Callen-Lenz Associates undertake BLOS flights of multiple aircraft for QinetiQ trials
CLA was tasked by QinetiQ to provide a live flying demonstration of the autonomy software and interfaces developed during ASTRAEA. The goal was to have two sUAS operating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) with stabilised EO sensors and downlinked live video which could be automatically tasked, re-tasked and have their sensors driven by QinetiQ’s software agents in response to an evolving ‘blue light’ search scenario. CLA’s Technical Director Adrian Eves describes the project:
“In a very short timescale we successfully integrated and tested customer provided camera gimbals and digital video downlinks onto the G2 UAS. In fact the G2 was designed to be a ‘skyhook’ platform for trials such as this so there were no huge problems to overcome. At the same time we designed a critical software interface to manage the transfer of data between our ground station software and QinetiQ’s software ‘agents’. This had to translate telemetry data such as position and speed for each UAS to allow QinetiQ’s software to make navigation decisions whilst also translating waypoint and camera commands to send to each UAS. Whilst all this was going on we developed procedures and documentation to submit to the CAA detailing how we would safely manage the flight operations in order to gain the necessary CAA approvals.
Build-up test flying was done at our permanent UAS test site in Wiltshire. We also designed and built tracking antennas for the video links and numerous other small hardware and software changes to our systems to host the functionality safely and effectively. This meant that a highly structured test plan had to be developed both to reduce risk and to get the most technical progress out of every test flight. The whole system was proven here before we took it to Aberporth for the BLOS work and eventual demonstration phase. The project involved over thirty sorties, many of which involved two UAS simultaneously operating under the control of QinetiQ’s autonomy software agent whilst several kilometres away. CLA would launch the aircraft and once our checks were complete would hand control of them over to QinetiQ via a LAN interface for tasking. CLA would then monitor the aircraft for safety whilst the simulated search or rescue missions were played-out until once again taking control for landing.
This really was a UK first in several ways; BLOS operations of multiple civil SUAS being continuously tasked by a autonomous, generic third party software agent. The demonstration was the final event in the ASTRAEA programme calendar and was the only successful SUAS live flying done under the programme. I hope that the success of this work makes it clear that there are specialist small and medium sized companies who have an enormous potential to make real progress for the UK UAS industry. I hope that smaller, expert companies like ourselves can play a bigger part at an earlier stage in any future ASTRAEA or other government funded innovation initiatives.”
Callen-Lenz has a background in manned and unmanned aircraft test and evaluation with many of their staff being former Boscombe Down or Empire Test Pilot’s School flight test professionals. The company specialises in conducting UAS trials and development work alongside its regular agricultural and environmental remote sensing operations.
