Hi, guys,
Recently we were conducting pyrotechnics tests on drones for the purpose of using them drone shows.
We shot some video footage of the pyrotechnics tests and thought you guys might have an interest in seeing some drones shoot fireworks. Using UgCS DDC (Drone Dance Controller) it would be possible to control multiple drones equipped with light effects or other show effects in a synchronised manner.
Here's the video:
Get the newest version of UgCS here
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
We have reached the ninth week in of our autopilot precision series in which we test the different drones and autopilots by flying them on a simple photogrammetry route created in UgCS mission planning software.
This week we put the Microdrones md4-200 to the test by running it through our photogrammetry route and analysing flight precision. For results, see the video below.
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/comparing-precision-of-autopilots-for-survey-missions
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Hi,
This is the eighth part of our autopilot precision series in which we test the different drones and autopilots by flying them on a simple photogrammetry route created in UgCS mission planning software.
This week it’s finally time to put the Lockheed Martin Indago professional drone to the test. See the video below for flight results:
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/comparing-precision-of-autopilots-for-survey-missions
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Hi,
Recently we did an endurance test on our AirMast drone. We thought you guys might be interested in seeing the video of it.
In the test the drone was made to hover in the air for 8 hours straight. It was powered from the ground through a lightweight cable. The system features an intelligent winch for the cable, allowing the drone to reach an altitude of up to 100 meters.
Here's the video:
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
We have reached the seventh week in our autopilot precision series. In this series we test different drones and autopilots by flying them on a simple photogrammetry route created in UgCS.
So far we have tested quite a few drones, including DJI Phantom 4 and 3, DJI Naza-M V2, Mikrokopter Quad XL, DJI A2 as well as PX4. This week we put the DJI Inspire 1 to the test for both – stop and turn and adaptive bank turn trajectories.
The results are in the video below:
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
We have reached the sixth week in our autopilot precision series. In this series we test different drones and autopilots by flying them on a simple photogrammetry route created in UgCS.
So far we have analysed DJI Phantom 4, DJI Naza-M V2, Mikrokopter Quad XL, DJI A2 as well as PX4. This week we take a look at how well did the older generation DJI – Phantom 3 perform on our route. We flew it using both – stop and turn and adaptive bank turn type trajectories.
Here are the results:
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Hi, everyone, this is the fifth part of our autopilot precision series in which we test the different drones and autopilots by flying them on a photogrammetry route created in UgCS.
So far we have published the results for DJI Phantom 4, DJI Naza-M V2, Mikrokopter Quad XL and DJI A2. This week we finally put the PX4 autopilot through the test. For this we used a 3DR IRIS with PX4 firmware and flew it on our photogrammetry route using straight trajectory.
Here are the results:
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
We have reached the fourth week of our autopilot precision series. In this series of articles / videos we test the different drones by flying them on a standard photogrammetry route created in UgCS.
So far we have analysed DJi Phantom 4, DJI Naza-M V2 and Mikrokopter Quad XL. In this week’s video we take a look at the results of DJI A2. The particular A2 was set up on a DJI S900 platform and we flew it three times, each time with a different turn type – stop and turn, bank turn and adaptive bank turn.
Here are the results:
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth:
http://ugcs.com/files/autopilot_precision/MikroKopter_Quad_XL_test-flight.zip
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Some of you might remember our previous post about the universal adapter for DJI gimbals we have developed: http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/universal-adapter-for-dji-gimbals?xg_source=activity
We are excited to share with you that recently we have managed to add support for DJI Zenmuse XT infrared camera. This means that using the adapter this infrared camera from DJI can be mounted on almost any drone / autopilot system.
Here is a video of it being controlled from the web interface:
For more information please contact us: ugcs@ugcs.com
Get the latest version of UgCS here: https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
This is the third week of our autopilot precision series. In this series of articles / videos we test the precision of different drones / autopilots by flying them on a standard photogrammetry mission created in UgCS.
