New on http://i-hls.com/2014/11/israeli-solution-within-european-defense-organization-battle-management-support/

Israeli solution within a European Defense organization: battle management support

Spider is among the presenters at the upcoming Autonomous Unmanned Systems & Robotics Expo on November 25-26 2014

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Reconnaissance vehicles of one of the most advanced and well equipped defense organizations in Europe are fitted with ruggedized computers which make up part of a battle management support system. Personnel manning the vehicles can at any moment receive from the onboard systems encrypted, accurate, credible on the spot info concerning the deployment of parallel units or foes, navigation assistance, tasks and logistics or battle missions, as well as issue reports or video feeds back to HQ, and all this – using the system.

Relaying the required info as part of battle management or maneuver management from a control center or from a command and control center to thousands of dedicated vehicles fitted with the ruggedized computer system must be highly credible, disturbance-free, continuous and well protected, even against adverse infiltration to the comm network and any attempts to intercept the sensitive data running through it or to disrupt it.

One of the key elements of a digital deployed tactical data array is the control mechanism which runs the entire traffic, especially the IP-based traffic, between each and every reconnaissance vehicle and HQ, the command and control center, as well as between the vehicles themselves, as a matter of dependence in the deployment formation and definition (including organizational) of the military buildup.

When it comes to military vehicles which carry a great deal of equipment (weaponry as well as logistic), complete with the ruggedized computers, reducing the weight, the volume and the power consumption, as well as distributing the heat is critical for the operation of the crew and the success of the mission. This is where the Israeli mind gets to work, armed with military and technological practice.

Experts from Spider had been asked to provide an engineering solution, based on their vast experience in integrating systems, which comprised of refurbishing an existing system per client specifications as well as developing an innovative communications control complete with pure IP comm, dynamic client network routing and solution to BIT (Built In Tests) in order to enable system SLA. Spider’s solution included testing the programming based on specifications and contacting other manufacturers, setting up the configuration, lab tests, consulting and advising.

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

As a natural part of the process, Spider proposed an effective virtual solution by Juniper to provide the comm and routing function between the system’s various interfaces. The solution is software-based, thereby saving on valuable space, weight and energy and avoiding further cooling/heat dispersal issues, eliminating further electro-magnetic radiation and so on.

The solution was presented as a prototype of over ten systems and passed the client’s initial feasibility tests.

Additional advantages of the virtualization of the specific solution, beyond the savings on space, weight and energy, are the improved ability to carry out remote system maintenance, all the more so because many of them are designated as critical and operational, complete with remote troubleshooting, software upgrades and update statistics on routine performance and the efficacy of the ruggedized computers, deployed over vast areas.

Spider, which was established in 2000 and is owned by AMT (which is traded on the TASE), has many clients, among them financial institutions, some of Israel’s leading corporations, government ministries, broadcasters, food companies, energy infrastructure  companies, medical organizations, and others, whose critical data infrastructures are controlled, managed and secured by Spider experts using dedicated data security practices.

The application of these unique comm solutions in the operational vehicles of this undisclosed European defense organization, also includes a reference to data security aspects. The intensive interface of “Spider Solutions” with relevant companies in this field, among which is CheckPoint, that consists of cooperations which mature to Beta testing in Israel and worldwide, have upgrade the solution for this project as well.

In the near future, the company is planning to establish “Spider Communication”, a fully owned subsidiary. This, according to Rafi Kokotek, Spider founder and CEO.

The company will focus on providing communication solutions to data centers, accelerating communications, overload balancing, comm systems survivability and security.

An additional activity Spider is planning is the promising field of cyber forensics (admissible evidence in cyber-crime court cases – D.L., iHLS Newsdesk).

New on http://i-hls.com/he/2014/11/amazon-begin-testing-day-delivery-drones-cambridge/

Amazon to begin testing same-day delivery drones in Cambridge

Amazon's UAV

Amazon is planning to test drones in Cambridge, England, as the battle to offer consumers same-day deliveries heats up.

The US company announced with considerable fanfare late last year that it was considering using drones as a way of dramatically reducing the time it takes to deliver orders to customers. At the time there was speculation that the move was little more than a publicity stunt. But Amazon said in July that it had sought permission from the US Federal Aviation Administration to test drones that could fly as fast as 50 miles per hour for up to 30 minutes at a time to deliver packages weighing up to 2.3kg (5lb).

