Sponsored by The British Robotics Seed Fund
http: www.britbots.com/fund
————————————————————————
24 Jan 19. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, electro-optic and related mission systems, hosted an Industry Showcase today to recognize UK companies that are contributing to operational systems such as MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle, and the new MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPA program. The Royal Air Force (RAF) MQ-9B variant is called Protector RG Mk1. The showcase featured contract signings with MBDA and Raytheon UK to integrate UK weapons onto the Protector RG Mk1, and a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with BAE Systems to collaborate on integration of RPA into UK national airspace.
The following UK partners attended the showcase:
- Abaco Systems – Provides a DO-178 and DO-254 compliant computer that processes flight critical functions for the MQ-9B Ground Control Station (GCS)
- BAE Systems – Will support development of Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) for Protector operations in UK national airspace
- CAE – Will develop a comprehensive synthetic training system for Protector RG Mk1 flight crews
- Cobham Aviation Services, UK – Provides ongoing logistics and maintenance services for the RAF Reaper fleet
- Cosworth – Provides engine development and manufacturing services for GA-ASI’s MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System, operated by the US Army
- Daco Hand Controllers – Supplies pilot Stick and Throttle hand-controllers for the GCS, as well as a specially designed hand controller that aids in target tracking
- Defence Electronics & Component Agency (DECA) – This UK MOD Agency provides MRO, upgrade and managed services in support of Defence
- GKN Aerospace – Supplies MQ-9 landing gear and fuel bladders, and is an approved supplier of carbon-composite tail structures
- Leonardo – Supports integration of its Seaspray maritime, surface-search radar and SAGE electronic support measures (ESM) sensor on MQ-9B
- MBDA – Supplies Brimstone missile for Protector
- Raytheon UK – Supplies Paveway IV precision-guided munition for Protector
- Ultra Electronics Command & Sonar Systems – Provides miniaturized sonobuoys suitable for MQ-9B
“We have been working with our UK teammates, in some cases for many years already, to make the RAF’s procurement of Protector a significant success,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “Protector will be an example for other allied nations to follow, thereby creating more opportunities for UK aerospace industry.”
MQ-9B is the result of a five-year, GA-ASI-funded effort to deliver an unmanned aircraft that is safe to fly in non-segregated airspace, due to its compliance with the stringent airworthiness requirements of NATO STANAG 4671. The RPA features endurance of more than 40 hours, rapid integration of new payloads, nine wing hardpoints, all-weather capability with lightning protection and de-ice systems, “self-deployment” using SATCOM-commanded Automatic Takeoff and Landing, Lynx® Multi-mode Radar, large-aperture EO/IR HD-video sensor, and a Detect and Avoid (DAA) system for collision-avoidance. GA-ASI designed MQ-9B as the next generation of its multi-mission Predator® B fleet and named its baseline MQ-9B aircraft SkyGuardian, and the maritime surveillance variant SeaGuardian. In July 2018, SkyGuardian became the first Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) RPA to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
23 Jan 19. Østensjø Rederi chooses Cougar ROV for Royal New Zealand Navy ship. Østensjø Rederi has selected a Saab Seaeye Cougar XT underwater robotic vehicle for deployment aboard the multi-purpose support vessel ‘Edda Fonn’, to be used by the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Norwegian company noted that it opted for the Cougar based on ‘very good feedback’ from end users around the world, as well as the overall specification.
According to Østensjø Rederi ROV and diving consultant Arvid Bertelsen, the Cougar XT has the ‘best’ power, thrust, and payload in its class, as well as the widest range of quick-change tool skids. Furthermore, the Cougar complies with NORSOK 102 3ed 2016 Class II B for an observation vehicle possessing light intervention, survey and construction capabilities. In August last year, Østensjø Rederi signed a contract with the New Zealand Ministry of Defence to deliver the ‘Edda Fonn’ with an integrated remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and dive system amongst its upgrades.
Østensjø Rederi has expanded and extended the technical specification for the complete system including the Cougar, the control room, and the launch and recovery system (LARS) to meet the Navy’s operational needs.
While choosing the Cougar, the company attached importance to the ability of safely launching it in sea states specified by the Royal New Zealand Navy.
The evaluation of the system involved a special focus on the LARS and its position inside the vessel.
Østensjø Rederi determined that the Cougar will have a modified dipping and extending LARS with snubber, heave compensation and electric winch motors. The complete system will also involve a standard Cougar XT with minor modification to include three cameras and sonar system, as well as its tether management system and three individual tool skids with manipulators, cutters, and water jetting system. In addition, the design will feature a control room integrated into the vessel. The 2,000m-rated Cougar XT comprises six thrusters, each interfaced with a fast-acting control system and solid-state gyro for greater azimuth stability and control, noted Østensjø Rederi. (Source: naval-technology.com)
22 Jan 19. Russia tests ‘underwater quadcopter’ for cold water exploration. In a swimming pool in Krasnoyarsk, Russia a robot prototype prepares for an arctic journey. The robot is small enough, the preparations modest enough, that people swim laps as normal in the other half of the pool. This new tethered machine, with a quadcopter-inspired body, is built to scout the waters of Siberia, first for wrecks and resources, and then possibly much more. As commercial robots proliferate in air and land and sea, it’s worth looking at exactly what machines will plumb the cold depths of the warming seas.