Last two weeks we published the results of DJI Phantom 4 and DJI Naza-M V2. This week we look at how well MikroKopter Quad XL performed on our route. MikroKopter is a well-established German company that has been making drone systems for a long time now. MikroKopter drones are quite popular in Germany and many other European countries as well as internationally.
We flew our MikroKopter Quad XL on the same photogrammetry route created in UgCS which we used for other drones and here is the video of the results:
Download the KML files and take a look at them yourself in Google Earth:
http://ugcs.com/files/autopilot_precision/MikroKopter_Quad_XL_test-flight.zip
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
This is the second instalment in a series in which we test the precision of different drones and autopilots by flying them on a standard photogrammetry mission created in UgCS.
Last week we published a test of DJI Phantom 4 where we tested the precision of this drone on our photogrammetry route. In this week’s video we review the flight results from another popular drone autopilot from DJI – Naza-M V2. The Naza-M V2 is a popular autopilot from DJI used by hobbyists and professionals alike. In our case it was mounted on a DJI F450 frame.
We flew it on the exact same photogrammetry route as Phantom 4 with three different turn types – Stop and Turn, Bank turn and Adaptive Bank turn. As expected, with DJI Naza-M V2 being an older autopilot, it did not fly as precisely as the Phantom 4. Out of the three turn types the Adaptive Bank gave us the best results as far as keeping to survey lines goes.
Here is the video:
Download the KML files and test them yourself in Google Earth:
http://ugcs.com/files/autopilot_precision/DJI_Naza-M_V2_test_flight.zip
Get the newest version of UgCS here:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Here at SPH Engineering we have a fleet of various drones we use for diverse research and development projects as well as testing new releases of UgCS.
When it comes to using drones for land surveying, mapping or 3D reconstructions, flight precision plays an important role. This is why we decided to test the precision of different drones to see how well they compare to one another. For that we prepared a short photogrammetry mission in UgCS to see how well does the actual flight trajectory correspond to survey lines.
In the first part we tested the DJI Phantom 4 using different turn types: first flight with Stop and Turn, second - Adaptive Bank. See the flight comparison in the video below:
We will try and publish one drone test per week. Next-up will be the DJI Naza-M V2.
Below are the KML files from the test route and the flight paths. You can import and view them in Google Earth.
Test Route
Phantom 4 Adaptive Bank Turn
Phantom 4 Stop and Turn
Get the newest version of UgCS here: www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
We would like to share with you a project we've been working on at SPH Engineering. We have developed an adapter that makes it possible to connect and use DJI gimbals / camera systems with virtually any other drone or autopilot.
It was designed as a part of our tethered drone system AirMast (airmast.com), however, it will be available separately as well. Here's a video of the adapter:
The device features an Ethernet interface and can be operated through a web browser. Video stream can be played with media players such as VLC and others as ffmpeg. Furthermore, REST API is also available for controlling the camera.
The adapter is sold separately. For orders or more information please contact us at ugcs@ugcs.com
Get the latest version of UgCS here: www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
UgCS has been developed for more than 4 years and it is used in 159 countries - a fact that motivates us to continue improvement of UgCS. Although our Customer team would be glad to travel to 159 countries, but understanding, that we can’t meet all UgCS users in person - we send sincere greetings from Latvia! :)
List of most UgCS users by country is quite ordinary, in the TOP 10 listing biggest countries of the world. There are also some surprising countries in this list like Vatican, arising the question, is it possible to fly a drone over Vatican, really? Greetings also to UgCS bravest drone pilot! :)
Chart: TOP 10 countries with most downloaded UgCS Licences
China seems as our epic fail. With more than 1 billion people population there should be more drone pilots among UgCS users.
