The coptercam hovers over the pitch, Melbourne Renegades v Brisbane Heat, Big Bash League, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne, December 22, 2012.
@Hai Tran, would this be used in international matches as well? :-)
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/image/598192.html?page=1
For those who are not familiar with the game Cricket and Cricket pitch, refer the wikipedia page found here and here.
Comments
I saw your copter on tv while I was visiting Australia. Had no clue it was yours. Small world.
@Duran, any links please?
@Alan. Please do not misquote me. I never indicated that flying over someones head is amusing. Really. lets stick to facts here :-) Like everyone on this forum I am entitled to express some concern as I did earlier in a controlled and polite manner.
Like all the members of this forum I want to continue to enjoy this hobby. I truely hope we don't see an incident at a major sporting event broadcast live around the world.
I did watch the whole video by the way. This was the first time I saw it. I think you may have missed my subtle attempt to lighten the conversation and at the same time draw attention to the fact the footage is not all shot from the multicopter. Of course I was not there and really the only people who could comment factually is the film crew. What appears to be close ups and over head flying is misleading due to the cameras perspective. I do not think this was shot as close as you think. There are noticeable special effects which were added post production and of course the normal camera zoom.
The camera crew would not have endangered the models either. Fashion Models are very expensive and so would be the litigation in the event of physical injury.
I wont be commenting on this post further. It is obviously a sensitive topic and getting away from the original article on the Cricket. I need to turn my attention to catching up on the code and new hardware, My health has been bad and I had to take a break from things. Now I want to enjoy Xmas and start my next build.
Seasons Greetings to all.
@Alan I think the context we are discussing here is in reference the large public crowds versus making a commercial film / movie under very controlled conditions away from the public. However, I can see your point the model in the opening sequence was in danger of being shocked from the onboard batteries with the copter under water in the pool and so close. :-))
Thanks for the video by the way.
Marty I appreciate your view and I don't want to be critical of anyones achievements either. Having built a few multi-rotors in recent years I have to say the photo of the octocopter from coptercam is one nice machine.
I think Simon sums it up nicely in the area of coverage i.e commercial versus the hobbyist and the potential risk. Australia's does have a good aviation record and CASA plays a very important role. Its just there are more factors beyond their realm of involvement / juristriction which. should be taken into consideration and this might apply in specific situations and events. For example, environment, security / policing agencies. It is certainly an achievement to get CASA to sanction this particular operation. I am just scared at what could happen when the laws of physics on a very powerful and heavy octocopter work against you in the "Unexpected" category Simon talks about. For example you get an electronics failure or radio interference. Notwithstanding, crowds are not always well behaved and lets say the octocopter gets hit by a flying object while operating near a crowded area. Then we have both non-sbrouded blades and the old mass x acceleration element.
Simon,
Sounds like your in Australia so maybe your nearby me. I would certainly appreciate some training?
Thats a good way to look at it, however Marty here is something to ponder.
CASA's moto is "safe skies for all". Which is nice but its far from the truth. Here is why.
I can buy whatever i want, maybe a petrol RC Helicopter from a hobby store (if you can find one now days)
Go to a park and fly it, you can fly whatever you want, but as soon as you make money from taking a couple of photos your in trouble.. In other words, CASA only care about commercial businesses and not hobbiests.
You can buy a KK board from ebay, grab some bath towel railings and some cheap motors, people do this and they go and fly, only a few months ago someone crashed an Octocopter into Sydney airport.
I have been training customers for almost 5 years, thats a long time. In that time i have seen it all. Amazing how some older guys with no experience pick this up... Incredible actually. It's unfortunate that the SOME pilots i train are just no good. Yet CASA are giving out UAV licences to people who hold PPL's, SOME of these holders are short of hopeless. In fact they are not even that good :-( I could could on, but i won't as i could jeopardise myself.
I would normally think something like this is great, but it's not, its dangerous. The machine above weighs almost 7 KG, imagine for a second...... Have you ever seen the bumper sticker? SH&T HAPPENS ??
A rumour is that early next year CASA will put these things into weight categories. Something like this?
50grams to 1kg, 1kg to 5kg. etc....
Here on earth we have something called Gravity and i am not being a smart arse :-)
Simon
From a technology stand point I am am interested in the camera mounts, stabilisation and cameras people are using. The photo in this artical looks to be a Cinestar frame with their triple camera setup. I am trying to decide on what is best to attach to my Driodworx octocopter. Photohigher in NZ have some nice technology but not sure what else people are using in the professional space. Anyway wil probably start my own post on this as it would not be fair to use this particulalr forum.
Mke be good if we can keep media focus on UAVs down to a minimum at the moment. There are so many people now conerned about privacy and safety. The events Chris and 3DR team have run each year are great giving right educaiton and showing very reasponsible activities when the public are concerned.
Surely as a UAV Operator you know that you should never fly over a person or persons, especially at large gatherings. The fact that CASA gave you approval just says it all to me....
Good luck, let's just hope the machine that you built stays in the air.
So that people know CASA are handing out UAV licenses to PPL owners. So if you can fly a plane you can fly a UAV.
There are almost 30 UAV operators now in Australia, all pilots, like yourself.
I know 3 licensed UAV operators who cannot fly UAV's!! As long as you can fly a Cessna though and have 5 hours of flying, which can be part simulator they will give you a license. Oh and hand over 8 grand so they can review your operations manual.
We have been learning about ice on wing tips, stalling angles, carburettor freezing... i might as well be learning how to knit, it has nothing to do with operating a UAV.
My honest opinion; You're going to destroy this for everyone.
Simon,
@Hai, Thanks. Definitely I will try to watch it. You are right, it would be awesome to see a match from a different perspective. The closest I have seen was a camera driven by cables in IPL (IIRC).
Is it being used for pitch report or even while the game is on? Any close calls when batsmen hit sixes :-)?