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My talk is now live

Two days, free to all, more than 1,600 already signed up. I'm going to be speaking tomorrow at 1:30pm PT about PX4 and FAA Type Certification. 

The full schedule is here

This is a renewed high-quality power module standard based on the ACSP7 but with dual internal power supply to improve the stability of the hall-sensing.

The mRo Power Zero from mRobotics is designed especially for the DIY community and it offers extremely accurate measurements across the entire current & voltage operating range with a non-invasive Hall-effect current sensor for UAV / Robotics application and high precision voltage dividing circuit for consistent and reliable measurements.

Compared to the ACSP7, the .5v offset is removed and the current sensing is compared with a dedicated power reference. The integrated electrolytic capacitor reduces voltage spikes which result from longer input cable lengths and higher voltage batteries.

From Hackaday:

With lockdown regulations sweeping the globe, many have found themselves spending altogether too much time inside with not a lot to do. [Peter Hall] is one such individual, with a penchant for flying quadcopters. With the great outdoors all but denied, he instead endeavoured to find a way to make flying inside a more exciting experience. We’d say he’s succeeded.

The setup involves using a SteamVR virtual reality tracker to monitor the position of a quadcopter inside a room. This data is then passed back to the quadcopter at a high rate, giving the autopilot fast, accurate data upon which to execute manoeuvres. PyOpenVR is used to do the motion tracking, and in combination with MAVProxy, sends the information over MAVLink back to the copter’s ArduPilot.

While such a setup could be used to simply stop the copter crashing into things, [Peter] doesn’t like to do things by half measures. Instead, he took full advantage of the capabilities of the system, enabling the copter to fly aggressively in an incredibly small space.

It’s an impressive setup, and one that we’re sure could have further applications for those exploring the use of drones indoors. We’ve seen MAVLink used for nefarious purposes, too. 

FlytBase, Inc. flagship product FlytNow is a cloud-based drone video streaming & fleet management solution, which provides a web-based portal to manage live drone operations remotely over 4G/LTE/5G. FlytNow provides live HD video feed, drone & camera gimbal control, and telemetry at ultra-low latency over the internet.

To empower users with the ability to use drones from a variety of manufacturers, FlytBase has now launched a Companion Computer (SBC) based Cloud Connect Software Module for the FlytNow platform. The software module supports custom drones using the firmware PX4 and Ardupilot, and popular autopilots like Pixhawk, Cubepilot, mRo X2.1 (a reduced version of Pixhawk1), Pixhawk4, Pixhawk5, etc. It also supports enterprise DJI drones like  DJI M210, M210 RTK, M300 RTK, M600, etc. and flight DJI controllers: A3 and N3. 

Role of custom drones

Custom drones built for a particular use-case provide better capabilities and efficiency compared to standard off-the-shelf drones. For example, in delivery operations, drones are required to fly long distances and carry heavy payloads; custom VTOL drones can fulfill such requirements. Similarly, for security, public safety, and emergency operations, drones that can carry specialize payload (thermal camera, loudspeaker, beacons, etc) and can transmit data securely are better suited, which can be achieved through a custom-built.  

How the PX4/Ardupilot Cloud Connect Module Works?

The cloud-connect module is a software solution to connect Pixhawk & CubePilot based Drones with FlytNow Business and FlytNow Enterprise.

Users can install the software on a companion computer of their choice (Jetson Nano, Jetson Xavier NX, Raspberry Pi 3b+/4 Odroid N2, DJI Manifold 2) and then connect the companion computer (SBC) directly to a drone’s flight controller. Once integrated, the drone can directly connect with FlytNow Business/Enterprise over 4G/LTE/5G/WiFi network through USB/Ethernet dongle or router on the companion computer. 

Why Connect to FlytNow Business/Enterprise Edition?

Connecting a drone with FlytNow using an SBC allows a user to perform remote drone operations with the drone fleet. It also enables EVLOS or BVLOS (might require regulatory clearance) flights, thus opening up business opportunities in security & surveillance, drone delivery, mapping & surveys, public safety, emergency response, inspections, etc.