Paid to free licence ratio
Country | Paid / free licence ratio |
Spain | 20,49% |
Canada | 20,40% |
Australia | 17,01% |
United States | 14,23% |
Other countries | 13,04% |
Germany | 11,99% |
Brazil | 11,70% |
France | 11,50% |
Italy | 10,46% |
United Kingdom | 9,19% |
China | 7,34% |
We are grateful to DIY DRONES community for feedback and support. The ratio between paid and free licences of UgCS in TOP 10 countries shows, that UgCS OPEN is widely used by hobbyist and semi-professional drone pilots:
These numbers convince us to continue offering the free licence UgCS OPEN as a full-fledged ground station software.
Get UgCS here: https://www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
SPH Engineering’s latest update to UgCS mission planning software for drones brings improvements to features, user interface ergonomics and a new affordable licence type for UAV professionals.
Added support for PX4, DJI Matrice 600 and DJI A3 autopilot, expanding the already wide base of UgCS supported drones.
The UgCS version 2.10 features many changes, one of the biggest is automatic route calculation in the background as you draw it. Once the route is created - just upload it to the drone and it is ready to fly.
To ease route planning, the option to clone or move whole route as single element is added. It is also possible to select multiple parts of a route and edit their common parameters in batch.
Starting from version 2.10 there will be four UgCS licences available: UgCS OPEN, UgCS ONE, UgCS PRO and UgCS ENTERPRISE. All users who bought UgCS PRO before version 2.10 will be transferred to UgCS ENTERPRISE after update to version 2.10.
New UgCS PRO is created based on consultations with UAV professionals, to equip pro-users with a complete mission planner and ground control software to enable advanced mission management. Amongst basic UgCS features new UgCS PRO enables KML and DEM import, import of Geo-referenced images and NFZ management. Also three simultaneous connections to UgCS server are allowed from clients thus lowering cost to start getting benefits from UgCS SDK (software development kit) and custom integrations with 3rd party systems for those who want to create more complex UAV control environments. Last but not least - all that for an affordable price.
To enable more ergonomic mission planning, user interface (UI) has been redesigned. UgCS event window is divided in two separate windows: one related to route events and second related to UAV events. Thus operator does not loose important drone status and warning messages between technical information concerning route setup and calculation.
Other significant improvements:
Full list of updates can be seen in UgCS version 2.10 release notes:
https://www.ugcs.com/en/page/download
About UgCS
UgCS is a software developed by SPH Engineering for central management of all types and manufacturers of unmanned vehicles, enabling to control one or a fleet of drones on a single mission in multi operator mode and multi-platform environments. Ease of integration and adding support for new vehicles or payloads is achieved by modular architecture of UgCS. SPH Engineering offers unmanned systems integration services: building, acquiring and consulting on selection of airframes, autopilots, payloads for particular application and performing proof of concept projects and software development. More: www.ugcs.com
Media contact: Janis Kuze, Sales Director
E-mail: ugcs@ugcs.com, Phone: +371 2545 3422
Resources:
Operating in remote areas can present challenges in communications. In areas with weak or non-existing communication networks, large changes in elevation or obstacles, one must look for other purposes of establishing communications. Where there are no towers, drones can be used to set up temporary communication networks.
However, the limited flight time of drones can cause problems in these cases. For this purpose, a tethered drone system can be used. The tethered drone system uses an intelligent winch system that powers the drone from the ground, allowing the drone to stay up in the air for extended periods of time due to the system no longer being reliant on a battery.
Below you can find a video demonstrating the capabilities of UgCS ground control software working together with Rajant BreadCrumb® modules to create a mesh network. This setup can be used to quickly and easily establish a multi-node network using drones. It allows sending flight data as well as video stream to a ground control station operator from multiple drone operators in the field.
For more information and inquiries on the system please contact ugcs@ugcs.com
The newest version of UgCS ground control software can be downloaded here: www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
How often do you need to make repeatable flights in areas for which Google or other map provider data is outdated? It’s a typical scenario for flying a drone in rapidly changing areas such as construction sites, quarries, mines, disaster areas etc.
