Model aircraft technology used for hovering reconnaissance

First-person view goggles (FPVGs), which give remote-control aircraft hobbyists an aerial view from their model aircraft, have now been employed to work in conjunction with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) dubbed SQ-4 to give forward-deployed troops an advanced reconnaissance tool.

The remote-controlled SQ-4 has four rotary wings mounted on carbon-fibre arms that radiate from the nylon shell, which holds two cameras and its lithium-polymer battery power source.

Developed with Cardiff-based BCB International, the 230g system can fit into a soldier’s backpack, is operational in less than a minute and can hover at an altitude of 400ft (120m) to relay footage in real-time to its operator.

‘Two micro-cameras are on board with video telemetry,’ said Dr Stephen Prior, a robotics expert at Middlesex University. ‘One camera is forward facing and one facing vertically downwards so you get an overview of the battlefield.’

Prior told The Engineer that video footage can be relayed — day and night — to the FPVG or a commander’s handset with a 7in screen. The operator also has the option of being able to use a switch on the remote control to change which camera to receive footage from.