On July 18 2016 University of Hawaii at Hilo's SDAV Lab, under a COA from the FAA, operated multiple UAV flights over  Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park. A first since the ban was established in June of 2014.

The project was spearheaded by Adam Johnson, Chief of integrated resources management for the park. Working for over a year to gain approval for the sensitive operations, he dealt with with, not only the restrictions of UAS operations in national parks, but also the sensitive historic archaeological site the park protects. 

Partnering with University's Spatial Data and Visualization Lab, the goal was to create a baseline measurement  of the healthy coconut trees in the park and attempt to identify the cause and scope of an illness that is affecting them. Two AeroTestra multirotor platforms were equipped, one with a high resolution visual range camera and the other a Headwall Nano hyper-spec sensor . Capable of measuring discreet variations in the vegetation's reflectance signatures, hyper-spectral data has long been used by satellites and manned aircraft systems for ground classification and agricultural monitoring .  

Ryan Perroy, Assistant Professor at the university and chief investigator on this project, is a strong supporter of unmanned  systems as a valuable research tool providing the ability to collect high quality data while having a minimal disruptive impact. Projects the lab has worked on range from lava flow monitoring to invasive species detection. 

The flights were carried out by Nathan Stephenson , pilot in command, and research assistant at the university labs, supervising Sean Headrick of AeroTestra, in charge of operating the unmanned vehicles. 

By all accounts the missions were a complete success due to the diligent effort of everyone involved. This should provide a good example of the value UAS can provide as the industry opens to commercial use in the coming months.

  About a year ago I first saw Ken McGary of Nerds for Nature present on the potential use cases for sUAV and ecological sensor data collection.

.Last weekend we ran the first in a series of tests to explore the feasibility of using UAV to test water quality. Over the past month or so this has gone from some drawings on a napkin to a proof of concept that performed near perfectly last weekend at a bioblitz at lake Merritt in Oakland CA. A better story of all that went on was in Scientific American.  

  We built a sensor array that had a thermal probe and pH sensor for our first trial.subsequent tests will incorporate salinity and dissolved oxygen sensors.

 One of the first challenges was to get the copter to land and remain stationary for 30-45 seconds while the sensors obtained their readings. "Condition_delay" is still in development but through some experimentation we found "loiter_time" with no GPS or Altitude info to do the trick. 

Our AeroTestra,specially outfitted amphibious multi rotor, autonomously took off, navigated to four separate way points collecting temperatures and pH levels at each, then returned to the home position to finish the routine. This initial test was all done a few meters off the surface of the lake and only 20-30 meters from the dock with me ready to assume manual control if things went south. 

 While crop inspection and 3D mapping and survey will prove to be the major use cases for this technology in the next few years, I feel like the wide open frontier of this type of research and sensor integration will open worlds of possibilities and feel very excited to be a part of it.

My sincere thanks to everyone involved including the ArduCopter developers, 3D Robotics, and Nerds 4 Nature.

 We will update with progress as it develops. Perhaps,come June, we will test the water in the Boulder Reservoir.:)

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I have been working recently with the Robotics Association at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to provide the multi-rotor component of their 2013 Roboboat competition.

You can see some footage of the flight and collision testing above.
 As the competition approached it became apparent the need for prop guards. Here are the two versions I came up with. The first was four Kydex rings with spokes that attached to the motor mounts

  The second approach removed much of the excess material and reinforced the structure with 1/8" srung carbon fiber spars to increase rigidity and keep the weight low. There was a 10% drop in flight time and the throttle response seems relatively normal. ounts. I flexed the rings into an arc to provide rigidity yet maintain a perimeter around the prop. Worked well in minor collision testing, although the impact on flight characteristics and longevity where severely diminished. 

  I have seen a lot of approaches out there and would be interested in the feedback on these designs and what should be considered with regard to maintaining prop efficiency,reducing weight while providing suitable protection.

I started  to document some flights wth HUGO this week . Here is some footage of "loiter" and "stabilise" flight modes.Also took some decibal readings from approx. 10' to 1.5'. The dB level never exceeded 95 dB. This is not a scientific test. I hope to show a comparison with open frame as a control and get some proper testing procedures in place. 

  I have been using a single axis gimbal for FPV , and have found the compensation in this axis to help with my field of view while flying forward at moderate or high pitch.  Plans for a  vacuum formed enclosure for the camera is in the works.. There will also need to be changes made to the center hub cover to accommodate the 3DRadio.

  I look forward to getting this available soon and ,as always,appreciate your comments and suggestions on the design.