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was to make the UAV small, light and robust, as well as keeping the cost down. Dr Prior comments that the trouble with
UAVs in general is that ‘they cost so much governments can only buy a certain number’. The Honeywell T-Hawk, for example, a vertical takeoff and landing UAV that’s thought of as relatively small and backpack deployable, will cost around £0.25m each, Dr Prior says. Middlesex University’s UAV, known as the SQ- 4, is less expensive by a factor of at least 10, which means it can potentially be more widely deployed. The system is around the diameter of a
frisbee, weighs 230g, and can be operational in less than a minute. ‘Weight is the biggest driver for a small UAV,’ comments Dr Prior. The device uses a 1g camera system, which gives an approximate 60° field of view and reasonable resolution. The images are transmitted back to the operator via a downlink system. There are two models, a basic model and a long-range version. The UAV is a short-range device, comments Dr Prior, not a fixed wing UAV; it is not meant to fly very far or fast. It is a vertical takeoff and landing system that operates around 1.5km for the long-range version and around 300m for the basic model. It’s used by the infantry unit to see what’s up ahead of them, scanning the area for people, vehicles, bombs, traps, or other suspicious activity. ‘Typically, once you’ve gone up 20 to 50m, you’ve got quite a good viewpoint of the battle space,’ Dr Prior states, ‘which is what is required.’ The UAV has a capability for low light imaging, but not a thermal camera which would make it too heavy. Dr Prior states that the imaging capability is acceptable: ‘It’s a short-range device; it’s not trying to look five miles down the road.’ The team at Middlesex University is currently
in conversation with the MoD about getting the system into the hands of soldiers. The UAV
was demonstrated at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition, held in London from 13 to 16 September, where it was flown around a representation of an Afghanistan village in one of the halls. The soldier can control the UAV via the
images transmitted to first-person view goggles. There are two cameras onboard: a forward- facing camera and a down-facing camera, which the soldier can switch between. ‘It’s all about scale,’ comments Dr Prior.
There are lots of quad-rotor UAVs available in the range of 1kg to 3kg, which are all quite big, he says. If they are to fit in a backpack and be
‘Much of modern warfare imaging operates in the infrared’
carried by a soldier, they need to be assembled and that assembly can sometimes take five to 10 minutes. ‘We wanted an immediate action system, which is small enough and light enough to carry around,’ he adds. Dr Prior feels that smaller devices in the range of 15g wouldn’t be robust enough to survive high winds or other hostile battlefield conditions.
Invisibility cloak Much of modern warfare imaging operates in the infrared, because of the capability of detecting objects over large distances and the ability to see at night and through adverse weather conditions. Large-format infrared detectors, such as those produced by Sofradir, provide Megapixel resolution, while high- power infrared illumination devices, such as IR lasers from Frankfurt Laser Company, provide a range over several kilometres. Missile warning systems and the tracking systems for weapons also operate in the infrared. BAE Systems, with support from the Swedish
BAE Systems’ CV90 armoured vehicle covered with Adaptiv, a skin that can blend the vehicle into its surroundings in the infrared
Defence Material Administration (FMV), has developed an ‘invisibility cloak’ designed to blend a military vehicle to its surroundings in the infrared wavelength range. The system, known as Adaptiv, is based on sheets of hexagonal tiles that can change temperature very rapidly. The cloak is therefore able to mimic the background infrared signature of the environment, effectively making the vehicle blend and become invisible to infrared imaging. ‘Adaptiv is essentially a large infrared TV
screen that displays infrared images,’ explains Peder Sjölund, project manager, survivability
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