InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 Product Manual
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InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 Product Manual

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InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 sUAS Technical Manual
Revision M1.2
August 14, 2019
InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1
Product Manual
Revision M1.2
August 14, 2019
COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc.
ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED
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  • Page 1 InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 sUAS Technical Manual Revision M1.2 August 14, 2019 InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 Product Manual Revision M1.2 August 14, 2019 COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 1...
  • Page 2 InstantEye system, your use thereof, or any of the data or other materials transmitted through or residing within the InstantEye system, regardless of the type of claim or the nature of the cause of action.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Initialization ....................28 3.3. Launch ...................... 29 3.4. Flight ......................29 3.5. Endurance ....................30 3.5.1. Range ...................... 30 3.5.2. Altitude ....................30 3.5.3. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 3...
  • Page 4 Aircraft Does Not Pair with Gcs ............. 61 8.6. Limited Video Range ................61 8.7. GCS Powers Off Without Pressing Power Button ........ 61 8.8. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 4...
  • Page 5 View Video Feed ..................64 9.3. Fly the System ..................64 9.4. 10. Warranty ....................... 65 11. Revision Log ....................66 12. Reference Material ..................67 COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 5...

  • Page 6: System Overview

    August 14, 2019 1. System Overview The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 sUAS is part of a family of high-performance, low-cost, autonomous aerial systems that can be hand-launched/recovered by a single operator. The GEN4-D1 leverages the combat-proven GEN3 and GEN4 systems’ ease of use and survivability, combined with an encrypted software-defined radio, to provide an almost silent, small, on-demand, local (approximately 3000 meters) situational awareness.

  • Page 7: Aircraft

    InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 sUAS Technical Manual Revision M1.2 August 14, 2019 Figure 1. InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system with transit case and soft case. 1.1. Aircraft The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 aircraft is a small, all-electric hand-launched/recovered unmanned quadrotor aerial vehicle (Figure 2). It comes standard with a gimbaled two- camera (EO/IR) video camera pod.

  • Page 8: Ground Control System

    1.3. Transit (Hard) Case The transit case (Figure 4), made of high-performance injection-molded plastic with customized foam inserts, is designed to carry the full InstantEye system and has provisions for additional batteries, payloads and spares. This ruggedized, water-resistant case is designed to protect the system during shipment.

  • Page 9: Soft Case

    1.5. Batteries, 1.3 Ah & 5.7 Ah The InstantEye Mk-3 GCS-D batteries are Lithium-Polymer (Li-Po) batteries. The 1.3 Ah battery (Figure 6) is used in the operation of the InstantEye GCS-D. The 5.7 Ah battery (Figure 7) is the GEN4 aircraft battery.

  • Page 10: Battery Charger

    August 14, 2019 Figure 7. GEN4-D1 5.7 Ah aircraft battery. 1.6. Battery Charger The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 battery charger consists of a charge module, AC/DC module, battery charging cradle, battery balancing cable (x2), and a battery charge adapter (Figure 8).

  • Page 11: Charger Interface Cable For Ba-5590 & Bb-2590

    August 14, 2019 1.7. Charger Interface Cable for BA-5590 & BB-2590 This interface cable (Figure 9) enables the InstantEye batteries to be charged directly from a user-provided BA-5590 or BB-2590 battery instead of the 12 V / 5 A power supply provided as part of the system.

  • Page 12: Spares Kit

    • Screwdriver, #1 Phillips (QTY 1) • Nut Driver, 10 mm (QTY 1) for ISR; 8mm for HL Figure 10. InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4 spares kit. Note that the motor screws ship installed on the motor assemblies, so they aren’t shown separately above.

  • Page 13: Safety

    2. Safety 2.1. General Operations Safety The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system should never be used in a scenario where it could imperil the safety of manned aircraft. All FAA rules and regulations must be observed while flying in civilian airspace, and all Department of Defense (DoD) and installation-specific rules and regulations must be followed in military airspace.

  • Page 14: Battery Safety

    • Never leave a battery in a parked vehicle in the sun on a hot day Use only the batteries provided with the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system and only charge them with the supplied charger. Batteries should always be monitored while charging and kept away from flammable materials.