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

Amazon is now expanding its R&D operations in Cambridge – two years after buying Cambridge-based startup Evi Technologies – to take advantage of the talent pool of academics and researchers in the area.

Amazon Prime Air

The lab will focus on Prime Air, Amazon’s name for its drones project. This was reported by TechCrunch.

New on http://i-hls.com/2014/10/contract-supply-satellite-move-systems-use-canadian-armed-forces/

A Contract to Supply Satellite-on-the-Move Systems for Use by the Canadian Armed Forces

ELBIT is among the presenters at the upcoming Autonomous Unmanned Systems & Robotics Expo on November 25-26 2014

Satellite-on-the-Move System. Image: courtesy of Elbit.

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE :ESLT) announced today that it was awarded a contract by Rheinmetall Canada Inc. to provide ELSAT 2100 Satellite-on-the-Move (SOTM) systems for use by the Canadian Armed Forces. The contract value, which is in an amount that is not material to Elbit Systems, will be performed over an 18-month period.

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

The ELSAT 2100 SOTM system allows high data rate broadband capabilities at a cost effective price. It can be installed on a variety of platforms and is unique in its low profile and small footprint. As part of this new solution, Elbit Systems offers a compact low profile SOTM antenna system that provides broadband communication in Ku, X and Ka frequency bands anywhere, anytime, while using military and commercial satellites, including the United States Department of Defense (DoD) Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites network which is accessible to only a few companies in the world.

iHLS TV Special Edition - UAVs on espionage and reconnaissance missions http://i-hls.com/2014/09/ihls-tv-special-edition-uavs-espionage-reconnaissance-missions/

Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles (UAVs) are sent to complex and faraway espionage and reconnaissance missions, thereby avoiding the high risks posed to manned missions.

This special iHLS edition will shed some light, as far as is allowed to divulge, about the special intelligence ops UAVs undertake.

Canadian police use UAV to find family lost in forest http://i-hls.com/2014/09/canadian-police-use-uav-find-family-lost-forest/

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Earlier this year the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Nova Scotia unveiled a new fleet of vision-enabled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for purposes that include crash scene investigation, search and rescue, and emergency response.

A few months later, one of these UAVs successfully located two adults and their 17-month-old child in the woods.

While the UAV’s manufacturer is not listed, RCMP Const. Mark Skinner told Global News in a previous article that the vehicles are equipped with either a 20.2 MPixel Sony camera or a FLIR infrared camera. In this particular instance, which involves locating lost people in a forest, a thermal imager makes the most sense, since it can identify heat signatures among the trees.

Unmanned Systems Conference 2014 – Israel

When the family went missing, the Halifax district RCMP deployed a K-9 unit to search the heavily-wooded northeast area of Topsail Lake. When this was unsuccessful, the UAV was launched and the family was located just five-and-a-half hours after they had initially called the police to tell them they were lost.

RCMP officers operating these UAVs are required to have a special certificate from Transport Canada in order to fly the UAVs, similar to how the FAA requires a Certificates of Waiver or Authorization (COA), which are available to public entities that want to fly a UAV in civil airspace. This includes for law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, disaster relief, military training, government missions, and lastly, search and rescue. However, applications must make their request through an online process so the FAA can evaluate whether or not the proposed operation can be conducted safely.

Making drones more customizable http://i-hls.com/2014/09/making-drones-customizable/

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A first-ever standard “operating system” for drones, developed by a startup with MIT roots, could soon help manufacturers easily design and customize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for multiple applications.

According to MIT News, hundreds of companies worldwide are making drones for various missions such as infrastructure inspection, for monitoring crops and livestock, and for search-and-rescue missions. But these are built for a single mission, so modifying them for other uses means going back to the drawing board, which can be very expensive.

Now Airware, founded by MIT alumnus Jonathan Downey ’06, has developed a platform — hardware, software, and cloud services — that lets manufacturers pick and choose various components and application-specific software to add to commercial drones for multiple purposes.

Unmanned Systems Conference 2014 – Israel

The key component is the startup’s Linux-based autopilot device, a small red box that is installed into all of a client’s drones. “This is responsible for flying the vehicle in a safe, reliable manner, and acts as hub for the components, so it can collect all that data and display that info to a user,” says Downey, Airware’s CEO, who researched and built drones throughout his time at MIT.

To customize the drones, customers use software to select third-party drone vehicles and components — such as sensors, cameras, actuators, and communication devices — configure settings, and apply their configuration to a fleet. Other software helps them plan and monitor missions in real time (and make midflight adjustments), and collects and displays data. Airware then pushes all data to the cloud, where it is aggregated, analyzed and made available to designated users.

If a company decides to use a surveillance drone for crop management, for instance, it can easily add software that stitches together different images to determine which areas of a field are overwatered or underwatered. “They don’t have to know the flight algorithms, or underlying hardware, they just need to connect their software or piece of hardware to the platform,” Downey says. “The entire industry can leverage that.”

Topcon Releases Two New UAS for Aerial Mapping, Touts RTK Solution http://i-hls.com/2014/09/topcon-releases-two-new-uas-aerial-mapping-touts-rtk-solution/

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Topcon Positioning Group recently announced two new UAS for mapping, the Sirius Pro and Sirius Basic. The press release states that “both systems are designed to produce the most accurate solutions for the automated mapping of a wide range of sites – regardless of terrain – including construction sites, mines and quarries, and for use in land surveying, power line and pipeline inspection as well as precision agriculture field mapping.”

According to a report made by the Spar Point Group, both Sirius UAS solutions include a fixed-wing UAV that can be launched by hand. The systems also incorporates autopilot-assisted manual control, safety features for use in emergencies, and automatic flight planning with MAVinci software, courtesy of MAVinci Gmbh, a UAS development company that Topcon entered into an agreement with last October.

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

The focus of Topcon’s marketing campaign, however, is the RTK solution that they are calling “unique to the UAS marketplace.” The release continues: “Instead of using traditional ground control points, Topcon combines RTK (Real Time Kinematic) GNSS solutions with precision timing technology to provide more accurate mapping results when compared to other products.”

As compared to smaller UASs like the Sensefly, the main benefit of the Topcon Sirius UASs seem to be their size: They are slightly larger and a bit heavier, making them ideal for use in situations with higher winds since they can maintain a more stable flight.

But the Sirius UASs are still small, and so the payloads they carry are restricted. That is, they will not carry a LiDAR system, but will support a professional camera rig.

US Army’s New Laser Cannon Blasts Drones Out of the Sky http://i-hls.com/2014/09/us-armys-new-laser-cannon-blasts-drones-sky/

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Boeing is building a laser cannon for the U.S. Army, and the new weapon has now proved it will be as capable at sea as on land. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) – basically a high-energy laser mounted on top of a big truck – was successfully used to blast some UAS drones and 60mm mortars out of the Florida sky earlier this year, Boeing announced last week.

This test was done in a windy and foggy environment, an essential step to proving the technology is useful for naval deployment. The HEL MD used a 10-kilowatt laser – a much less powerful version of what it will eventually fire – to “successfully engage” more than 150 targets at Eglin Air Force Base, a Department of Defense weapons testing facility on the Florida Panhandle. In other words, it disabled or destroyed them.

Unmanned systems conference 2014 – Israel

In simple terms, the laser makes an incredibly powerful, highly focused beam of light and aims it at a moving target. Light equals heat, and, after enough heat has been transferred, the target is compromised and crashes or blows up. The Army and Boeing (which landed a $36 million contract for the project) have been working on this for the better part of a decade, par for the course for a next-generation weapons platform.

According to WIRED, the lithium ion batteries that power the HEL MD’s laser are charged by a 60 kW diesel generator, so if the Army can keep the fuel tank full, they can shoot down incoming threats indefinitely. The system uses a telescope and infrared-based, wide field of view camera to locate and designate targets. Boeing has designed the system to be operated by a driver and an operator with a laptop and an Xbox controller. Putting it on a truck makes the system mobile, and thus much more useful in battle situations.

The next step for the laser cannon will be to up the power to 50 or 60 kilowatts, a “tactically significant power level” for use against incoming rockets, artillery and mortar strikes, and UAS drones. The laser cannon isn’t expected to be ready for use in the field for several more years, at least.