About

Gender

Male


Location

Manhattan, KS


About Me:

Kansas State University


Please tell us a bit about your UAV interest

Agricultural applications


Hometown:

Manhattan


Activity Feed

Deon van der Merwe commented on Ellen Zhu's blog post Skywalker EVE 2000 2240mm Twin Motor FPV Plane
"I've assembled and flown the plug and play version. Here is a video with my first impressions:
https://youtu.be/rzpThK-drbA"
Dec 11, 2016
Deon van der Merwe commented on Greg Crutsinger's blog post King Clone: Mapping ancient desert shrubs using Parrot Sequoia
"Greg, thanks for sharing these results. Very interesting indeed!

Another application of your data that could be interesting is to examine the spatial distribution of creosote plants. Based on a calculation of average distance between individuals…"
Aug 3, 2016
Deon van der Merwe replied to Matt Gunn's discussion Let's talk Canon cameras
"We are now using the Sony a5100 for most projects (RGB and NDVI). It has a 24MP sensor with excellent dynamic range. It is also light weight and small enough for easy installation when used with the Sony 16mm or 20mm E-mount lenses."
Jan 1, 2016
Deon van der Merwe replied to Global_Saffer's discussion Basic mapping with Iris+ Canon S100
"I've had several MaxMax-converted cameras. Never had a problem, so I'm surprised to hear about Michal's issue, but they are pricey.
Event38 has a filter that is not quite equivalent to the MaxMax filters, but still useful.
A potential new option,…"
Apr 7, 2015
Deon van der Merwe left a comment for Marino Ramirez
"Hi Marino, good luck with your Zephyr XL. The default parameter values are good to start with, but I have found that I need to increase the pitch P parameter a bit on my Zephyrs.

Deon"
Dec 31, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Benjamin Meltzer's discussion NDVI NGB Modified Camera Configuration in Agricultural UAVs
"It is possible to use two cameras. We started with that method. However, it is a challenge to obtain precise synchronization between the cameras, it makes data processing more difficult, and it is not a complete solution in terms of band selectivity…"
Dec 11, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Benjamin Meltzer's discussion NDVI NGB Modified Camera Configuration in Agricultural UAVs
"Benji,
You are seeing some of the complexities associated with using converted "NDVI" cameras. It does not make the data useless, but you have to take the limitations into consideration. One of the important factors to realize is that the data…"
Dec 11, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Benjamin Meltzer's discussion NIR Camera vs RGB Camera Conversion in Agricultural UAVs
"It was unclear from the way you asked the question whether or not you were aware that you need a visible AND a NIR band to calculate NDVI. Having both on one sensor makes image processing much easier. Be careful of "IR" conversions that only take…"
Oct 26, 2014
Deon van der Merwe commented on Chris Anderson's blog post FAA vs Search-and-Rescue drones
"Something that I fail to comprehend (maybe because it is incomprehensible), is why the FAA is concerned about commercial vs recreational use of model aircraft, when the FAAs reason for existence is to keep the NAS safe. Getting paid for a flight…"
Apr 12, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Kim Faber's discussion What software are people using to stitch photos together? in Agricultural UAVs
"The macros from MaxMax are scripts that plug into a free software called ImageJ. It is very limited, and takes a LOOOOOOOOOONG time to process images."
Mar 6, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Kim Faber's discussion What software are people using to stitch photos together? in Agricultural UAVs
"Dave,
The CHDK firmware is free at: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/Downloads"
Mar 6, 2014
Deon van der Merwe replied to Kim Faber's discussion What software are people using to stitch photos together? in Agricultural UAVs
"Hey Christo, lekker om Afrikaans te sien!
Yeah, that is the way we use it. Agisoft for buiding the 3D model (Pix4D is another option), followed by an orthophoto with averaged reflectance values. Deriving a vegetation index and data sampling then…"
Mar 2, 2014
Deon van der Merwe left a comment for Gustavo Togeiro de Alckmin
"Gustavo, we have an an ongoing research project on prairie biomass calculation at Kansas State University. We posted a few slides on the project here: http://www.k-state.edu/measa/grasslands/

Please contact me if you are interested…"
Jan 16, 2014
Deon van der Merwe commented on Chris Anderson's blog post Drones = better wine. A glimpse into the 3DR vineyard survey research
"Well done guys! What camera and stitching software did you use?"
Dec 20, 2013
Deon van der Merwe left a comment on Agricultural UAVs
"To Milan, we are actively doing research on toxic algae blooms at Kansas State University, including the determination of algae density using small unmanned systems. This video demonstrates such a flight:
http://youtu.be/Hu28ltyBxro

The video was…"
Dec 16, 2013
Deon van der Merwe replied to James Slizewski's discussion Good Air frames for mapping in Agricultural UAVs
"There are going to be many answers to this question. I can only say what works for me after testing several options.
One of the classic, proven camera planes, with flying characteristics that keeps the camera pointing down even in gusty winds, and…"
Dec 9, 2013
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