High flying eyes on yours and mines.

The multi-faceted Schiebel Camcopter underwent another round of demonstrations during the week of 23 through 27 June 2003. The vertical take-off and landing UAV displayed its aerial talents for members of the media, who were gathered at an Austrian military base just 40 km outside Vienna.

Demonstrating the system's simplicity, the three-man crew (only two are in fact needed) performed the ground checks in a matter of minutes before firing up the engine with the attached starter motor. After three minutes the engine ran up to speed, the starter motor and battery unit were dropped clear and the Camcopter took to the air to perform a variety of programmed and manually piloted tasks.

Included with the Camcopter are an auto-tracking system for the datalink, a torso-mounted Pilot Control Unit with a joystick for flight control and a data control panel for selecting flight mode and interacting with the flying unit, and lastly, the Control Station; where specific flight commands and GPS waypoints are either programmed into the Camcopter or updated in real-time. One 'copter can be handed off to a subsequent Control Station (or many) if line-of-sight communications are likely to become dubious.

The Camcopter has an automatic "return to station" feature that takes over control if data communications are lost, and a special mission mode that allows for specific waypoints beyond the line-of-site or for obstructed view operations.

The auto-tracking unit (a manual unit was on hand for the display) is a pan-tilt device that features four antennas that detect the phase differences of the signal returning from the 'copter and adjust the unit's beam accordingly.

Current Camcopter applications include air/ground/sea surveillance, target acquisition, communications relay, precision delivery and minefield survey within a nominal 10 km radius (100 km with an enhanced link). The standard sensor for the unit is a forward-looking CCD camera, although recent work with IAI, which began in 2001 and is funded in part by the European Commission, has culminated in the ARC mine detection system, which uses GPS/INS information for basic imagery that is then fused and enhanced for a detailed image of a given area. Other sensor systems can be fitted as needed.

The Camcopter UAV system is in service with the US Army and was proven sea-worthy for shipboard operations with flights from US Coast Guard cutters.