James Masterton has been experimenting with UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) off the Perth coastline to see if they might help spot sharks. Here he shares his experiences and provides some clues as to what now needs to be done if UAVs could be part of the solution.
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The balloons I used in the video linked above were from the Public Lab balloon mapping kit. A 'G' size bottle of helium cost $500. I only got one days use out of them and the helium doesn't last much longer. Also think about a kite based system.
Either way, you would need to engineer a very stable picavet system so as to enable useful photography for when the 'Fremantle doctor' comes in.
Happy to discuss further Matt.
I just did a quick check on helium prices and it isn't cheap ($135 / 1,150 liter tank retail hire) - with some saying the price is going to increase quickly. However, it still beats the pants off a $4000/hr helicopter.
Another stat I picked up is helium has a lifting capacity of about 1g / liter. Therefore my calcs suggest it costs almost $600 for all up weight of 5kg inc balloon and tether.
I also have some ideas re windy conditions and aerofoils - as either accessories (which adds to weight) or built into the balloon shape (but more expensive to test as it requires specially made balloons).
Anyway, all that aside, I also agree with James in that I think the key is in automating the image recognition. I agree with his idea of using HD still images to process data versus video. After that, the rest can be worked out I think...
Balloons can be very limited when subject to wind as well!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b3RnsoK3P8
Hey James and Simon, maybe we should discuss this further.
regards
Matt
Well done James. I live in Perth and have "thought" about this for a long time - but you actually got up and "did it" - which is great.
I have also thought about the balloon idea as well and I think it has certain advantages - particularly if it can be stabilised in windy conditions. I have also considered a setup with a line between two buoys that the balloon rig could traverse back and forward to cover a larger area. It would also improve stability to a degree.
Anyway, great work James. Hopefully something like this is developed and we can get back to a more cerebral approach to shark management.
Good presentation and project design James!
Thanks for the feedback. I tried to present a hype free version of events, and it was really just my journey, I don't pretend to be an expert on sharks or spotting them from UAVs.
Still, it was a fun project!
I think that the balloon idea has a lot of merit and can get around many of the safety and regulatory issues of UAVs.
Good to see someone trying this.
Its still probably impractical though.
Most beaches where i live are subjected to up to strong winds during the day especially after around 9:00am.
You simply can't fly a foamy along a course in those conditions even with an APM.
Ive got a 3.0kg Hexa with APM and i've flown in those conditions on the beach and its not easy, especially above an ocean. The weight gives me stability but being a Hexa flight time is no better than 10 minutes.
Also this would need CASA approval because obviously you cannot fly above people (that you are trying to protect) or structures within 30mtrs horizontally.
What about a Helium balloon 50 mtrs up but tethered to a buoy just off the beach with camera's ?
Just a thought....
Very interesting talk, I really liked how he flushed out all of the issues.
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