A reliability assessment framework is presented for small unmanned aerial vehicles. The analysis considers several candidate architectures with different numbers of controllable surfaces and servos. It is assumed that a servo fault detection algorithm is available and affected by known rates of false alarms and missed detections. The aircraft flight envelope is analyzed to determine the fault levels for which the aircraft can still be flown at a trim point. For these "flyable" fault levels, it is assumed that the flight control law can be reconfigured to safely land the aircraft. Finally, the probability of catastrophic failure is estimated based on the histogram of (pre-fault) control command distributions, mean time between failure of the individual servos, and missed detection and false alarm rates. In applying the framework to assess the reliability of the candidate architectures, several interesting observations on design trade-offs are made.

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Abstract-The present article details the development steps and experimental results obtained during the development of smart actuators used for mini Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Unlike the commercial off-the-shelf hobby components, these units are able to measure position, angular rate and current, furthermore with their controlling microprocessors they are capable of establishing two way communication via CAN and FlexRay protocol. They are suitable for safety critical applications, and self diagnostics features are also hosted onboard the actuators to be part of a redundant, distributed control network. The development challenges and experimental results in an example hardware-in-the-loop simulator of an Unmanned Aerial System are discussed in the paper.

Ophraella communa LeSage, 1986, a leaf beetle native to North America, is recorded for the first time from Hungary. Several specimens were found on a degraded meadow in the outskirts of Budapest. Its importance in suppressing its main host plant, common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), is shortly discussed, as well as the potential problems it can cause in plant protection. With 5 figures.

The present article details the development steps and experimental results obtained during the development of smart actuators used on mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV