Geneva Aerospace Announces Production Of Ultra-Compact Flight Control System

Geneva Aerospace says a small gold box recently put into production can turn unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) into powerful, "smart" tools. The flightTEK module includes the flight computer and software needed to transform UAVs into autonomous machines.

Through additional development, flightTEK soon will be able to perform highly complex autonomous behaviors previously impossible for UAVs. These include autonomous moving-target tracking and following, autonomous obstacle collision avoidance, autonomous takeoff and landing for high-end UAVs, agile maneuvering and multi-UAV collaborative control.

"Our team has deep experience developing flight control systems for missiles," said Dave Felio, president and chief executive officer for Geneva. "We've taken that expertise in missile guidance systems and applied it to UAVs. As a result, we're developing an entirely new category of capabilities for UAVs, including tracking and operating as a fleet."

flightTEK includes Geneva's patent-pending Variable Autonomy Control System (VACS(TM)) software, which runs on top of a real-time variant of the Linux operating system. More than just an autopilot, VACS serves as a true mission management system.

Geneva began work on flightTEK in mid-2003. The company wanted to create a compact flight control system that could be easily customized for a wide range of uses by both military and civilian organizations, Felio said.

"UAV integrators can use flightTEK for any type of surveillance or communications missions," Felio said. "It already includes all of the basic flight control tools needed, as well as integrated GPS-based navigation capabilities. More importantly, it is able to manage the vehicle from a mission perspective. We can also work with end-users to customize flightTEK for specific missions."

Because of its compact size, flightTEK already has been installed in a UAV as small as 3.5 feet long and 6 inches in diameter, said Sean Fitzgerald, director of operations for Geneva.

"In this business, smaller is definitely better," Fitzgerald said. "That way, the end user can maximize their space for a bigger payload. Plus, they don't have to design around flightTEK, since it takes up so little space."

The small size of the box doesn't limit its flexibility. flightTEK measures just 3.5 inches by 4.75 inches by 1.75 inches. Yet it includes a variety of input/output capabilities including seven serial ports, 12 input and 12 output digital IO ports, eight analog channels with 14-bit resolution, a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port and eight PWM ports. This enables flightTEK to interface with the vehicle's mission payload, communication system, propulsion system and control effectors.

FMI: www.genaero.com