From Dronejournalism.org:
Developers at DroneJournalism.org are launching a project to build a low-cost aerial photo platform for journalists, using a combination of off-the-shelf radio-control components and open source electronics. Their goal is to develop a small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) for journalists that is powerful, durable, transportable, affordable, upgradeable and supported by a community of experts.
Now one month into the project, development on “JournoDrone One,” or JD-1, is approximately 20 percent complete. DroneJournalism.org is working to secure funding to complete the project by the summer of 2012. The knowledge gained from making and using the drone for aerial photography will allow DroneJournalism.org to bring a similar system to journalists worldwide.
Leading the project is Matthew Schroyer, the founder of DroneJournalism.org, who holds a master’s in journalism from the University of Illinois. Mr. Schroyer has a background in engineering, experience with small, radio-control devices, and experience in using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for data journalism purposes.
“We hope this is the first of many drones that DroneJournalism.org will develop,” he said. “It’s a practical exercise of existing off-the-shelf drone technology, and our first step into a frontier that could greatly expand public knowledge.”
Schroyer currently works on a National Science Foundation grant at the University of Illinois called EnLiST, which offers unique leadership training and professional development for science teachers from grades K-12. There, he performs a variety of duties as a communications specialist and social network analyst. He also leads the newly-founded “Drones for Schools” program, which teaches high school students the core science and engineering concepts associated with drone technology, and uses the same technology that is being pursued by DroneJournalism.org.
Also on the DroneJournalism.org JD-1 development team is Acton Gorton, a graduate student studying emerging trends in data curation at the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Gorton is a digital journalist focusing on interactive content creation and web development for community-centric journalism. His interests include pioneering news gathering methods and the subsequent dissemination to the public.
“Now that the price of advanced technology is becoming more affordable, it is becoming practical to pursue the medium of airborne technology and news gathering,” Gorton said.
Part of what Gorton describes as his motivation for involvement in the field of drone journalism is the military involvement with using unmanned aerial vehicles to safely gather information in ways never before possible. A veteran of the armed forces, Gorton spent three years in the 82d Airborne Division as an infantry soldier training to jump from airplanes.
He cautions against the militarization of the skies and says that he worries how the heavy amount of media attention towards militarized UAV technology overseas and recent law enforcement patrols within American borders will send the wrong messages to the public.
“Our skies belong to everyone, not just those with the money and authority to control, much like our wireless airwaves and radio frequencies,” said Gorton. “The sky is a public good, and as we enter into a new generation of technology that allows us to fill the sky with new technology, it is important that as journalists, we do so in a responsible and respectful manner.”
“The people need a drone of their own,” Schroyer added. “This is technology that only governments and militaries previously had access to. We hope to bring high-caliber intelligence directly to the public, while earning the public’s trust at the same time.”
The DroneJournalism.org drone will be flown with the utmost concern to the safety of individuals and property, within the letter and spirit of regulation and law, and will operate with sensitivity to the expectations of privacy of ordinary citizens (both in the legal and ethical context). What DroneJournalism.org learns in its pursuit of drone journalism in regards to regulation, laws and ethics will be published and discussed online for future drone journalists to study.
Through funding from this grant and similar grants, what was previously only possible for large news organizations with ample budgets and news helicopters will be achievable by smaller organizations and independent “backpack journalists.” This development will increase the practical body of knowledge for drone journalism and advance the field of drone journalism, will assist news organizations and independent journalists establish their own drone journalism coverage, and foster even more innovation in journalism.
DroneJournalism.org is the website of the Professional Society of Drone Journalists, and home to its Drone Journalism Code of Ethics Wiki. Its mission is to develop the ethical, educational and technological framework for the emerging field of drone journalism. Project JournoDrone advances the organization's mission of developing that framework.
Comments
John, thanks for the info about hand launching.
It seems like I've been coming across a lot of conflicting information when it comes to hand launching. Launch it level or else it will stall / launch it at an angle so you get more altitude off the launch. Don't give it much of a push because it could send it out of control / chuck the thing into the air to give it adequate velocity. Launch full throttle to get lift / only use half throttle or it will be hard to control. Don't run while launching because it will be harder to control the throw / you have to run to get adequate velocity.
And the thing is, I'm sure all that info does apply -- but just to specific RC models and people. And all models are different, and even the same model of RC plane might have different launch characteristics depending on the configuration.
That video did explain a lot by example, and your advice seems right on the money, given my experiences in launching the AXN Floater. I do think, however, I'm going to try attaching some lightweight landing gear and see if that can reduce the frustration level. There is a weight penalty with that, and I don't think it's a long-term solution, because the desired application of this drone may require a launch where there isn't adequate space for a rolling takeoff. But I'm not sure how many more failed hand launches this fuse can take before it breaks irreparably, and hand launching at this point seems like an added complication that I don't necessarily have to commit to at this time. When I get more confident with the feel of this craft, I might remove the "training wheels" and see how that works.
Hey Matthew
Take a look at this video, which shows the successful launch of a very similar model (the HK FPV Raptor):
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/HK_movies2.asp?idmovie=547...
