International Drone Day event cancelled

I'd thought I'd share some concept images of the new test vehicle that is currently under way.

It's designated UTV-4 (Universal Test Vehicle number 4) and will be fitted with all the hardware required by the AutoPilot system described in my earlier blogs:

Part 1 that introduced to overall concept of a decentralised autopilot, where the autopilot can reside on a remote server and/or guide several drones in a coordinated effort.

Part 2 about the overall software architecture and hardware interface.

Part 3 A detailed look into some of the software features.

Part 4 Flight testing the small vehicle UTV-3 to prove the basic concept in real life and explaining the wonders of PID.

Part 5 A description of the complete electronics that goes into the final vehicle including gas sensing hardware.

Part 6 An overall description of the system fitted in the UTV-1

Building new vehicles is fun and while we flight test the UTV1, I've started to outline the hardware for the next drone. A lot of knowledge has already been gained developing the UTV1, and hardware has also developed over the last two years. The drone will therefore feature better and faster hardware and will be even more universal than the UTV1.

The specs will look something like this:

* On board computer - Banana PI (Dual Core) or Raspberry PI 2 (Quad Core)

* Two cameras (one high def and one NIR)

* Serial link radio

* IMU

* GPS

* Dual antenna RC receiver

* Instrument/Sensor bay

* Onboard display

* Flight time 1.5-2 hours

The front dome will house two cameras, and possibly some more sensors, and a display that will show information about the vehicle prior to launch (State Machine state, diagnostics, mission content etc..). As I recently have gained access to a 3D printer, some decs, mounts etc,. will be 3D printed as well as some hardware mocs. This will ease the actual layout before getting the real hardware. A lot of effort is placed on accessibility and ease of use.

A third camera is placed inside the body and will help to determine the stability and amount of vibration during different maneuvers.

The drone will feature either a wifi link or a physical lan port for upgrading software and downloading data (should you not choose to send them during flight)

The plane will be equipped with a serial link radio transceiver which will allow the craft to act either as a master or slave drone in a larger setup while also connecting to the ground using a GPRS modem.

The drone will also have an plug and play instrument bay (Nice rhyme!), where different sensors can be plugged in and feed data to the onboard computer for further processing or transmission.

A big thanks to this great community and all the inspiring people that put effort and time in reading/writing/commenting and posting wonderful and inspirational products and ideas.

Another day, another Pixhawk/IRIS+ compatible crowdfunding project! Meet Percepto, now live on Indiegogo:

Our mission is to create a valuable open-source ecosystem, not just a product, to harness the power of a strong developer community for the future of drone innovation.

 Building community - Help us bring Percepto out of the lab
 The more demand for Percepto now, the cheaper we can manufacture them
 Be one of the 1st Percepto owners
 Save significantly during the campaign and after (with enough backers we can lower the market price).

  What's In The Box?  

Percepto is a tiny black box ​that consists of a Tegra K1 based processing unit and a camera which easily connects to almost any drone, enabling users to create, upload and use existing apps from one centralized place, known as the Percepto Marketplace.

Included Software

Percepto App Marketplace 

Percepto App Marketplace is meant to be the 1st marketplace designated for drone apps. Percepto's open source platform allows drone owners to reuse and share software driving down the cost of of developing new drone capabilities.

 

   What's Unique?

    Plug N Play Percepto

Rewards

 

  Compatibility

Technical Specifications

It's designed to support Pixhawk, which you can see installed here:

From the new Kickstarter listing:

Ritewing Drak - The Next Generation RC Aircraft / Drone

by Chris Klick

The Drak is the first forward swept RC aircraft that combines extreme durability with unmatched stability & energy efficient flight.  

About The Drak Project

The Ritewing Drak is a visually stunning and durable remote control (RC) airplane design that is capable of extremely stable and energy efficient flight. This aircraft was designed as a high performance platform for any use: the typical RC enthusiast, first-person-view (FPV), or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). When designing the Drak, we had one mission in mind: to give the average person the ability to capture quality video and photographs or scientific data over an extended geographical area from an unmanned aircraft. The Ritewing Drak has sufficient cargo space and weight bearing capacity to accommodate all of the electronics and sensors that would be needed for any application.

