World–leader in rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) solutions UMS SKELDAR announces agreement with Sentient Vision Systems to provide ViDAR system.

World–leader in rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) solutions UMS SKELDAR has used the Paris Airshow (19-25 June 2017) to announce an agreement with Sentient Vision Systems to provide the ViDAR (Visual identification Detection and Ranging) system for its unmanned systems.

UMS SKELDAR will incorporate the ViDAR payload into its fleet of flagship VTOL’s – the SKELDAR V-200, uniquely deploying five to ten cameras, providing between 180 and an optimal 360-degree maritime domain awareness for the first time.

ViDAR is a wide area autonomous detection system for electro-optic imagery in the maritime domain, enabling coverage over 80 times the ocean’s surface compared with existing electro-optic sensors. ViDAR transforms the utility of tactical UAS’s by giving them a ‘find’ function for the first time. Operators typically must rely on larger, more expensive aircraft to detect objects in the ocean; ViDAR provides the find capability in a smaller, more cost-effective payload.

Sentient’s ViDAR optical radar autonomously scans the ocean around the air vehicle detecting any object on the surface of the ocean in real time.

Ground Control Station operators are autonomously provided with an image and a location coordinate of each object found. Selecting any of those images cues the primary sensor to the object location for classification/identification.

UMS SKELDAR is Europe’s only provider of both rotary and fixed-wing UAVs. The line-up of platforms provides a comprehensive solutions portfolio including: the SKELDAR V-200 and Rotary R-350 and Fixed Winged F-330 and F-720.