  • Page 15: System Operation

    3. System Operation 3.1. Overview The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system is capable of supervisory (normal) and manual (emergency) flight, depending on the flight mode selected by the operator. Typical flight operation is more like positioning a camera in the sky than flying an aircraft. The operator unpacks and powers the system, sets a flight altitude, and launches the aircraft.

  • Page 16: Ground Control System

    Figure 12. InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 aircraft components – front and rear views. 3.1.2. Ground Control System The Ground Control System for the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 consists of an Android viewing device, a two handed controller (GCS-D) with battery, and the associated cables connecting the GCS-D to the viewing device.

  • Page 17: Gcs Interface

    (QTY 1), and buttons (QTY 10). Each of these interfaces (Figures 14 & 15) is described below. Figure 15. GCS-D button, wheel and joystick configuration – top view. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 17...

  • Page 18: Flight Modes Overview

    • Lost Communications – Lost communications mode is enabled automatically when the aircraft fails to receive commands from the GCS. Note, this is not a user-activated mode. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 18...

  • Page 19: Instanteye Application On-Screen Display

    August 14, 2019 3.1.5. InstantEye Application On-Screen Display When the InstantEye application (app) is enabled, the on-screen display (OSD) provides the operator with important data from the aircraft and GCS in a visual format. This information is displayed in several graphics, each of which is shown in the following example image (Figure 16).
  • Page 20 The scrolling text above the numerical heading inside the grey box mimics a compass card and allows the operator to discern quickly what bearing may be achieved by yawing left or right. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 20...
  • Page 21 The aircraft has two cameras in the standard gimbaled video camera pod, which can be set at 5-degree increments over 90 degrees. Once set, the camera remains stabilized in the pitch axis. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 21...
  • Page 22 (in the “Overlay” menu) between MGRS (default), latitude and longitude in decimal minutes, and latitude and longitude in decimal degrees. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 22...
  • Page 23 An arrow indicates the direction in which the aircraft is correcting in order to move to the requested altitude. Figure 25. Altitude graphic. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 23...

  • Page 24: Radio Frequencies

    The GCS-D transmits command and control (C2) to the aircraft and the aircraft transmits both flight data and video to the GCS-D. The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 is equipped with a pico digital data link (pDDL) system, a 256-bit American encryption standard (AES) encrypted waveform. Upon start up, the GCS-D scans for the frequency with the least interference.

  • Page 25: Pre-Flight

    3.2.1.1. Condition 1: Weather InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 is able to fly in most inclement weather including wind speeds up to 35 mph, precipitation, altitudes up to 12,000 feet MSL, and temperatures ranging from -10°F to 120°F (-23°C to 49°C). Endurance will be adversely affected by harsher conditions.

  • Page 26: System Inspection

    The GCS-D battery should be connected and placed in the battery socket on the rear of the unit (Figure 29). Figure 28. Aircraft battery installation. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 26...

  • Page 27: Antenna Positioning

    3.2.5. Video Output The GCS-D outputs H264 video through a USB cable on the bottom of the unit. The video contains graphics data for display on an Android device with the InstantEye app, ATAK or Automated Pilot Advisory System APAS).

  • Page 28: Initialization

    This process is complete when flight data and video are displayed on the tablet screen. • Turn on the tablet and activate the InstantEye app. The tablet screen will display the main application screen, detailing the current pairing stage (Figure 31, left).

  • Page 29: Launch

    10 feet of the desired altitude. The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4- D1 aircraft consumes the battery quickly during hard climb out. For best flight time, the user should set the initial altitude to clear obstacles and then gradually climb to the desired altitude will transitioning towards the desired location.

  • Page 30: Endurance

    R E M A I N I N G G R A P H I C I N D I C A T E S LESS THAN 2 MINUTES OF BATTERY LIFE REMAINING. When the indicated time is less than 2 minutes, maneuvering capabilities (bank, climb, drive) of the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 are diminished. The user must incorporate this into flight planning. To maintain stability, the system will limit the rate at which the user can maneuver home and climb under 2 minutes of battery time.

  • Page 31: Video Feed

    HOME button while not in indoor mode, and indirectly when the aircraft enters lost communication mode and again, while not in indoor mode. It is disabled by COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...
  • Page 32 Rescue mode is utilized if the GCS-D is unintentionally powered off midflight by pressing the POWER button, disconnecting the battery, or depleting the battery. Rescue mode COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...

