In our enlightening discussion with Philadelphia-based propulsion systems developer Vertiq, the CEO Jon Broome talks us through the advantages of Field Estimated Control (FEC) over Field Oriented Control (FOC), the rewarding partnership with Michigan-based cargo delivery drone manufacturer Blueflite, and exciting plans and products to come in 2024.
What are the key challenges typically faced by your customers and how do your products address these?
Jon Broome Co-Founder and CEO at Vertiq
The major challenge our customers face is finding a propulsion system that is tailored specifically to their vehicle. All customers want to optimize flight time, vehicle responsiveness, and reliability, but customers also have unique hardware and control requirements that are nearly impossible to find in a single motor-ESC package.
Vertiq has therefore developed a motor-ESC solution that offers best-in-class efficiency, industry-leading motor response time, and safety features that warn the pilot if the motor is performing abnormally. Vertiq’s next generation products will also be modular, allowing add-ons to increase IP rating, LEDs controlled through the ESC, and custom connectors for optimal vehicle integration.
Additionally, Vertiq works closely with its partners to implement custom control features and telemetry packages to further improve vehicle functionality. Lastly, many UAS companies are looking for US-based component providers; Vertiq is based in Philadelphia and we make NDAA compliant solutions for companies that require it.
What sets Vertiq’s solutions apart in the field of propulsion for unmanned aerial systems?
Vertiq is able to offer industrial-grade performance and reliability through its unique hardware design and sophisticated calibration and control software.
40-14 Integrated Motor & ECS
Vertiq integrates its motor and ESC and embeds a position sensor inside the package. Before the product gets to our customer, the motor and ESC go through a calibration process, during which the ESC learns about the properties of the motor it is paired with and saves characteristic values accordingly.
With an accurate measurement of the motor’s rotational position and a map of the motor’s properties, Vertiq’s proprietary control software applies current and voltage at the perfect time to make the motor operate at optimal efficiency, runs a closed-loop velocity controller to increase motor responsiveness, and protects the motor from overheating using a high fidelity thermal model. We also offer innovative control capabilities like instant reversibility, precise propeller positioning, and motor pulsing.
One other area that sets Vertiq apart is our customer support. The only way commercial and defense drones will achieve widespread adoption is if the vehicles are as high performance and reliable as possible. Vertiq not only works hard to solve customer problems quickly, but we work with our partners proactively to avoid problems from arising at all.
Vertiq has developed the method of Field Estimated Control (FEC), can you outline the benefits of this compared to Field Oriented Control (FOC)?
Vertiq’s Field Estimated Control (FEC) and the current industry-standard Field Oriented Control (FOC) fall under the “vector control” style of motor commutation. They are both highly efficient because they either measure or estimate the orientation of the rotor’s electrical field and apply currents and voltages accordingly. While block commutation approximates the bEMF sine waves with six steps, FEC and FOC can generate true sine waves (or virtually any other shape). This ensures that all three phases are controlled properly and the motor runs as efficiently as possible with significantly reduced noise.
Field Estimated Control and Field Oriented Control do have several meaningful differences. FOC works on a wide range of three phase motors, but it relies on current sensors on the motor phases to estimate the motor’s position. These current sensors reduce the efficiency slightly since power is lost in the sensing elements. FOC is also computationally expensive compared to other techniques.
In contrast, Vertiq’s FEC method is a new style of vector control that does not require any invasive sensors like current sensors, yet allows all three phases to be active at all times. Instead, a rotary encoder is used to directly measure position; motor voltages and currents are also calculated from this information. The passive sensor consumes less power than the current sensors and therefore FEC achieves a 3-5% better efficiency compared to FOC. FEC is also much lighter computationally compared to FOC.
Vertiq has partnered with numerous drone companies operating across multiple sectors. Are they any partnerships you are particularly proud of that you would like to share with our readers?
We have many great partnerships with drone manufacturers across multiple industries and around the globe. One partnership that we are particularly proud of is with Blueflite, a Michigan-based cargo delivery drone manufacturer. They handle all aspects of aerial logistics, and we are quite fond of their vehicle, which is a highly maneuverable VTOL platform with an enclosed payload bay for sensitive cargo. They have established partnerships with medical logistics operators, such as Spright, to deliver critical medical supplies to hospitals and individuals quickly and safely.
81-08 Servo Motor & Control System used by Blueflite
Blueflite uses our 81-08 modules to make these delivery missions possible. Compared to others in this size range, our motors and ESCs are more efficient, lighter, quicker to respond, and have a number of built-in telemetry capabilities, allowing for minimal downtime and the ability to operate effectively in complex environments. Blueflite’s work is incredibly impactful (sometimes life-saving), and we are proud to work with them in solving these difficult, meaningful challenges.
Do you currently have any significant investors and what are Vertiq’s plans for 2024 and beyond?
Vertiq has raised money to grow the team to push our technology forward, expand our product line and scale manufacturing. We have a number of investors, the largest of which is Gabriel Investments. They are a local Philadelphia VC that has been instrumental in the initial growth of the company. Vertiq’s most recent funding round closed in May 2022 and with those funds and increasing revenue, the company will achieve profitability in the near future.
Vertiq has several key goals in 2024. On the product development side, we are aiming to fully commercialize 3 new products by the end of the year, as well as prototype 3 additional products that will be available in 2025.
On the business development side, our goal is to cultivate relationships with commercial and defense UAS companies and ultimately work with them to incorporate our motors and ESCs into their vehicle. Most importantly, for our existing customers, our goals are to meet their production demands, offer the best customer support possible to resolve issues quickly, and implement new features that will further improve their vehicle’s performance.
Vertiq also has contracts with the Air Force and National Science Foundation, which are funding R&D efforts for our next generation products. There are milestones associated with these contracts, so our team will be working diligently to hit these milestones.