Introducing the Drak

Quad-copters are hot items that boast the ability to capture aerial images, but the Ritewing Drak goes where quad-copters simply can’t. The Drak can cruise expansive areas over an extended period of time to capture video, still photography, or other data with ease. A quad copter simply cannot match the distance and duration parameters of the Drak’s fixed wing platform. The reason is simple: the fixed wing platform actually flies through the air through the principles of lift from the shape of the wing. This allows the Drak to stay in the air with minimal power consumption. A quad copter can only support its weight as long as it has power to its motors.

Go Beyond the Reach of Quad Copters

Ritewing’s goal is to get a Drak into the hands of every RC & FPV Hobbyist or anyone with need for the capabilities that this aircraft possesses. The Drak can enable anyone to capture amazing video and photos from the sky. It's never been easier to capture spectacular aerial images over vast expanses that provide a new perspective that had previously been unseen.

Reach Uncharted Territory

The Key Features of the Ritewing Drak

1.  Innovative forward swept wing design to avoid low speed stalling

2.  Rock solid stability in flight for optimum video and picture quality

3.  Lightweight and durable air frame manufactured from EPP (expanded polypropylene)

4.  Proprietary bay system offers maximum payload capacity and adjustability for balancing

5.  Extended flight times possible depending on configuration and flight habits

6.  Easy to assemble kits, Almost Ready to Fly (ARF), or Ready to Fly (RTF) available

7.  High quality materials and components

8.  Upgradable and expandable

9.  Designed to break down for easy transport and storage

10.All parts are easily repairable or replaceable

11.Able to go where quad copters cannot go

12. Easy to launch by hand

 PLAY

Drak Project Background

Chris Klick is the creator of and the driving force behind Ritewing. Chris has very humble beginnings as an RC flight enthusiast, but even at that time, he was focused on finding the best RC aircraft possible to feed his appetite for the hobby. Chris was obsessed with finding the best high performance aircraft that combined durability, speed, and exceptional flight characteristics. After a couple of years of searching for the best the hobby industry had to offer, Chris started his own research and development efforts to create the type of aircraft that no one else seemed to be developing. Through Chris’ R&D efforts, Ritewing established a presence in the RC aircraft market, and developed a following of dedicated customers who knew that buying a Ritewing meant getting a product that would perform far better than anything else on the market. 

Chris Klick of Ritewing

After his early successes cutting models like the Ritewing Demon and Ritewing Zephyr on CNC hot wire foam cutting machines, Chris knew the key to bringing his work to more people was to take advantage of mass scale manufacturing technology. After Chris created the concept of the Ritewing Zephyr II, he set out to find a manufacturing partner.In his own back yard, Chris found an established foam molding company that was eager to help him bring the Zephyr II to life as a molded foam product. After its release, the foam molding manufacturing process helped make the Zephyr II the best selling Ritewing of all time.

The Zephyr II flying wing was an incredible product that found its way very quickly crossing over from the typical line-of-sight RC hobby world into the more advanced First Person View (FPV) hobby and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) markets. Next, Chris developed the Spade line of aircraft: the 70”, the 47”, and the yet to be released 52” version.  Ritewing went back to the same manufacturing partner to have the 70” and 47” Spades brought to life.  Now, Ritewing wants to share Chris’ next innovative aircraft design, the Ritewing Drak, with the world through this Kickstarter campaign.

 PLAY

The Problem:

Currently, each Ritewing Drak is a hot wire cut prototype taking 60 hours of labor to create and make flight ready. This amount of labor makes the cost to produce very high. To make the Drak available to the general public at an affordable price, molding the airframe in EPP is critical. The EPP molds take up to 3 months to produce and are very expensive. As expensive as the creation of the mold is, we must also pay for the first production run of a minimum order quantity from the molding facility. Since the mold does not stay in the machine permanently, the facility requires that a minimum number of parts be produced to make it worthwhile for them. The mold must be installed and configured to run every time a production run is scheduled. 

The obvious benefit of the mold process is the ability to produce a large number of precision molded air frames in just a couple of days, instead of hot wire cutting just a handful in the same time frame. The successful funding of this Kickstarter campaign will enable us to mold the aircraft and offer them for an affordable price.  

