Ultra-Low Temperature Elastomer

Greene Tweed’s (Kulpsville, PA) Fusion™ FKM 665, a new generation, ultra-low-temperature and chemical-resistant elastomer, was specifically formulated to meet and exceed the requirements of Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) 7379 and AMS-P-83461. With a temperature range of -70°F to 450°F (-57°C to 232°C), Fusion™ 665 achieves outstanding low-temperature performance without compromising high-temperature performance.

Finding ways to overcome physical limitations so that humans can dive deeper and stay underwater longer has been an ongoing quest. Back in the 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci drew sketches of a submarine and a robot. Had he thought to combine the two concepts, he would have created a prototype of an unmanned underwater vehicle, or underwater drone. Instead, the world had to wait another five hundred years.

Drones (i.e. quadrotors) are a popular and increasingly widespread product used by consumers as well as in a diversity of industrial, military and other applications. Historically under the control of human operators on the ground, they’re becoming increasingly autonomous as the cameras built into them find use not only for capturing footage of the world around them but also in understanding and responding to their surroundings. Combining imaging with other sensing modalities can further bolster the robustness of this autonomy.

As the demand for greater control and functionality increases, position-sensor-instrumented hydraulic cylinders are becoming more important in the heavy industry, mobile equipment, and subsea worlds. Position sensors for feedback in hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders have typically used one of three technologies: Linear Variable Inductance Transducers (LVITs), variable resistance potentiometers (Pots), or magnetostrictive transducers (MLDTs). While other sensor technologies have occasionally been used in these applications, the focus of this article is a comparison among these three popular technologies. Ultimately, a user or systems integrator must determine the exact requirements of the application and which technology best satisfies them on a total installed cost versus performance basis. The strengths and weaknesses of linear variable inductance, variable resistance pots, and magnetostrictive sensors are all examined below, together with a feature-by-feature comparison chart.

It’s a crisp November day in Michigan, and a convoy of British and American resupply vehicles are rumbling along at a comfortable 25 miles per hour. In the lead is a British Army Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) HX-60 truck, trailed closely by two U.S. Army Oshkosh Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTVs). In total, there are zero humans operating this convoy.

The US Army’s Futures Command is the most important administrative reorganization of the modern Army. Responding to the world’s changing priorities— especially the “near peer” threat of ascendant Russia and China—the Army is no longer modernizing, but re-inventing its ground vehicle fleet against new realities. Just like the U.S. Air Force stopped inventing better jets and pilot aids and moved to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for “dull, dirty and dangerous” missions, the Army envisions multiple autonomous vehicle concepts. Instead of a heavier Abrams main battle tank, or a replacement to the aging M113 APC, autonomous “wingman” vehicles may replace some of the human-heavy tasks on the future battlefield.

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
San Diego, CA
858-762-6700
www.ga-asi.com

The U.S. Air Force’s new Block 50 Ground Control Station (GCS) – developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) – for the first time controlled an MQ-9 Reaper^® on January 8th from the GA-ASI Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, Calif.

MBDA
Le Plessis-Robinson, France
+33 1 71 54 10 00
www.mbda-systems.com

At the end of 2018, MBDA successfully demonstrated the use of the Mistral missile against fast boats such as FIACs (Fast Inshore Attack Craft). A number of foreign delegations attended the demonstration firing that was performed from a SIMBAD-RC automated naval turret firing from the land against a fast moving remotely-controlled semi-rigid boat more than 3 kilometers off the coast. The scenario was intended to be representative of the self-protection of a vessel against an asymmetric threat (commando or terrorist attack).

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
news.northropgrumman.com

Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully demonstrated advanced Vehicle Active Protection System technologies against Anti-Tank Guided Munitions during the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) sponsored Soft-kill Rodeo in Huntsville late last year. The month-long government sponsored “rodeo” was developed to demonstrate and test soft-kill capability against real world threats.

Drone Rescue GmbH Graz, Austria
+43 660 140 80 55
www.dronerescue.com

Drone Rescue Systems GmbH has developed a fast, efficient parachute safety solution for drones that can reduce the risk of harming people on the ground and safely bring down the drone when it malfunctions in the air. The parachute safety solution works autonomously and independent of the drone and ejects the parachute in a fraction of a second, enabling safe commercial and private drone usage even over crowded places.

Amprius, Inc.
Sunnyvale, CA
800-425-8803
www.amprius.com

Amprius, Inc., a manufacturer and developer of high-energy and high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, announced recently that it is supplying advanced lithium ion cells to the Airbus Defence and Space Zephyr Program. Using Amprius’ cells, which contain a 100% silicon anode, the Zephyr S flew more than 25 days, setting a new endurance and altitude record for stratospheric flight.

