Focus: Imaging sensors - More powerful, lighter and cheaper sensors are emerging, thanks to advances in the underlying technology 
• Insight: UAVs - Smaller is better for UAV designers these days, a trend supported by the shrinking size of onboard systems 
• Dossier: Liquid-Piston X-Mini - The details and development history of this innovative new take on a rotary engine for UAVs 
• Digest: Riptide Autonomous Solutions - Open source software and COTS components are enabling this UUV developer to build low-cost craft for undersea missions 
• Show report: Eurosatory 2018 - Product highlights from the world’s largest military exhibition 
• In operation: Zipline - The systems behind this fleet of UAVs for delivering medical supplies to hospitals in Rwanda, East Africa 
• Focus: Electric motors - How to match a motor type to a UAV’s mission envelope 
• Show report: AST Symposium - Our snapshot of the latest systems and craft for the burgeoning autonomous shipping industry 
• PS: ‘Weaponised’ AI - Using AI for military purposes is facing a battle of its own