  • Page 33: Landing

    The operator can also view current live video with the VIEWER button, and see videos and snapshots that have previously been saved to the tablet with the TABLET COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...
  • Page 34 TABLET SNAPS/VIDEO Button (Create (View Snapshots/Video Waypoint Mission) Downloaded to Tablet) Figure 34. InstantEye main application screen with RTB, waypoint mission and snap/video viewing options. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 34...

  • Page 35: Optional Return-To-Base Waypoint Entry

    Waypoints must be valid for the capability of the aircraft. If not, a warning will “RTB Upload Fail: Check RTB” upon attempting to upload the appear, which says waypoint to the aircraft. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 35...
  • Page 36 Revision M1.2 August 14, 2019 Figure 36. Left: SET RTB button in InstantEye application. Right: waypoint entry. Figure 37. Left: waypoint entry. Right: waypoint saving. Figure 38. Left: upload RTB point to the aircraft. Right: example of an invalid waypoint, which must be reentered.

  • Page 37: Optional Preprogrammed Waypoint Mission Entry

    Waypoint missions can be generated and executed prior to launch (motor start). A preplanned waypoint mission of up to 15 waypoints can be entered in the InstantEye application. Waypoints can be entered in MGRS 10-digit grid format or in latitude/ longitude format.

  • Page 38: Execute Preprogrammed Waypoint Mission

    Figure 42. Left: example waypoint data. Right: waypoint successfully saved. 3.11. Execute Preprogrammed Waypoint Mission Once a mission has been saved to the GCS-D, it can be accessed on the InstantEye application flight screen when the tablet is connected to the GCS-D and the aircraft. If the mission status lights are not shown on the left or bottom of the screen, press the 3-DOT button, which calls up the mission status indicators.
  • Page 39 Figure 44. Left: example of an upload failure due to an invalid waypoint or the aircraft not meeting the upload requirements. Right: example of a successful upload to aircraft. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...
  • Page 40 Figure 46. Mission executing; can be paused at any point with movement of joysticks or a push of the PAUSE button on the tablet. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 40...

  • Page 41: Warnings And Emergency Procedures

    August 14, 2019 4. Warnings and Emergency Procedures The InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system was designed with a focus on safety. The system has numerous warning messages built into the software to indicate when a potential problem exists. These warnings help identify when emergency procedures need to be initiated.

  • Page 42: Loss Of Video

    OSD data updates), the operator may wiggle the left joystick, reestablishing control of the aircraft and redirect it by using the joysticks. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 42...

  • Page 43: Loss Of Aircraft Gps Fix

    (Figure 17, pg. 19) can be used to assist in aircraft location and recovery. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 43...

  • Page 44: Collision Imminent And Unavoidable

    Leave the GCS powered on so that aircraft location graphic and range/bearing graphic can assist in location of the crash site. Power down the aircraft immediately upon recovery. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 44...

  • Page 45: Stowage

    Proper orientation of the aircraft, GCS, and accessories when stowing them is critical to ensure maximum survivability of the components. Never stand or sit on the loaded InstantEye system transit case. The following figures show the proper configuration of stowed components.
  • Page 46 When packing the aircraft, check that all of the propellers are aligned to avoid the walls of the case. Figure 49. Proper orientation of stowed components in the soft case. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 46...

  • Page 47: Maintenance

    August 14, 2019 6. Maintenance The InstantEye Mk-2 GEN4 D1 system should be properly cared for to minimize the likelihood of malfunction and maximize the life of the system. A very small amount of maintenance will ensure the system continues to remain fully functional. Each system includes a spares kit with replacement parts for the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4 D1 aircraft.
  • Page 48 The propeller should sit flat on, and tight to the motor housing. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...

  • Page 49: Gcs Maintenance

    Before charging a battery, do a visual check to verify it is in good condition. Only charge the 1.3 Ah Li-Po GCS-D batteries and the 5.7 Ah Li-Po aircraft batteries included with the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system using the supplied InstantEye charger (Figures 54 & 55) specifically designed to charge Li-Po batteries.
  • Page 50 The charger supplied with the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system can be powered using an AC/DC module that plugs into a standard 110V AC North American power outlet or a BA series (e.g., BA5590/BA2590) battery using the included cable.
  • Page 51 CAUTION! Li-Po batteries should never be exposed to temperatures in excess of 140° Fahrenheit (60°C). Never leave batteries inside a parked vehicle sitting in the sun during hot weather. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 51...
  • Page 52 Battery Charging Cradle (with Battery) Figure 54. The InstantEye Mk-3 battery charger set up for the GCS-D battery. Figure 55 - Battery charger set up with GEN4 aircraft battery and GEN4 aircraft battery adapter wire (Black and Red, 2 conductor) and the balancing adapter (Black receiver with white plugs for battery balancing cable).

