The 3500 autopilot series represents the latest generation of UAV autopilot from UNAV. This autopilot features an all new hardware platform with a special emphasis on more processing power and IO capacity. Weight and size have been reduced by almost 50% from previous models.The 3500 expands the number of RCin and RCout to 7 channels each. Three of the RC channels are assigned to camera control featuring both manual and stabilization modes.The 3500 also offers 5 user analog channels for extra telemetry information. It includes proven flight control software developed on previous generations, over the past 10 years.
Unlike some UAV autopilots, the 3500 is capable of true autonomous operation. It does not require constant communication and supervision from the groundstation. In fact, once you setup the autopilot and load your route data, you don't have to use the groundstation again until you need to change the route. And since the 3500 doesn't need to remain in constant communication, it is not limited to the range of the radio modems. The 3500 is also robust, it can recover from an intermittent in-flight power failure in less than 1 second and continue with it's mission. Some UAV autopilots cannot tolerate sustained turns (ie. circling) and may lose control of the vehicle after only a few minutes. The 3500's IMU (electronic gyro) has been tested in a 45 degree bank for over 15 minutes with less than 5 degrees of attitude error. The 3500's attitude control loop runs at 50Hz, the maximum possible using RC servos. All 3500 autopilot systems include a real-time map tracking display and point-n-click waypoint creation with in-flight re-programming capabilities of waypoint data and gain settings..
