Yamaha's RMAX - the worlds most advanced non-military UAV

Some people see an enormous future for the RMAX in surveillance. Because it lands and takes off vertically and does so in a small footprint, it can be used as an auxiliary capability for coast watch vessels, enabling the coast watchers to look at what's happening on islands, up creeks, on the other side of vessels under observation, and to see over the horizon. It has enormous application for the spraying of high-value crops, aerial photography, perimeter control, and even to usage by fire-brigades so they can get a clear picture of what's happening around, for example, a large building which is on fire, or where the heart of a bushfire is.

Interestingly, Yamaha now sees an enormous future for autonomous vehicles and seacraft. The company is beginning to explore the marrying of autonomous control technologies with watercraft, and four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles, (areas in which it already has considerable expertise). At the AUVSI Show in the USA in August, 2004, Yamaha unveiled prototype models of their UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) and the UMV-H (Unmanned Marine Vehicle).

Unmanned Ground Vehicle

The Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) is a prototype based on the 4WD ATV body of the Yamaha YFM660 'Grizzly', which has a top speed of 20 km/h on a flat surface and can make a four metre radius turn at 10 km/h. Yamaha converted this into an autonomous UGV facilitated by two laser scanners for obstacle avoidance, a long-distance remote control operation based on forward and rear cameras and 360-degree revolving camera images, and a learning function that enables the UGV to self-program and follow a course run on manual control. Avoiding obstacles on the ground whilst maintaining optimal speed is the greatest challenge for the UGVs, and the GPS and visual recognition systems draw from Yamaha's experience with electromagnetically guided golf cars to ensure a comfortable ride.

Unmanned Marine Vehicle

The latest Unmanned Marine vehicle (UMV-H ) is a reworked design based on a high-speed powerboat hull that enables it to move on the water and make mobile observations. Powered by a water jet, the UMV-H is 4.44m long and has a top speed of 40 knots. A GPS mapping navigation system enables the UMV-H to cruise a preset course operated either manually with a two-person crew, autonomously over a pre-programmed course with up to 100 navigational co-ordinates, or be driven by means of an extended underwater camera and sonar. The UMV-H can also learn from example and teach itself to follow a course once run on manual navigation.

A successful implementation of Unmanned Vehicle Technology has the potential for very large orders from the military. Right now, however, the RMAX is the finest example of a commercial autonomous aerial vehicle available, with about 2,000 industrial-use unmanned helicopters used for crop-dusting in Japan. We suspect the bar will be raised rapidly over the coming decade.