Prox Dynamics Newsletter Q2-2010
Hornet-4b first flight
The Hornet-4b made its maiden flight in late May. The fully enclosed body uses a vacuum formed fiberglass shell and new internal structure. Combined with new rotor mechanics the Hornet-4b is more robust, and better suited for outdoor testing and operations.
The first flight lasted for ten minutes, and the Hornet-4b has already been successfully flown outdoors in windy conditions. We will make at least two versions of this aircraft, but we plan this to be the last series of technology demonstrators prior to building the first production prototypes.
Ground Control Station
Parallel to the UAV development, work is progressing steadily on the Ground Control Station (GCS) which involves hardware, software and mechanical design. The requirements we have defined for the complete PD-100 Black Hornet UAS requires a highly integrated and optimized system.
The GCS serves several purposes; it will provide all the user interface including system setup, mission planning, UAV and sensor control, and data analysis; it handles all low level communication and processes between the different system components; and it serves as a container for the UAV when they are not in use. In addition it needs to meet a number of environmental requirements such as water and shock resistance, dust protection and general ruggedness.
Similarly to the UAV, the GCS must be designed and built from the ground up. Ruggedizing a laptop, which is often the chosen solution, may not provide the answer. A key factor in achieving the goals is the way in which the GCS elements are combined and integrated. To a certain degree this implies a specialized system, but at the same time we put a lot of effort into building a system with sufficient flexibility and growth potential.
The Personal UAS concept—Part 1
The PD-100 Black Hornet represents a totally new UAS concept. It is designed specifically for the dismounted soldier providing immediate close range IRS capability to the warfighters. It is available for the soldier to use it when it is needed and requires no prior planning or coordination. It is their Personal UAS.
In the coming newsletters we will elaborate more on our ideas on the Personal UAS concept, but in this newsletter we address what we believe are the fundamental requirements of a personal system.
Most important of all it’s a matter of control. A personal system is the soldier’s own asset for him or her to use when needed. It is the soldier’s own situational awareness that dictates when and how to optimally utilize their resources. No prior coordination or permission should be necessary, and full freedom to operate must be assured as long as operations are within defined CONOPS.
Personal equipment must be available to the soldier with the required level of readiness. In some situations this requires a system to be within his or her immediate reach, and that is ready to operate within a very short time.
Dismounted soldiers carry a lot of equipment, and there is an overarching need to reduce this load. By definition a personal system is something the soldiers can carry as part of their individual load, and weight and volume become very important factors. Optimally new systems should contribute to reduce load while increasing operational efficiency.
Flexibility is another important factor. Multi-purpose systems and the ability to support a wide variety of missions are essential.
Personal systems are designed to protect and enhance mission efficiency at close range. A soldier’s immediate concern is within the area where he or she can exercise options in order to influence their own situation. The total capabilities of personal equipment should be balanced to create maximum synergy and effectiveness. A soldier can do little about the air war above, however important to the overall outcome, but needs to know what’s around the next corner, below the roofline or inside the third floor window.
A personal system must be easy to use, both within operations and maintenance. Soldiers are carrying more and more advanced equipment, each requiring specific training, tactics and procedures. Operating new equipment should be intuitive and require minimal training and little maintenance.
Last, but not least, soldier equipment must be rugged to survive the harsh environment of soldier operations.
Meeting all these requirements is demanding, to say the least, especially in an unmanned aircraft system with 15 gram UAVs. In our next newsletter we will discuss how Prox Dynamics has chosen to solve some of these competing requirements.
Vacant position
Prox Dynamics is expanding further and is now looking for an embedded software engineer. Please click here for further information.
We wish you all a very good summer!
Petter Muren
CEO
Please download the Newsletter in PDF version here: PD-Q2-2010-Newsletter.pdf