White light scanning aids UAAV design

AESIR's craft exploit the Coanda effect, where fast-moving air over a circular aerofoil section creates both downward thrust and a low-pressure zone creating lift. The AESIR technology allows vertical take-off and landing and a larger payload capability than similar fixed-wing UAVs. The hover and high-speed capability of the craft, combined with the latest on-board camera, image recognition and GPS technology make for a formidable military and law enforcement tool. The main challenge AESIR faced was improving the vehicle flight time. Although part of the design challenge could be addressed with advanced battery technology, a radical redesign of the turbofan was also needed to both increase efficiency and reduce weight. Phase Vision Quartz scanners enabled rapid part-to-CAD conversion, allowing AESIR to quickly prototype, re-engineer and test the complex fan shape before transferring the model to its carbon fibre supplier for manufacture. "Phase Vision's white light scanners provided a much higher surface resolution than we could have obtained from alternative measurement systems," explains Steve Potter, head of development at AESIR. " We needed to squeeze every ounce of efficiency out of the turbofan design and the complexity of the surface shape together with tight delivery deadlines for a large military client made white light scanning the ideal solution."