Leonardo S p A : FIA 2022, the day of the robotic arm. Over 40 delegations visiting Leonardo's exhibition spaces

FIA 2022, the day of the robotic arm. Over 40 delegations visiting Leonardo's exhibition spaces

19 July 2022

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On the second day at Farnborough institutional and business delegations from all over the world visited the exhibition spaces of the different companies. Leonardo was at the centre of attention, with over 40 visiting delegations to learn about the company's strategic programmes and technological solutions, which meet the increasingly challenging needs of its partners.

Innovation, digitisation and future are the keywords that characterised the second day at FIA 2022.

And it is precisely towards the future that Leonardo has signed a contract with the European Space Agency to produce the robotic arm that will help retrieve samples of the red planet. Following a successful study and prototyping phase, Leonardo, at the head of a European consortium, will now take responsibility for the development of the system through to its first operations on Mars.

The 2.5-metre-long robotic arm, autonomous, highly reliable and robust, will land on the red planet by the end of the decade and will be installed on the NASA Sample Retrieval Lander, recovering the tubes full of Martian soil that were previously collected by the Mars 2020 rover. This will allow scientists back on Earth to analyse the samples in state-of-the-art laboratories and conduct brand new research aimed at bettering humanity's understanding of Mars.

Credits: Leonardo, Maxon, GMV, OHB Italia, SAB Aerospace s.r.o.

During the conference Leonardo, through its Electronic division, launched the new LOAM-V2, a dual use self-protection system for small to mid-sized helicopters. It weighs only 13 kg and is particularly compact in size. The new obstacle identification and alarm system for rotary wing aircraft promptly detects the presence of small obstacles along the route, such as cables as small as 5 mm in diameter, pillars and structures, offering the crew an opportunity to modify their altitude or direction.

In addition to self-protection equipment, Leonardo is displaying at FIA 2022 some of its top electronics technologies developed for civil and military applications. These new-generation solutions for the digitisation of on-board apparatuses include surveillance and firing control radar and medium-to-long-range air defence sensors capable of reinforcing the company's international position in Electronics for Defence and Security.