“FlytNow compatibility with PX4, Ardupilot, and DJI drones allows system integrators, commercial drone operators, and subject matter experts to use a hybrid fleet of drones better suited to their requirements. 
Subject matter experts or operation heads can now see live HD video feed, telemetry at the back office as the drone operation commences on the field. This adds a lot of value for drone teams and leads to better management, ultimately saving time & cost.” - Achal Negi, Head of Business Development at FlytBase.

The FlytNow Business Edition provides out-of-the-box capabilities for operators involved in security, surveillance, public safety & emergency response. Whereas, the Enterprise version provides customization and end-to-end automation to scale drone operations with a large fleet for use-cases such as drone delivery, automated surveys, inspections, and monitoring.

Stakeholders that use the FlytNow Business/Enterprise for drone operations can:

• Connect, control, and live stream videos from drones over 4G/LTE/5G network.
• Connect multiple drones and control them from a single web-based dashboard. 
• Live-stream multiple video-feeds and share them with third parties via email.
• Connect to a private cloud for video archiving. 
• Initiate advanced failsafes like RTH (Return to Home) to automatically make a drone return base and ELP (Emergency Landing Point), available only in the Enterprise version, which allows a drone to land on a predefined point along a route in case of an emergency.
• Integrate with third-party airspace information service providers like Airmap (an Enterprise feature). This feature is crucial for BVLOS and EVLOS flights. 
• Create advanced geofence using polygons in the Enterprise version. 
• Integrate precision landing and collision avoidance capabilities (only in Enterprise version)

How do I get started?

1. To get started with FlytNow, sign up for a 28-day free trial at https://app.flytnow.com
   
   
2. To connect your Pixhawk/Cubepilot drone choose the supported drone hardware and install the software following the documentation given at https://docs.flytbase.com
   
   
3. Cloud connect software module and license can be purchased at https://store.flytbase.com/product/flytnow-bvlos-kit/

Have questions about FlytNow Pro/Business/Enterprise and supported hardware?
Schedule a 30-min free consultation with FlytNow expert -- drop a message at https://flytnow.com/contact

You may also join FlytNow user community on Facebook, LinkedIn, and FlytForums (forums.flytnow.com)

 Are you running your own drone photography business? How do you find clients for your service? Do you know that today the Internet is the best channel to find clients? If you are using the internet to find clients online, congratulations. You are ahead of the game. If you are using traditional advertising methods and in-person marketing, this article will show you 5 ways to grow your business using the Internet. Let’s get started.

• Cold Emailing

Email marketing is not something new. It is also considered an ancient relic. Email is the traditional method to contact people, update information, and form a relationship. 

So if you want to get in touch with more potential customers, you should invest your time on email marketing campaigns. 

So the question is how you can get emails to start your email marketing campaign. There are 2 ways to collect the email. The first one, you can use the email list of customers who are using your services. The second is the email list of those who are your target customers. We will focus on how to get email list from your targeted customers. 

• Define who are your targeted customers (Realtors, Construction companies, Apartment complexes, Golf courses, Hotels/resorts,..)
• Search on Google the type of costumes and the location you want to work in, for example: real estate agent New York
• Then visit each potential client’s website and find their email address or contact page. 
• Create a spreadsheet to collect their information
• Create content for the email which you will send them. The content of the email is very important. Don't try to sell your products so hard. Just simply introduce yourself and your services. 
• Check out the number of response letters and send follow up emails to those who don't reply to your emails. 

To support better with email marketing, you can use getresponse.com or mailchimp.com to support you control your campaign. 

There is a fact that not all the emails you send can be responded to. However, if you are patient with this method, you will get what you are looking for. 

• Local Facebook ads

Not like utilizing emails to find potential clients, facebook ads require a fee if you use it. You will have to pay a certain amount of money for finding a customer. Of course the fee will depend on how you optimize your ad.

Most people have Facebook accounts, so using Facebook to advertise your business is a wise idea. All you need to do is modeling the user portrait in your industry, then select the location you want to target, the interest and behavior of your potential clients. Then setting a campaign targeting those audiences. And after that, Facebook advertisers will assure to distribute your ads to targeted clients. 

People who see your ads and be interested in your service will actively contact you to ask for more information. 