Airbus Helicopters
Marignane Cedex, France
+33 (0)4 42 85 60 51
http://helicopters.airbus.com

Airbus has begun shore-to-ship trials in Singapore with its Skyways parcel delivery drone. This marks the first time drone technology has been deployed in real port conditions, to deliver a variety of small, time-critical maritime essentials to working vessels at anchorage.

The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of commonly available COTS software to produce geometrically accurate orthometric mosaics and terrain models from low-altitude UAS imagery.

There are many challenges in developing complete performance ontologies and test methodologies to define and evaluate the performance of autonomous systems. Chief among them is the dynamic environment in which the autonomous system is expected to operate. Change in the autonomous system’s environment is expected to affect system performance. Test methodologies have to include all aspects of this dynamic environment.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Portland Districts (NWP) maintains safe and navigable waterways in Oregon through a variety of dredging projects, including channel deepening, and dredging sandbars. Placement of dredged sediment occurs at preselected, specific geographic areas categorized as nearshore beneficial use sites. Beneficial use sites are commonly monitored before, during, and after disposal, to evaluate dredge management practices and to avoid potentially adverse effects to the marine environment.

The U.S. Navy is interested in strategies that divers could employ to protect them from loud underwater sounds. Sonar transmissions and other forms of underwater sound, such as that produced by noisy underwater tools, are an occupational hazard for U.S. Navy divers.

The main goals of this research are to enhance a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software platform to support unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) exploring the complex environment of tunnels, to test the platform within a simulation environment, and to validate the architecture through field- testing.

Mahmooda Sultana recently won funding to advance a potentially revolutionary, nanomaterial-based detector platform. The technology is capable of sensing everything from minute concentrations of gases and vapor, atmospheric pressure and temperature, and then transmitting that data via a wireless antenna — all from the same self-contained platform that measures just two-by-three-inches in size.

herone GmbH, (Dresden, Germany) recently won the prestigious 2019 JEC Innovation Awards, in the Aerospace application category. The winning application was the company's all-thermoplastic drive-shaft system overmolded with an integral gear, designed for use in aerospace applications.

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, recently announced a teaming agreement with Rolls-Royce for the development of an optimized propulsion system and continued risk reduction efforts aimed at the V-280 Valor and V-247 advanced vertical lift platforms. The collaboration will focus on the integration of Rolls-Royce’s proven low-risk and advanced propulsion systems into future Bell aircraft.

NASA built and tested a radically new kind of airplane wing assembled from hundreds of tiny identical pieces. It could provide a significant boost in aircraft production, flight, and maintenance efficiency. The flexible wing uses carbon fiber composite units arranged in a lattice pattern.

NASA awarded a $5.2 million contract to Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence to develop additive manufacturing processes and techniques for improving the performance of liquid rocket engines.

Boeing has introduced its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. Designed for global defense customers by Boeing Australia, it is the company’s largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The aircraft will complement and extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing military aircraft.

In a series of live-fire tests, systems equipped with MAPS-enabled countermeasures defeated 15 out of 15 anti-tank guided missiles by jamming their signals, causing them to fly off-target.

Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully integrated the advanced AN/APG-83 SABR system onto multiple configurations of F-16 aircraft and is now taking the next step in expanding to additional platforms, including the U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-52H Stratofortress and B-1B Lancer bombers as well as the U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C/D Hornet strike fighter.

The sudden flash of a laser beam can incapacitate a pilot, risking the lives of passengers and crew. But because attacks can happen with different colored lasers – such as red, green, or even blue – scientists have had a difficult time developing a single method to impede all wavelengths of laser light.

Joining forces with various universities, the Air Force Research Lab has demonstrated additively manufactured epoxy/carbon fiber composites used in many structural parts on aircraft and spacecraft. The materials have higher thermal and environmental durability and are extremely strong and lightweight.

Ruggedized Software Defined Radio Solutions

Pixus Technologies (Waterloo, Ontario) has developed ruggedized versions of commercial software defined radios. The RX310, the first in the series of small form factor ruggedized devices, utilizes the USRP software defined radios from Ettus Research, a National Instruments brand. The weatherproof enclosure features IP67 sealing for water and dust ingress. It is also designed for MIL-STD-810 for shock/vibration and MIL-STD-461 for EMI. The RX310 contains two extended bandwidth daughterboard slots covering 10 MHz – 6 GHz with up to 160 MHz of baseband bandwidth, dual 1/10 GigE high-speed interfaces, and a large user-programmable Kintex-7 FPGA. The unit is 302mm wide × 400mm long × 98mm tall with conduction-cooled fins for heat dissipation.