Autopilot hardware redundancy: essential for critical missions

Hardware redundancy in autopilots is an architecture that enhances the reliability and robustness of control systems in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The design of a system with hardware redundancy ensures that the system will not have a single point of failure, and thus, ensures mission continuity. One of the key advantages of hardware redundancy in critical control systems is the ability to continue the mission under the same conditions, making it suitable for both fail-safe and fail-operational missions.

The importance of hardware redundancy in critical systems

Veronte Autopilot 4x is an excellent example of hardware redundancy implementation in an autopilot for critical installations in drones and eVTOL aircraft. With a design that incorporates multiple full cores of Veronte Autopilot and enables connectivity for an external autopilot, the 4x autopilot allows automatic switching between units in case of a failure. This design ensures mission continuity without interruption, even in extreme conditions.

One of the main advantages of hardware redundancy, such as that used in Veronte Autopilot 4x, is its significant improvement in system reliability. While functional redundancy systems, like those based on software, are useful for managing errors through failsafes (forcing the system into an emergency state and aborting the mission), hardware redundancy provides active and continuous protection, which is crucial in applications where a single component failure could jeopardize the mission. This type of redundancy ensures that the vehicle can continue to operate at full capacity if one unit experiences a failure, even in the event of a fault in the arbitration board responsible for managing redundancy. This has a direct impact on the overall safety of operations.

Additionally, Veronte Autopilot 4x has been developed according to the DO178C / ED12 and DO254 / ED80 certification standards, with compliance to DAL B (DAL A in progress), and tested according to DO160, which further strengthens its reliability in environments where safety is a priority.

Although the use of a redundant hardware system may result in an increase in the aircraft’s weight and volume, the benefits in terms of reliability far outweigh these factors, especially for critical missions where it is essential to use a fail-operational system, ensuring full autopilot functionality and mission completion.

In summary, hardware redundancy, like that offered by the Veronte Autopilot 4x, is crucial in applications that require a high level of reliability and safety. While solutions like software-based functional redundancy are fully functional and suitable for certain missions, hardware redundancy provides a much more robust level of protection against failures in any component of the system, ensuring that the vehicle continues to operate efficiently and safely throughout the entire mission.