This paper describes a design process of HALE PW-114 sensor-craft, developed for high altitude (20 km) long endurance (40 h) surveillance missions. Designed as a blended wing (BW) configuration, to be made of metal and composite materials. Wing control surfaces provide longitudinal balance. Fin in the rear fuselage section together with wingtips provide directional stability. Airplane is equipped with retractable landing gear with controlled front leg that allows operations from conventional airfields. According to the initial requirements it is twin engine configuration, typical payload consists of electro-optical/infra-red FLIR, big SAR (synthetic aperture radar) and SATCOM antenna required for the longest range. Tailless architecture was based on both Horten and Northrop design experience. Global Hawk was considered as a reference point – it was assumed that BW design has to possess efficiency, relative payload and other characteristics at least the same or even better than that of Global Hawk. FLIR, SAR and SATCOM containers were optimised for best visibility. All payload systems are put into separate modular containers of easy access and quickly to exchange, so this architecture can be consider as a „modular”. An optimisation process started immediately when the so-called “zero configuration”, called PW-111 was ready. It was designed in the canard configuration. A canard was abandoned in HALE PW-113. Instead, new, larger outer wing was designed with smaller taper ratio. New configuration analysis revealed satisfactory longitudinal stability. Calculations suggested better lateral qualities for negative dihedral. These modifications, leading to aerodynamic improvement, gave HALE PW-114 as a result. The design process was an interdisciplinary approach, and included a selection of thick laminar wing section, aerodynamic optimisation of swept wing, stability analysis, weight balance, structural and flutter analysis, many on-board redundant systems, reliability and maintability analysis, safety improvement, cost and performance optimisation. Presented paper focuses mainly on aerodynamics, wing design, longitudinal control and safety issues. This activity is supported by European Union within V FR, in the area Aeronautics and Space.
The article presents the analyses of the flights carried out the by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) named PW-ZOOM used to perform a photogrammetric mission and monitoring of fauna in Antarctic areas. The analyses focus on the deviations of the optical axis of the photo-camera which occurred during photogrammetric flights carried out on the same route but during several Antarctic expeditions performed in subsequent years (2014 and 2015). The results were subjected to correlation tests with weather conditions (wind speed and variability). The basis for these analyses are the data from the onboard signal recorder integrated with an autopilot.
In recent years, a significant development of technologies related to the control and communication of mobile robots, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, has been noticeable. Developing these technologies requires having the necessary hardware and software to enable prototyping and simulation of control algorithms in laboratory conditions. The article presents the Laboratory of Intelligent Mobile Robots equipped with the latest solutions. The laboratory equipment consists of four quadcopter drones (QDrone) and two wheeled robots (QBot), equipped with rich sensor sets, a ground control station with Matlab-Simulink software, OptiTRACK object tracking system, and the necessary infrastructure for communication and security. The paper presents the results of measurements from sensors of robots monitoring various quantities during work. The measurements concerned, among others, the quantities of robots registered by IMU sensors of the tested robots (i.e., accelerometers, magnetometers, gyroscopes and others).
This paper describes a synthetic aperture radar system for tactical-level imagery intelligence installed on board an unmanned aerial vehicle. Selected results of its tests are provided. The system contains interchange-able S-band and Ku-band linear frequency-modulated, continuous wave radar sensors that were built within a frame of a research project named WATSAR, conducted by the Military University of Technology and WB Electronics S.A. One of several algorithms of radar image synthesis, implemented in the scope of the project, is described in this paper. The WATSAR system can create online and off-line radar images.
The article introduces an innovative approch for the inspection challenge that represents a generalization of the classical Traveling Salesman Problem. Its priciple idea is to visit continuous areas (circles) in a way, that minimizes travelled distance. In practice, the problem can be defined as an issue of scheduling unmanned aerial vehicle which has discrete-continuous nature. In order to solve this problem the use of local search algorithms is proposed.
The Land and Property Register (LPR) also called the Cadastre by the legislator should function in accordance with regulations in force, meet expectations of the public and provide universal access to Register data for its users. Beyond any doubt, credibility and usefulness of data in this public register are affected by the manner it is kept, which generally in-cludes active and passive approach. If the LPR is kept in an active manner and constantly up to date, its data is very useful. The qualitative aspect of the land and buildings database’s records establishes the calculation accuracy of the owners’ land parcels evidenced in the Land and Mortgage Registers, which protect the ownership right to the property. In order to ensure that the plot of land is unequivocally and correctly measured, it is necessary to establish breakpoints of the parcels’ bounda-ries in the presence of the interested parties.
Research conducted on the possibility of using the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for measuring purposes indicates immense probability where this technology may be used for the selected details of group I (most accurately located) in modernization of land and buildings registers.
The work discusses numerical and experimental researches, which are focused on developing a coherent model of magnetic interactions causing the levitation of the starting trolley of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) catapult. The starting trolley is levitating over the catapult’s tracks, which generate the magnetic field. The levitation is made possible by the diamagnetic properties of high-temperature superconductors, placed in supports of the starting trolley. The introduction of the article briefly analyzes the catapult structure. Next, it explains the nature of associated with the Meissner and flux pinning effect magnetic interactions which causes the levitation phenomenon. The paper presents the results of numerical analysis of the magnetic field, generated by the catapult’s tracks arranged in two configurations: a “chessboard” and a “gutter” pattern. The numerical model was solved, using the finite element method. Parameterization of the numerical model was made based on the measurements of the magnetic field, generated by a single magnet.
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