A few things to note:
This is exactly how I launch the AXN Floater. Its quite fast and scary but its the only way, and once its flying you can really cut back on the speed because its capable of quite slow and stable flight. It goes without saying that you launch & land into wind, and what could also help is if you launch into a little ridge lift. Ie, stand on a small ridge or incline, with the wind blowing up the ridge, and you can launch with less throttle or back stick because the plane will already benefit from the 'lift' generated on the ridge.
If a pusher has landing gear it also needs a high ground speed before it will launch, and those with floats tend to want to dive underwater, so that is why I like to use the 3 position switch mixed to the elevator.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-21/drone-journalism-takes-off/38...
@David What's the name of the Australian company?
Well drone journalists can already get something in the air with those AR drones that the occupy people are using. I personally don't like those craft, but they will for fill the function at the prescribed price.
Also, here is a nice article on coating using a laminate
http://www.fpvmanuals.com/2011/03/15/zephyr-fpv-build-manual/
No problem at all. I would not recommend a Minwax or Poylvinyl, as it just seems to want to chip and flake off far too easily. It's like my EP foam glider has dandruff or something. And although I haven't tried them yet, I wouldn't recommend similar processes that try to coat and "stiffen" the foam with "cement" like liquids. To me, it just adds too much weight, and you're fighting a losing game as the foam beneath the coating always will flex more than the coating over it.
Instead, I might suggest a film to coat the craft, as it has more flex to it. But if I were to experiment with any method, I would look into applying a latex paint with an airbrush. The latex has a lot more flex to it, it's lightweight, and it doesn't react with fuels. You can put anything on top of latex paint, although I couldn't imagine why you would want to put a less-than-perfect paint on top of your latex coat. Except more latex paint. At least that's what I hear.
And as for your experience as a PhD student, I'll take your advice! That's impressive. And I do think there's something to be said about not re-inventing the wheel, and purchasing a product that already does the job, and therefore rewarding the researcher who already did the hard work. We're looking for grant money at this time, and when we find some, we're going to look at some ready-made solutions instead of (as you said) modifying kits beyond their original purpose. Although, I will say that part of our goal with these modified FPV sUAS systems is to make a cheaper system for hacker/independent/freelance journalists who may not have grant money or an organization who can provide them with a $5k drone. But yes, as soon as we get grant money, we can stop trying to solve problems that have already been solved many times over and actually proceed with Drone Journalism.
As for your launch issues. Find out where the center of gravity is for an AXN floater and balance it. If it isn't that I'm not sure what to tell you.
Thanks dude for the info about the coating. I'm very interesting In coating foam planes.
Lemme just say this though. You can pay about 3k to 65k to do what you want to do today or you can try and build one yourself. After 5 years as a PhD student trying to build things myself instead of just buying them I've had a pretty bad time of it, and it's not because I'm a bad builder. It's sometimes better to spend the cash to get the thing that does the specific function that mess about with modifying existing kits that aren't designed around doing what you want to do. You can also contact the companies directly and ask them if they will sell cheaper in exchange for research papers. I think the reason gatewing costs so much is that they had to make all the specialist software that puts the pictures together, the Nintendo DS style control box, and the good autopilot. They are more for people in surveying than they are for journalists.
There is company that makes similar survey aircraft I've heard costs half as much. I just pick gatewing first because they have a very nice introductory videos. There are also 3k quads coming out of an Australasian company that are setup for drone journalism.
@David
Unfortunately for DroneJournalism.org and the remainder of drone journalists, the Gatewing is out of our price range. $65,000! Also, they won't sell it to you here in the states, because they realize the FAA restrictions.
@Gary & @David
Yeah, I'm starting to think the gray primer over the Minwax Polyvinyl wasn't the best approach, either. As the EP is much more flexible than either the coating or the primer, both primer and coating are flaking off in a very big way. I wanted to make it more visually impressive and get people thinking and talking before we flew it, and I had thought that having a basic gray primer would be easy to re-coat and dings. But the types of dives and crashes this thing has been taking makes that a pretty futile endevor -- at least at the moment.
@John
I have indeed been having touble getting the AXN Floater to launch. I can't tell if it's just hand launch technique, or if it's something defficient with the weight distribution, control surfaces, or the weight in general. But for whatever reason, it only wants to go nose down on launch.
I've been keeping the motor at about 25-30 percent on launch. Not tossing it at a heavy angle into the air, and not running while doing it (better control, they say). I'm thinking I really need to get this in a field with tall grass and just practice getting it to glide without any power to get the feel for the hand launch. But any other advice would be helpful.
I have an AXN Floater although I haven't put an autopilot in it - I just fly it for practice. Some advice on flying a pusher as opposed to a puller (front mounted engine): these planes dive like crazy when you launch them and in order to not nose-in I do the following:
This method ensures that you don't nose-dive on launch by having a lot of 'up' on the elevator, but you need to normalise it once airborne in order not to go into a loop cycle :D
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