Built by the Siberian State University of Science and Technology, the robots likely first mission outside a test environment will be the bed of the Yenisei river, with a possible mission to follow in the Volga and ultimately arctic exploration in the model’s more-distant future. Russia’s robotics industry has greatly expanded its capability in recent years, and there is a somewhat fluid nature between commercially developed technologies and future military acquisitions.
“This is a unique design. [We] have not seen anything similar yet, but Russian defense industry officials recently stated that there are no fewer than 17 [underwater unmanned vehicle] designs presently under development in Russia,” said Samuel Bendett, an adviser at the Center for Naval Analyses.
This robot’s closest predecessor, in terms of form factor alone, may be a Belarussian anti-tank drone, which straps a set of rotors to a missile launcher used as a fuselage. But the Siberian underwater drone will instead carry a set of sensors, designed to detect obstacles, route around them, and distinguish between colors at a depth of up to 330 feet.
Also notable is that the Siberian river-drone is designed to use a new electronic geo-information system, which could help with future autonomous navigation. (That future autonomy will also likely require a move beyond tethered controls and data transfer.)
While cold rivers will likely be the first domain of this underwater quadcopter, the robotic is explicitly designed for difficult, northern waters and climates. With these Siberian drone carrying a stated pricetag of around $2,000, getting sensitive information from under the surface is poised to be a cheap prospect. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
23 Jan 19. Indra Tests Targus OPA Critical Systems. Indra and its partner Gaerum have just reached a key milestone in the development of the optionally manned Targus aircraft: the start of simulated flight tests to validate the design of the aircraft’s critical systems.
Specifically, they have begun studying the flight control, navigation and mission systems at the CIAR (Rozas’ Center for Research and Experimentation) in Castro de Rei (Lugo). All of them are components that play a fundamental role for the safety and operability of the aircraft.
Indra uses an advanced simulation methodology known as Software-In-the-Loop/ Hardware-In-the-Loop that makes aircraft systems “believe” that they are actually in the air. Engineers test the electronic systems’ behaviour in an environment set up to be 100% realistic. This is thanks to the fact that the data that feeds these components have been collected in real flights and perfectly replicate the situations they will face when they operate in a real environment.
In this way, the results of the numerical simulations previously performed in the laboratory by the Indra and Gaerum team are fine-tuned. Design decisions are validated before moving on to the actual flight test phase, which reduces costs and minimizes risks associated with development and experimentation.
Once the correlation between the behavior of the system in the simulator and in the air is confirmed with a flight test, all these simulation hours will be regarded as real flight hours. The deadlines for obtaining authorities’ flight certification are expedited in this way; a complex, demanding and totally unprecedented process for an aircraft with the characteristics of the Targus, which weighs 1.2 tons and has a wingspan of 11 meters. The use of the simulation tool will shorten the time to market and reduce the price at which the product will be marketed, contributing to its success.
Targus: maximum reliability and safety
Once the tests with these components are completed, the next step will be to integrate them into the experimental aircraft for the development of the Targus.
The aircraft will undergo hundreds of hours of simulation to improve the models of the aircraft and all its sensors and actuators. Then, a battery of tests in the simulator will optimize the algorithms of the flight control and navigation system. Once these tests are passed, the flight experimentation stage will be undertaken.
Meanwhile, Indra is already working in parallel on the integration of the ground segment, a system whose role is to operate the aircraft from the ground and control all its mission equipment. These are the ones that collect and send data and images captured by the aircraft from overhead.
The Targus is an optionally manned aircraft developed by Indra as part of the Civil UAVs Initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia. The Targus is equipped with the most advanced surveillance technology to conduct missions related to maritime surveillance; to bring support to salvage and rescue missions, forest surveillance and fire-fighting, and to monitor land use and historical heritage sites, among many other possible applications.
About the Civil UAVs Initiative (CUI)
The CUI is one of the most ambitious initiatives in Europe for the development of civil drones. Its objective is to turn Galicia into a leader in the industry for this sector and promote the use of unmanned aircraft to improve the services that the State provides to the citizen.
Promoted by the Xunta de Galicia, the initiative is already expected to have funding of 157m euros distributed in four major programs. The first is centered on the creation and improvement of aeronautical infrastructures to ease the development of the drone industry in the region; the second is an R&D program with a €115m investment, in which Indra and Babcok are the main industrial partners working on the development of new products, technologies and solutions; the third pillar is realized through ten pre-commercial tenders of solutions based on the use of UAVs that must be ready within two years – nine of them have already been awarded and are directed towards the improvement of rural environments and land management, maritime control and air traffic – and the last one is the business acceleration and incubation program that the Aeronautics Business Factory has recently launched and which seeks to attract and support company and startup projects from anywhere in the world.