If this is the case for you, then you probably are familiar with how hard it is to plan missions when there are no visual identifiers on the map. This is especially true if you need to build a 3D reconstruction from the images taken during the flight.
Here we will show you how easy it is to make a map and import it in UgCS ground control software. After this is done you will be able to plan your drone flights with more precision and confidence.
The steps are as follows:
1. Plan a Photogrammetry mission which covers the area of your interest. Because you will only use this map to plan future missions you don’t need a very good GSD - 5 cm per pixel will be more than enough and it will give you short flight and image processing time. Here is an instructional video on how to plan a photogrammetry mission in UgCS - https://youtu.be/Ykf0x0B-QoE
2. Fly your route and take images. If the camera on your drone does not automatically geotag the images, you can geotag them in UgCS Telemetry Player.
3. Next step is to stitch the images together using your favorite software or service. By using the right tools - in fifteen minutes you will get a geotagged GIF or TIF file like this:
The image for this sample was created using a free account on Dronedeploy.com
4. Use some “black magic” to import the geotagged map file back into UgCS
In UgCS go to Menu / Configuration / Geoserver. Then select “Local Geographic Server”, press “Edit”, click “Manage map sources”, “New source” and you will see this window:
Give your new map a name, for example - “Fresh map”, and click Create. Then click “Upload” and select your geotagged image file.
The upload process can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes depending on your hard drive speed and the size of the file. When image is imported you can close this window and click “Save”.
Click Back and you will be taken back to the main window of UgCS.
5. Click on “Layers” menu located in the upper right corner of UgCS. Select your newly created map in the list of map overlays:
Bingo! Here you have it:
Now you can plan your next mission in a safe and confident manner by using the map you just created!
Best,
UgCS Team
Get the newest version of UgCS here: www.ugcs.com
We’re proud and very excited to announce the release of the newest version of UgCS ground station software for drones – UgCS 2.9 Update 1. We’ve put in a lot of work to make sure this is the most polished version of UgCS ever. Along with changes in UgCS desktop version, the users of “UgCS for DJI” mobile app will also notice some useful improvements.
Here are some of the changes in UgCS desktop version:
“UgCS for DJI” Android app has been updated to work with the latest version of UgCS. Some of the new features of the mobile app include:
Get UgCS 2.9 Update 1 now at www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Hey, DIYDrones community,
We've had the request to implement a feature that allows moving the entire UgCS route.
This feature is coming, however, in the meanwhile, we have developed a script that allows you to move the entire route with ease.
The script is available on GitHub here: https://github.com/ugcs/converters/tree/master/moveRoute
To use it, you need to supply the following arguments to it:
- UgCS route or mission full name
- New latitude for the first route or mission waypoint
- New longitude for the first route or mission waypoint
The coordinates should be in decimal format.
Then run one of the following commands:
!moveRoute.cmd c:\test\myroute.xml 22.42929880348565 114.1145629706805
or
cscript c:\test\moveRoute.js c:\test\myroute.xml 22.42929880348565 114.1145629706805
This script works on Windows.
Get the newest version of UgCS here: www.ugcs.com
Safe flights,
UgCS Team
Hi,
We have had quite a few requests about importing KML files in our UgCS ground control software.
Unfortunately UgCS doesn't have such functionality. However, we have prepared a simple converter for this purpose. It can take polygons from a KML file and generate a UgCS route with Photogrammetry, Area Scan or Perimeter.
One warning - it will only work on Windows. You can get it here - https://github.com/ugcs/converters/tree/master/kml2ugcs
We hope you find this tool useful. If you have any questions about using it, please do not hesitate to ask. We would appreciate some feedback from you guys on it and let us know if you have any ideas for improvements.
Newest version of UgCS can be downloaded here: www.ugcs.com
Enjoy and safe flights,
UgCS Team
