Products

Sensors: Electro-pneumatic servo valve
K.I.M. Aerotech in Camarillo, Calif., is introducing the Model 81145 servo valve that has no leakage losses at a low absolute pressure due to internal bleeds.

Editorial

Unmanned vehicles: a tactical advantage and a rich market
Unmanned vehicles were among the biggest tactical advantages for the U.S. military in Gulf War 2.

Features

Micro UAVs to make substantial impact over next few years
Analysts at Frost & Sullivan see micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) making a substantial impact on the global defense market over the next five years.

Sailors map the battlespace with unmanned underwater vehicles
U.S. Navy sailors prepare precise maps of the ocean around them while preparing for sea battles.

Smaller sensors make unmanned vehicles smarter
Tomorrow’s sensors will be modular, digital, fused, and networked

Unmanned vehicles: autonomous and on-target
For the most part, “unmanned vehicle” is, today, something of a misnomer.

News

GoldenEye UAV makes first autonomous transition flights
Aurora Flight Sciences has announced that its GoldenEye-50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) performed multiple autonomous transitions from vertical to horizontal flight, and back again, during test flights.

Lockheed Martin teams with Aerosonde for UAV systems
Lockheed Martin, Aerosonde North America Inc., and Aerosonde Pty Limited have announced the establishment of a multinational strategic alliance to provide Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) solutions for domestic and international markets.

NOAA and NASA begin science experiment with UAVs
Can unmanned aircraft be used effectively for Earth science experiments?

Steadicopter builds autonomous UAV
By combining a patented computer program and Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) with an existing minicopter, an Israeli company has developed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could be the next homeland-security defense tool.

Unmanned combat plane will use LaBarge data network
Boeing officials have awarded LaBarge Inc. a contract to provide engineering support and manufacturing services for its Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) X-45C.

Products

Training and simulation: Online software learning tool for unmanned vehicles
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) is offering a suite of software tools that enable users to view instructional videos for cross-training or refresher training, practice in “near-real” operational environments, view instructional materials embedded in simulations, create virtual textbooks, and take practice tests to evaluate their understanding.

Embedded computing: Rugged 3U CompactPCI single-board computer
Radstone Technology in Towcester, England, is offering the rugged 3U CompactPCI PowerPact3 IMP2A single-board computer to deliver a powerful embedded computer in a small space typical of unmanned vehicles.

Image processing: Intellectual property for unmanned-vehicle machine vision
Parimics in Mountain View, Calif., is offering intellectual property for chipsets for advanced real-time image processing in applications such as unmanned vehicles, manufacturing monitoring and control, machine vision, robotics, guidance systems, security, and defense.

Data storage: Non-volatile solid-state data storage devices
SiliconSystems Inc. in Aliso Viejo, Calif., is offering the SiliconDrive nonvolatile solid-state data-storage devices for military applications such as unmanned vehicles.

Communications equipment: Wideband single-channel data recorder
Sypris Data Systems in San Dimas, Calif., is offering the Model 600 wideband single-channel data recorder that can record a baseband or 70 MHz IF analog interface.

Avionics: Rugged PMC combines ARINC 429 and serial communications
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC) in Leesburg, Va., is offering a rugged avionics communications controller PMC card that combines 4 channels of ARINC 429 (four transmit & eight receive) and four serial channels on one card.

Avionics: FPGA-based VME processing card
VMETRO Transtech in Houston is offering the VME64x/VXS processing card, which combines two Xilinx Virtex-II Pro XC2VP70 field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), two 1-GHz PowerPC 7447 microprocessors and a multichannel VITA-41 based communications fabric in a rugged VME/VXS board.

Optoelectronic sensors: Color camera system for rugged applications
Epix Inc. in Buffalo Grove, Ill., is offering the Silicon Video 9T001C color camera system for rugged applications such as unmanned vehicles.

Ethernet devices: DDC gigabit Ethernet network card targeted for UAV avionics
The ET-71000 series from DDC in Bohemia, N.Y., are dual channel Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) PMC cards optimized for use in embedded avionics such as unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ethernet devices: Ethernet data-transfer unit serves as mission-load device for UAVs
Targa Systems in Ottawa is announcing its Series 3 Ethernet Interface data-transfer unit (DTU), which is suited for several applications in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including serving as the primary mission-load device, map upload and storage, and data recording and retrieval.

Graphics and video: Portable COTS intelligent video system
The Titan Corp Advanced Products & Design Division in San Diego is offering the VideoScout portable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) intelligent video system that helps field deployed personnel turn video data generated from land, air, or marine unmanned vehicles (UVs) into actionable video intelligence, and then easily transmit it to those who need it most.

Design tools: Nallatech tool enables UAV designers to leverage Xilinx FPGA technology
Engineers at Nallatech in Cumberland, England, recently announced the completion of the Virtex-4 XtremeDSP Development Kit, which will enable designers to immediately leverage Xilinx’s digital signal processing (DSP) Virtex-4 FPGAs in new advanced field programmable gate array (FPGA) designs in mission-critical applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Displays: Z-Microsystems Gemini displays used for Fire Scout UAV
Four Gemini displays (up-and-down configurations) from Z Microsystems in San Diego are installed in Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle (VTUAV) ground control station to display system information, such as the payload video, moving map displays, and nose camera images, information necessary to fly the Navy helicopter.

Chassis and enclosures: AP Labs FS-5975 ATR chassis supports Predator UAV
The FS-5975 MTS chassis from AP Labs in San Diego was selected to house the Multi Spectral Targeting System (MTS) on the Predator umanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Chassis and enclosures: AiTech enclosure to be used for J-UCAS
The UCAV (now becoming J-UCAS or Joint-Unmanned Combat Air System) 3/4 ATR-Short integrated subsystem enclosure from AiTech in Chatsworth, Calif., contains a specialized custom low-input voltage, 250-watt power supply, tuned "Pi" power input filter (to meet EMI per MIL-STD-461).

Chassis and enclosures: Macrolink Leopard 10 chassis to fly on UAV program
The Macrolink Leopard 10 18-slot VME64x chassis will fly on a UAV program. Macrolink officials declined to say which program because of contractual obligations.