About Indra
Indra is one of the leading global technology and consulting companies and the technological partner for core business operations of its customers world-wide. It is a world-leader in providing proprietary solutions in specific segments in Transport and Defense markets, and a leading firm in Digital Transformation Consultancy and Information Technologies in Spain and Latin America through its affiliate Minsait Its business model is based on a comprehensive range of proprietary products, with a high-value focus and with a high innovation component. In the 2017 financial year, Indra achieved revenue of €3.011bn, with 40,000 employees, a local presence in 46 countries and business operations in over 140 countries. (Source: UAS VISION)
22 Jan 19. China’s FL-1 MALE UAV performs maiden flight. Zhong Tian Guide Control Technology Company (ZT Guide), a Xi’an-based manufacturer of electronic and industrial equipment, announced on 20 January that it has successfully completed the maiden flight of its Fei Long-1 (Flying Dragon-1 or FL-1) medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV). The prototype FL-1 – which was first unveiled at the Airshow China 2018 exhibition in Zhuhai and called the ‘Large Payload Long Endurance Universal Unmanned Transportation Platform’ – was launched from Pucheng Neifu Airport near Xi’an following 18 months of research and development (R&D) work by ZT Guide’s Zhong Tian Fei Long subsidiary, the company said in its statement. According to official specifications the FL-1 has a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 3,200kg with a payload capacity of 1,400kg inclusive of fuel. Two hardpoints can be mounted under each wing, with each hardpoint capable of carrying up to 250 kg of stores. The FL-1 bears a strong physical resemblance to the 3,300 kg-class Cai Hong-5 (Rainbow-5 or CH-5) MALE UAVs manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). It has an aerodynamically shaped fuselage that measures about 10 m long and features a bulged nose section and retractable tricycle undercarriage, mid-mounted wings that are approximately 20m in span, and a V-shaped tail assembly incorporating a pair of fins and rudders. Both air vehicles are also equipped with a ventral electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) turret, although the FL-1 features pronounced wing root fairings, which offer some visual distinction from the CH-5. The air vehicle is powered by a rear-mounted heavy fuel engine of an undisclosed type with a dorsal intake. This engine drives a three-bladed pusher propeller, which enables the vehicle to cruise at speeds of up to 240 km/h at altitudes of 16,404–19,685 ft and attain an operating ceiling of 26,246ft. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
21 Jan 19. M Subs and Thales pursue AI boost for unmanned vessels. M Subs and Thales UK are developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology that will help unmanned vessels travel independently and negotiate contact with other vessels. The work is part of a teaming agreement between Thales and M Subs, a manufacturer of commercial and military submersibles that has a heavy focus on the AI space. In January M Subs installed a sensor system with connected machine-learning technology around Plymouth Sound. The system will provide command and control (C2), situational awareness, and support communications for unmanned vessels in the area, where Thales opened a maritime autonomy centre in October 2018. The companies view the new infrastructure in Plymouth as a research and development (R&D) asset to study the potential of machine learning applications in unmanned vessels, Brett Phaneuf, managing director of M Subs, told Jane’s.
Phaneuf noted that Plymouth Sound serves as “a big, natural laboratory” to study several aspects of AI in unmanned vessels, with access to the C2 infrastructure to control the vehicle, as well as the technology to monitor both manned and unmanned vessels operating in the common water space. The data gathered in Plymouth Sound – showing how AI-enabled unmanned vessels interact with other ships, for instance – will then be analysed using machine learning techniques, and used to build more sophisticated AI in areas such as navigation. The plan has several dimensions, such as teaching the AI on board the vessels to recognise and understand information from radar, infrared, and optical data to Automated Information Systems (AIS), “right down to learning what a specific ship might be and how it might move and interact in a space”, Phaneuf said. The infrastructure enables the companies to test how AI could work in various scenarios, he added. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
————————————————————————-
The British Robotics Seed Fund is the first SEIS-qualifying investment fund specialising in UK-based robotics businesses. The focus of the fund is to deliver superior returns to investors by making targeted investments in a mixed basket of the most innovative and disruptive businesses that are exploiting the new generation of robotics technologies in defence and other sector applications.
Automation and robotisation are beginning to drive significant productivity improvements in the global economy heralding a new industrial revolution. The fund allows investors to benefit from this exciting opportunity, whilst also delivering the extremely attractive tax reliefs offered by the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS). For many private investors, the amount of specialist knowledge required to assess investments in robotics is not practical and hence investing through a fund structure makes good sense.
The fund appoints expert mentors to work with each investee company to further maximise the chance of success for investors. Further details are available on request.
www.britbots.com/fund
————————————————————————