• Twitter Search

Twitter is also one of the most popular social networking sites. You also can make use of it. In the search box, type the keyword of your business and find the conversations people are talking about them. If you can engage in those conversations, leave a comment. That is one of the ways for people who share the same interests with you to know about your business. 

If you can not find any conversations which you can join in, there is another way. You can check out profiles of people who have interest in your industry and click the “Tweet to” button and send them a tweet introducing yourself and complimenting their business. That is a great way to start conversations with them. 

• LinkedIn Connections and Groups

Linkedin is a social networking which is mainly used for B2B business. To use Linkedin to find potential customers, you can do the same as you do on Twitter. 

In the profile section, make sure you introduce your business and attach your website, contact information. 

After having your profile ready, use a search box to connect with people or businesses in your industry and start building a relationship with them.

• Get Ranked in Google

Getting rank in Google means your business website will appear on the first page of a search engine once a person types a certain keyword. The traffic from google is called organic traffic because you don't need to pay for it.

However, to get your page ranked on the first page, You need to practise SEO (search engine optimization). This means you need to optimize your website correctly for the keywords you want to rank for, and you need to get your business cited in local online listings and build backlinks to give your website more authority. 

Final Thoughts

Nowaday, more and more people have drone and they can easily start their drone business serving for many industries such as drone for real estate, for wedding/festival,... The demand for using drone is higher and higher as well. Thus, In this digital world, if you do not take advantage of technology to grow your business, you are lacking a lot of potential clients.

From the Intel Realsense blog:

Hundreds of thousands of people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year. In Europe alone, that number is around 275,000. In the USA, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year. While emergency responders do everything they can to respond to these life threatening situations as rapidly as possible, survival rate for out of hospital cardiac arrests can be as low as 10%. When bystanders who witness an attack perform CPR, survival rates increase. Research shows that CPR and defibrillation together when used very quickly after an attack can further, drastically, increase survival and positive outcomes.

Cardiac arrest statistics

In one study by the American Heart Association, researchers looked at almost 50,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests, and specifically studied those arrests which happened in public, were witnessed and where an automated external defibrillator was available. Among their findings:

• Cardiac arrest victims who received a shock from a publicly available AED had far greater chances of survival and being discharged from the hospital than those who did not; 66.5 percent versus 43 percent.
• Cardiac arrest victims who received a shock from a publicly available AED that was administered by a bystander had 2.62 times higher odds of survival to hospital discharge and 2.73 times more favorable outcomes for functioning compared to victims who first received an AED shock after emergency responders arrived.
• Victims who received an AED shock from a bystander (57.1 percent) using a publicly available device instead of having to wait for emergency responders (32.7 percent) had near normal function and better outcomes.
• Without a bystander using AED shock therapy, 70 percent of cardiac arrest patients either died or survived with impaired brain function.

https://www.intelrealsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/paramedic-300x200.jpg 300w" alt="Paramedic using an external defibrillator" width="700" height="467" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12322" />

Paramedic using an external defibrillator.

It’s clear from this study that making AED devices available prior to the arrival of emergency responders can make a significant difference in eventual outcomes. Making AED devices available everywhere they could potentially be used is challenging and cost prohibitive. Swedish based Everdrone is looking to solve this problem using an autonomous drone system that allows an emergency medical call center to deliver a defibrillator to the site of a cardiac arrest within a few minutes. By providing the necessary equipment, bystanders will have the ability to initiate life-saving measures while awaiting professional medical care. The operations are carried out by Everdrone and are part of a clinical study in collaboration with Sweden’s national emergency call center, SOS Alarm, and the Centre for Resuscitation Science at Karolinska Institutet.

Autonomous vs. Automated

When talking about drones and robots, it’s essential to understand the difference between automated and autonomous. An automated system performs the same task over and over again. Think about systems like the huge automated robotic arms that build cars. These systems have no awareness of their environment, merely repeating the same movement and task. An autonomous system, on the other hand is able to make decisions based on its physical surroundings. In order for Everdrone’s aerial vehicles to detect obstacles and sense the distance to surrounding objects, they use Intel® RealSense™ D435 depth cameras. The solution is modular and supports up to 7 D435 cameras simultaneously feeding real-time depth data to the drone’s navigation system. The low weight is especially important for a drone which is already carrying relatively heavy AED systems.

https://www.intelrealsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Everdrone_AED_Images11-300x169.jpg 300w" alt="An Everdrone waiting to take off." width="700" height="394" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12327" />

An Everdrone waiting to take off.

