Goodrich has announced plans of displaying their UAV technologies at AUVSI Unmanned Systems North America, which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from August 16 to August 19, 2011.
Some of the technologies that will be displayed at the convention are electronic fuel injection (EFI), TASE gimbals, compact shortwave infrared camera (SWIR), Piccolo Autopilots, TERPROM, smart air data systems and inertial sensors.
The electronic fuel injection (EFI) system was developed by Australia-based Currawong Engineering. This system is already functional in the Piccolo Autopilot, where it has enhanced the reliability and fuel efficiency of the UAV. With the EFI system UAVs are more capable of undertaking longer missions. Coming to the highly compact shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera, it is armed with higher resolution and is rugged in design. The SWIR camera is best suited for military applications in smaller UAVs as it is capable of viewing through haze, smoke and fog. The TASE consist of a series of small, inertially stabilised micro-gimbals that can be used onboard GPS and IMU (Inertial measurement unit) systems. These gimbals are suited for UAV applications where the weight of the payload is an important factor. Goodrich has integrated the gimbals with the Piccolo autopilot and hence is able to provide single user-interface for controlling the autopilot and gimbal.
The Piccolo Autopilots are a complete set of flight management systems equipped with core autopilot, flight sensors, wireless communication, navigation and payload interfaces. At present more than 300 Piccolo autopilots are being used across the world. The TERPROM is an advanced, unmanned terrain referenced navigation system which can operate without the guidance of GPS. The inertial systems from Goodrich can be used to support aircraft control systems in achieving stabilization. Finally, the ice detection and protection systems will be displayed along with the smart air data systems that can be used in unmanned vehicles.
Source: http://www.goodrich.com