Unmanned Systems Technology - June/July 2018
- Intro - Lightweight materials and unmanned systems are a great fit, not just for vehicles intended for use here on Earth but in outer space
- Platform one: Mission-critical info - Autonomous ‘flying camera’ with machine learning, the inside track on using UAVs to measure surface temperatures, robotic system to save people from drowning, and more
- In conversation: Chris Hoyle - What gets rFpro’s technical director up in the morning is his zest for simulating unmanned vehicles. Here he explains why
- Dossier: Alpha 800 - As unmanned helicopters go, this isn’t radical, but it is reliable and affordable – and it’s proving to be an international hit
- Focus: Additive manufacturing - AM looks increasingly to be the way to go to build unmanned systems. We explain and compare the various techniques
- Insight: USVs - With no need for a crew on a vessel, designers are finding more leeway with being able to incorporate a range of technologies
- Engine dossier: Pegasus GE70 - We chart the development of this new take on combining an internal combustion engine with an AC generator, and the range-extending benefits it confers on UAVs
- Digest: GuardBot - This spherical UGV can go where others can’t, thanks partly to its novel, pendulum-based propulsion system
- Show report: AUVSI Xponential 2018 - Details of some of the new technology debuted at this, the world’s biggest show of its kind, held this year in Denver, Colorado
- Focus: Solar power - The case for sunlight-powered craft continues to grow, but engineers first need to ask the right questions of the technology
- Show report: CUAV Expo Europe 2018 - Highlights of this year’s show, held in April in Amsterdam
- PS: Nuclear-powered unmanned systems - Russia’s aim of developing a nuclear-propelled USV reminds us of other efforts to use atomic energy to boost UAV performance