Safety first

For a system designed to save lives, it’s crucially important that the drone operation itself is safe, especially beyond visual line of sight from the operator. Since these drones could operate and be necessary in a huge variety of environments and conditions, they need an extremely reliable sense and avoid system. Using the Intel RealSense depth cameras combined with Everdrone’s proprietary software, the drones can be kept a safe distance from any obstacles, especially during takeoff and landing and during low-altitude navigation. The system is designed with the highest level of autonomy in mind, and with a level of safety that is on par with what is required for manned aviation. As one of the few companies in the world granted permission for operation in urban environments, Everdrone is clearly delivering safe autonomous operation that can be relied upon.

https://www.intelrealsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/everdrone_with_intel_realsense-300x200.jpg 300w" alt="Intel RealSense Depth Camera D435 on the drone." width="700" height="467" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12332" />

Intel RealSense Depth Camera D435 on the drone.

https://www.intelrealsense.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/everdrone-with-depth-camera-d435-300x169.jpg 300w" alt="Close up of a D435 on the bottom of the drone – ideal for takeoff and landing." width="700" height="394" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-12337" />

Close up of a D435 on the bottom of the drone – ideal for takeoff and landing.

Other uses

While lifesaving AED delivery is a very important use for these drones, there are also situations where the same drones could be dispatched by emergency services for other uses. For example, an emergency medical call center or emergency response organization could dispatch drones to large incidents as a way to give first responders intelligence about conditions at a disaster site before they arrive. For example, in an earthquake, a drone could help a first responder plan a safe approach or path to their destination, or give important updates on fires or other issues.

From Hackster

Keeping tabs on plant and crop yield is a difficult job, even with the best farm equipment on hand. Some have gone the high-tech route using SBC-powered cameras to track growth and potential diseases. Still, researcher and developer Enrico Miglino has decided to use a customized drone for plant monitoring and data collection. His Nanodrone is semi-autonomous, and employs sensors and a camera to garner information in real-time along a predefined path using a GPS and a series of waypoints.

Miglino designed his Nanodrone using a DJ Mavic Mini and a 3D-printed undercarriage that houses an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense, a forward-facing 2MP SPI Arducam, a GPS board, and a microSD card (for saving information). As mentioned earlier, the Nanodrone uses a series of waypoints for navigation and the camera to identify colors (ripeness) of specific plants, such as fruits and vegetables, which it does leveraging TensorFlow Lite.

 

Once the Nanodrone has completed its navigation cycle, it then heads to a base station that’s equipped with a PSoC6 Pioneer Kit, where it then delivers the data it has collected via BLE. After a predetermined number of cycles (more than one may be needed), the collected data is then sent over Wi-Fi to a Raspberry Pi, which further processes the readings for more detailed information.

Miglino lists a number of possible applications for his Nanodrone, including plant and tree inspections on small and medium farms, architectural structure variations on time and deformation analysis, and environmental impact changes. For those who would like to recreate his build, Miglino has uploaded a detailed walkthrough of the Nanodrone on his element14 page as the project is still ongoing.

The full schedule of the PX4 virtual developer summit has now been posted. I'm going to be speaking on July 7 on PX4 and the FAA's new drone type certification process. 

This is the second annual PX4 developer conference and the first one sold out fast. This one will be virtual of course, which means that it's now much more accessible to people in different countries and time zones.  Even better, it's free!

You can see highlights of last year's developer summit here.

From the Shapeways blog, a good interview with PX4-based Quantum Systems:

Quantum Systems is a Munich-based company specializing in advanced eVTOL (electric vertical take off and landing) drones. Most recently Quantum Systems tested using their Trinity F90+ to deliver medical samples, opening up new possibilities for applying drone technology to facilitate medical needs.

