Miniaturization of Unmanned Aircraft System Sensor Payloads – Octopus ISR Systems Epsilon 175

The miniaturization of sensor payloads has been a task for some time now; however, it has been limited as to how many sensors are capable of being compacted to fit in such a small space. Powerful and accurate sensors in the past tended to be very large and expensive, dictating that they be carried by platforms of similar size (Watts, Ambrosia & Hinkley, 2012). They are however, too large to fit smaller Tier 1 and II classes of Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

With today’s technology, we can achieve vastly powerful sensors with decreases in size, weight and power consumption. As platforms get smaller, so to do the sensors that are capable of being paired with them. The commercial market has for years benefited from reducing the size of electronic components (Patterson & Brescia, 2008). One good example is a piece of technology that mostly all humans have come to rely on daily, called cell phones! The UAS industry is by far one of the newest users to take advantage of this miniaturization age! It has led to the ability to provide multiple sensor operations from a single Unmanned Aircraft System” (Patterson & Brescia, 2008). Commercial companies will continue to gain momentum towards miniaturization of existing technologies for UAS Sensor Payloads, highlighting that it is the sensors payloads themselves that will see the most advancement in the next 5-10 years.

Figure 1: Smaller Sensor Payloads. Adapted from “Octopus ISR Reveals World’s Smalles Four-Sensor MWIR Gimbal,” by Unmanned System Technologies, 2017, retrieved from http://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2017/05/octopus-isr-reveals-worlds-smallest-four-sensor-mwir-gimbal/

This year, Octopus ISR Systems lead the charge in designing and developing the next-generation of gimbal payloads. What is unique about this gimbal payload is that it is the world’s smallest, most capable sensor weighing in at 5.7 pounds (Unmanned System Technology, 2017). It houses not only one, but four different types of sensors. Additionally, the gimbal payload is gyro-stabilized and can move about in a 3-axis configuration (Unmanned System Technology, 2017). Its official name is the Epsilon 175 and it was invented for the UAS market that weighs under 55 pounds (Unmanned System Technology, 2017). It undoubtedly unlocks new capabilities for these UASs that are traditionally constrained by the size and weight of previous four-sensor gimbal payloads. Its four sensors are comprised of an electro-optical camera with 30x zoom, a medium wavelength cameras capable 15x zoom, a laser range finder and a laser illuminator (Unmanned Systems Technology, 2017). Truly an amazing package of technology that could be employed for border control operations, even tactical military uses and other civil applications (Unmanned System Technology, 2017).

References:

Patterson, M. C. L. & Brescia, A. (2008). Integrated Sensor Systems for UAS. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a503447.pdf

Unmanned Systems Technology. (2017). Octopus ISR Reveals World’s Smallest Four-Sensor MWIR Gimbal. Retrieved from http://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2017/05/octopus-isr-reveals-worlds-smallest-four-sensor-mwir-gimbal/

Watts, A. C., Ambrosia, V. G., & Hinkley, E. A. (2012). Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Remote Sensing and Scientific Research: Classification and Considerations of Use. Retrieved from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog892/sites/www.e-education.psu.edu.geog892/files/images/lesson01/ remotesensing-04-01671.pdf