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Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

baesystems.com

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Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#81

Post by colonwqbang »

regularfry wrote: post #72
btbuildem wrote: post #44

Having played a little with micro-drones as a hobbyist, the ability to have an "eye in the sky" is amazing. Just today, we got a little turned around on a hike -- in less than a minute I was able to see our location from above and which direction to bushwhack a shortcut back to the main trail. I can see how this would be invaluable in a "strategic" situation. Even the tiny ones are noisy and give away their position…

I'd take a shotgun over a marksman. Buckshot is designed for objects in this size range.

Buckshot is designed for killing "medium to large game" like... bucks. Maybe you mean birdshot?

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#82

Post by pjc50 »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #60
dimatura wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't looked into this drone in depth, but I think it may be feasible. The DJI Mini2, which any civilian can buy for $449, has a similar size, weighs 249g, and advertises a flight time of 30 minutes. (In my experience with the Mini 1, it's plausible). Side note: the DJI Mini 1 is an excellent drone -- stable flight, great camera, and great range. I wouldn't be surprised if it outperforms this 'Bug' drone by most…

It's hard to express how awesome the Mini is. IMO it's an underappreciated technological achievement at the once-in-a-hundred-years level. Only a few years ago, it was hard to get a decent digital camera for $400 and change. The Mini is a decent camera that also happens to fly. When that realization hit me, it reminded me of the first time I saw a $29 DVD player for sale at WalMart. Some incredible things had to happ…

And the $29 DVD player often had more features than the $200 ones, especially the ability to play other regions discs.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#83

Post by varjag »

Alupis wrote: post #67
varjag wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mortar is hard to aim (even with modern aids), in a terrain that you haven't ranged already.

With a cell phone and Google Maps, you can get distance, elevation, obstacles, and more with good-enough precision. Or, even use our own mission planning software against us - ATAK[1][2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Team_Awareness_Kit [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atakmap.ap...

Yes, these are the kind of modern aids I mentioned. You're still likely to miss your first one.

Mortar is not a precision weapon, it's a Monte Carlo prop.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#84

Post by CraigJPerry »

sandworm101 wrote: post #58
mattivc wrote: post #27

I work with nano-UAVs. I am very skeptical that the 40 minute flight time is even close to being real. Especially with a quadcopter design. They are way to inefficient.

It says autonomy, not flight time. They may intend this thing to land and remain active as a remote camera for much ot its mission.

They're claiming flight time - in the battery section of the infographic it claims "flight times of more than 40 minutes".

Tri-blade props are not the most efficient - we use them in racing applications because we want to generate maximum thrust and we don't need more than around 2-3 minutes per battery but we wouldn't use them in an aerial photo rig where we want long flight times - 2 blade props would be the go to. Also the pitch of those blades in the photo are quite aggressive.

I wonder if they have different configurations - as photographed I can easily believe the 50mph top speed with small but high kv (fast but inefficient) motors but I'd expect a different configuration for longer flight times.

From the photo it looks like the battery compartment is shaped for 2 cylinders, its about the right dimensions for 2x 18650 cells but it's impossible to say for sure. That would give up to 8000mah of 3.7v (1S2P configuration) or 4000mah at 7.4v (2s1p). They could be using different chemistry though, e.g. I usually fly LiHV cells which have a higher nominal voltage in the same pack size & weight - you do get very slightly more watt hours out of those packs (not as much as the numbers would suggest).

The given all up weight looks plausible based on the size of what's shown and the weight of 2 cells.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#85

Post by sandworm101 »

CraigJPerry wrote: post #84
sandworm101 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It says autonomy, not flight time. They may intend this thing to land and remain active as a remote camera for much ot its mission.

They're claiming flight time - in the battery section of the infographic it claims "flight times of more than 40 minutes". Tri-blade props are not the most efficient - we use them in racing applications because we want to generate maximum thrust and we don't need more than around 2-3 minutes per battery but we wouldn't use them in an aerial photo rig where we want long flight times - 2 blade props would be the go to.…

In a military context, "flight" can mean "mission". I only suggest that something may have been lost in the language. I find that easier to believe than this thing hovering over a battlefield for 40 minutes.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#86

Post by ogre_codes »

twic wrote: post #79
ogre_codes wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shop bought drones don't have arbitrary, often nonsense requirements. This one advertises that it'll work in 50MPH winds. How common are soldiers dealing with combat in 50MPH winds? It's likely there are other, similarly arbitrary and nonsensical demands that were placed on these.

If you're fighting an opponent whose drones can only handle 40 mph winds, you might try to do as much combat at 50 mph as possible.

How many actual historical battles or skirmishes have been fought in gale force winds?

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#87

Post by Alupis »

varjag wrote: post #83
Alupis wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With a cell phone and Google Maps, you can get distance, elevation, obstacles, and more with good-enough precision. Or, even use our own mission planning software against us - ATAK[1][2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Team_Awareness_Kit [2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atakmap.ap...

Yes, these are the kind of modern aids I mentioned. You're still likely to miss your first one. Mortar is not a precision weapon, it's a Monte Carlo prop.

Does it need to be a precision weapon to be a weapon of terror?

And with a kill zone of 20-30 meters... you can miss by quite a lot and still do a ton of damage.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#89

Post by eulers_secret »

CraigJPerry wrote: post #84
sandworm101 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It says autonomy, not flight time. They may intend this thing to land and remain active as a remote camera for much ot its mission.

They're claiming flight time - in the battery section of the infographic it claims "flight times of more than 40 minutes". Tri-blade props are not the most efficient - we use them in racing applications because we want to generate maximum thrust and we don't need more than around 2-3 minutes per battery but we wouldn't use them in an aerial photo rig where we want long flight times - 2 blade props would be the go to.…

Drone racer here, too! 18650s are amazing as far as power density is concerned.

Here's a guy who takes a 3" 1S quad, adapts an 18650 and gets 29 minutes of flight time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOZStU-QCSc

There's a few others, and in fact I considered doing this myself! But, I'd get bored of slowbelly 'flying' after about 15 minutes. I like to go fast.

I completely believe 40mins of flight time if you had actual resources to assign to this. Imagine using the 18650 as the frame and strapping motors to sticks, or other crazy ideas to bring weight down and time up.

Re: Bug drone for UK army that weights 196g, has 40 mins autonomy and 2km range

#90

Post by bochoh »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #60
dimatura wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't looked into this drone in depth, but I think it may be feasible. The DJI Mini2, which any civilian can buy for $449, has a similar size, weighs 249g, and advertises a flight time of 30 minutes. (In my experience with the Mini 1, it's plausible). Side note: the DJI Mini 1 is an excellent drone -- stable flight, great camera, and great range. I wouldn't be surprised if it outperforms this 'Bug' drone by most…

It's hard to express how awesome the Mini is. IMO it's an underappreciated technological achievement at the once-in-a-hundred-years level. Only a few years ago, it was hard to get a decent digital camera for $400 and change. The Mini is a decent camera that also happens to fly. When that realization hit me, it reminded me of the first time I saw a $29 DVD player for sale at WalMart. Some incredible things had to happ…

I have to concur. I built many drones with 400$+ flight controllers that look like trash next to my mini 2.
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