Founded in 2015, the company has grown quickly by utilizing 3D printing from the beginning of their journey. From rapidly prototyping to printing laser-sintered serial production parts, 3D printing allows for the production of complex but lightweight parts that are free from design constraints, cutting time and mistakes while keeping costs at a minimum.

Quantum Systems has used Shapeways’ printing services to create the ultimate eVTOL aircrafts. We interviewed their CEO, Florian Seibel, to gain more insights on how 3D printing contributes to their drone-making process.

What is your name and role at Quantum Systems?

Florian Seibel, CEO of Quantum Systems

I am Florian Seibel, and since the founding of Quantum-Systems GmbH in 2015, I’ve held the position of CEO.

The core team of the founders got to know each other as part of their scientific work at the Institute of Flight Systems of the German Armed Forces in Munich. My expertise is the development and the operation of small unmanned aerial vehicles with the focus on design, construction and production methods. With my vision of a licensed, VTOL fixed-wing UAV, I was the initiator of the patent to secure the innovative aspects of the UAV and the driving force behind the founding of the company Quantum-Systems GmbH.

Tell us more about Quantum-Systems

Quantum-Systems GmbH was founded in 2015 in Munich and specializes in the development and production of automatic, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) fixed-wing drones for a wide variety of use cases. The 50+ employees are working intensively on combining range and electric efficiency with the ability to vertically take off and land without additional equipment.

Our passion is the continuous development of industry-leading VTOL aircrafts. With our ready-to-operate systems we serve a wide range of customers. We help to increase yields in agriculture, fly 3-D reconstruction missions, do tactical mapping for security forces or provide mission-critical video footage in real time to military users. Made in Germany, non ITAR and no back doors in soft or hardware as all of our flight planning and autopilot software is designed in-house.

https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-840x552.jpg 840w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-420x276.jpg 420w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-768x504.jpg 768w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-1536x1009.jpg 1536w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-2048x1345.jpg 2048w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-800x525.jpg 800w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-400x263.jpg 400w, https://www.shapeways.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/quantum-systems_F90___R6___20200124.PCLock-300x197.jpg 300w" alt="quantum systems drone with 3d printed parts" width="560" height="368" /> Quantum-System’s Trinity F90+ drone – Main Body. Image source: Quantum Systems

Why did you choose additive manufacturing and not alternative manufacturing processes?

The complex geometry of 3D-printed parts saves weight by using synergy effects. With synergy effects we mean that with 3D-printed parts we are able to reduce the total number of parts by designing multiple-use parts with integral functionality.

What are the benefits of using additive manufacturing with Shapeways vs using traditional manufacturing?

We used 3D-printing right away, so there is no comparison. Quantum-Systems is a young company. Only because of the fact that we have integrated this manufacturing method into our manufacturing and development process, have we been able to significantly reduce development time. For injection moulded parts we save around 10 weeks by using 3D-printed samples to release the CAD data. The probability that these parts need a second loop of corrections is quite low in this way. For cnc-manufactured parts it is the same, we just often skip the first round of samples with 3D-printed parts which saves us 3-4 weeks. In general I would say 3D-printing saves us 20-50% of time, depending on which parts we design.

What do you value most in additive manufacturing services? 

We can have fast iterations in development and save time to mature our prototypes.

Why did you choose Shapeways?

Simple customer interface and good print quality! And on top of that, you are quick!

Trinity F90+ Payload Bay with a dual camera mount for RGB and multispectral images. Image source: Quantum Systems

What types of 3D printing do you use Shapeways for? 

We have many prototype parts and even some serial production parts laser sintered.

Which materials do you print in and why? 

In general, we order Versatile Plastic and HP (Multi Jet Fusion PA12), sometimes colorized. The material properties are perfect for building light and strong drone parts. We prefer HP at the moment, but for some parts, especially big ones, we order Versatile Plastic due to the price.

Any future projects on the horizon?

A lot! And fortunately, all projects require the use of 3D printing. The drones sector still offers a lot of room to pack more features into smaller and more flexible products.

3D printing prototypes and parts has given Quantum Systems the ability to cut substantial time, effort and potential mistakes by streamlining their production process. See how Shapeways can help you prototype and take your designs to the next level.