Small UAS prototype with native AI shows at AUSA 2023
NewsOctober 11, 2023
WASHINGTON. Uncrewed aerial system (UAS) maker Quantum-Systems unveiled a prototype for its Twister small UAS at this week's Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition 2023, being held October 9-11 in Washington, D.C.
Twister -- which is planned to be natively equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities using an Nvidia processor chip aboard the aircraft -- can be carried disassembled into six parts in a manportable rucksack, has an assembled wingspan of 4.1 feet (1.2 m), and weighs 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg), of which 350 g are reserved for payload. The cmall craft is designed to carry two different electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, the NextVision Nighthawk2-UZ and AVT Australia CM62 series.
The small UAS is intended to lift off vertically from a tail-sitting position before transitioning to horizontal flight and can use a lithium-ion or lithium polymer battery, giving it an endurance time of 75 minutes endurance, company officials stated.
Quantum-Systems CEO David Sharpin noted that five Twisters are currently undergoing flight tests at the company's factory in Munich, Germany, testing different gimbal configurations and nose cones. “We probably have about 150 hours on this bird so far,” said Sharpin. “And that will increase as we go through the winter and the spring. We will probably have 1,000 hours total before we go to production.”
AUSA showgoers can visit the Quantum-Systems booth at #3255.