  • Page 53: Tablet Charging

    August 14, 2019 6.4. Tablet Charging The standard 8-inch Android-based tablet provided with the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system is charged through the Glenair USB cable using a simple USB power supply and the supplied USB-to-Mighty Mouse cable. Plug the charging cable into the USB power supply and then disconnect the GCS-D USB cable and connect the charging cable as shown in Figure 56.

  • Page 54: Payloads

    August 14, 2019 7. Payloads Each InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 aircraft is equipped with an integrated, gimbaled camera pod (Figure 57), with two video cameras: a 5 Mp electo-optical (EO) camera and a 160 x 120 pixel infrared (IR) thermal imager.
  • Page 55 InstantEye aircraft. By default, when an aircraft is equipped with a Tactical Standoff Payload, the thermal video footage is the image first to appear on the GCS following pairing.
  • Page 56 UTILITY1 to tilt the payload up. Figure 63. Tactical Standoff Payload GCS display, showing payload graphic (left) and payload menu (bottom). COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 56...
  • Page 57 4x, and 8x digital zoom. Pressing UTIL2 cycles through White Hot, Black Hot, and Orange Hot color palettes (see Figure 64, pg. 59). To revert to control of the payload pitch/tilt, press “CHNG UTIL” again. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 57...
  • Page 58 If this occurs, simply re-insert the payload strap dovetail into the mating slot on the payload. COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 58...

  • Page 59: Troubleshooting

    Remember that aggressive maneuvering, especially rapid ascents, will drain batteries at a high rate. If the batteries in the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 system have gone through a large number of charge cycles, it is also possible that their capacity has decreased and that this is a contributing factor in unexpectedly low endurance.

  • Page 60: Aircraft Is Louder Than Usual

    GCS battery when directed to do so in the boot-up screen. The small LED near the power button indicates the power status of the COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED...

  • Page 61: Aircraft Pulls To One Direction Consistently

    8.9. Aircraft Pulls to One Direction Consistently If the aircraft pulls to one direction consistently, check the joysticks for damage as described in Section 6.2 GCS Maintenance (pg. 49). COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 61...

  • Page 62: Quick Start Guide

    (see icons in upper-right corner, Figure 65). Figure 65. GCS-D communicating with Tablet 2. The InstantEye Mk3 GEN4-D1 aircraft and the GCS-D take approximately 60 seconds to pair. This is indicated by the connection icon between the controller icon and quadrotor icon turning from a red cross to green arrows (see icons in upper-right corner, Figure 66).

  • Page 63: View Video Feed

    Figure 66. GCS and aircraft pairing 9.3. View Video Feed 1. Once a connection has been established between the InstantEye GEN4-D1 aircraft, GCS-D and tablet, the video feed can be viewed by pressing the VIEWER button at the bottom right of the main application screen.

  • Page 64: Warranty

    Without prejudice to any applicable statutory warranty, if any, Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) warrants that the InstantEye Mk-3 GEN4-D1 System (Product) will be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of 12 months commencing upon the date of...

  • Page 65: Revision Log

    October 16, 2018 Draft version of Mk-3 GEN4 product M1.0 February 14, 2019 M1.1 July 31, 2019 FY 20 update M1.2 August 14, 2019 Formatting update COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 65...

  • Page 66: Reference Material

    Revision M1.2 August 14, 2019 12. R EFERENCE ATERIAL Provided on the following pages are materials for quick and easy reference, including: • RMA form COPYRIGHT ©2018 InstantEye Robotics, a division of Physical Sciences Inc. ITAR or EXPORT CONTROLLED Page 66...
  • Page 68 InstantEye Robotics A Division of Physical Sciences Inc. 6 Riverside Drive Andover, MA 01810-1121 +1.978.918.7400 www.instanteyerobotics.com...

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