Drak Technology Details

1. Innovative Design

• Dissembles into three main pieces for easy transport and storage
• Forward swept wing style to avoid tip stalling at low speeds
• Rear mounted electric motor and propeller
• No landing gear required
• Built-in camera and gear mounts
• Travel and storage case available

The Drak is Portable

2. Easy to fly and simple to maintain

• No messy fuel
• Uses high capacity LiPo battery packs
• Pilot from your existing radio controller
• Can be flown with any flight controller or auto pilot
• Control from any computer, tablet or game controller in conjunction with the flight controller you choose
• Simple, quick, and inexpensive to maintain and repair
• The cargo bays make balancing the aircraft a breeze

The Drak is Lightweight

3. Lightweight with maximum payload 

• Flight and control is stable and accurate for optimal photographic results
• Manufactured from durable EPP
• Our bay system provides the payload capacity for all gear and multiple cameras
• Weighs in at around 6 pounds when ready to fly
• Carries an action camera like the GoPro or Mobius with separate mounts

Multiple Camera Configurations Possible

4. Advanced capabilities possible using a flight controller of your choice

• Auto take-off and landing
• Integrated onboard autopilot flight planning
• Set and fly waypoints using GPS satellite technology
• Fly in aided mode
• Return to home (RTH) capabilities
• Load/Save and repeat/replay flight missions
• Real-time flight data

Typical Ground Station Control Software

5. Extended Flight Times

• Wings designed to make extended flight times possible
• Up to 1 hour flights (fully loaded with camera)
• Exclusive propellers engineered and optimized especially for rear motor aircraft
• High output LiPo battery technology
• Energy efficient electric motor

6. High quality materials and components

• ·Professional grade build quality and workmanship
• ·Extra durable and robust airframe
• ·Carbon fiber and fiberglass sparring system
• ·Highest quality components
• ·Custom CNC aluminum motor mount system
• ·Designed in the USA

Custom Motor Mount System

XUAV-Talon
for
Precision Aerial Surveying & Mapping

INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of this blog is to document a comprehensive, custom build of the XUAV-Talon for precision surveying and mapping.  Content will include build process, tips and tricks, hardware choices, 3D print modifications, CAD drawings (Sketchup), photos, software for aerial data processing and short video segments.  As I have recently attended several conferences concerning the latest FAA rules and regulations for small(under 55lbs) commercial drone operation in the United States; I will be posting my interpretation of the laws and options available to fly drones legally in the US National Airspace(NAS).

BUILD STEPS 1, 2 (COMPLETE):

Please refer to my profile for details: http://diydrones.com/profile/RyanFuselier

IEEE Spectrum interviewed the experts, and the answer is that hitting an engine (bird strike to a MD11 shown above) is not as bad as hitting the windshield. Key excerpt:

The drone will hit the leading edge of the fan blades and would probably break up into small pieces. The fan blade itself is not likely to break, in Morse’s view. “There’s a good chance it’ll take the engine out at high power,” says Morse, but not necessarily. “It’s absolutely amazing how they will still run.” In one sense, small drones appear to be less threatening than birds because drones don’t fly in flocks, so the chance of crippling multiple engines in one incident is much more remote.

But what about the lithium-ion batteries that these little drones carry? Aren’t they hard enough to create real problems for a turbofan engine? “Ice can be hard, too,” says Morse. And as for the worry about the volatile material from a battery ending up in the combustion chamber: “The engine will probably burn it up.”

In all, this expert was surprisingly calm about the possible consequences should a 1- or 2-kilogram drone strike a turbofan engine. Perhaps that’s what comes of looking at thousands of engines damaged by debris left on the runway or parts of a plane that break up in flight. Still, Morse emphasizes that when an engine ingests any foreign object, the cost of inspection and repair can be considerable, even if the mishap does not put people’s lives in peril.

“I’d be more concerned about hitting the windscreen,” says Morse. And the dangers involved with that, while considerable, hinge on the speed of collision and the mass of the object rather than its composition. Which is all to say, Exponent’s analysis of the dangers drones of this size pose should one strike an aircraft still appears reasonable enough.

The Panoptes eBumper just went live on Kickstarter. Backed!

eBumper4 helps a pilot avoid obstacles at low speeds. It also provides additional protection against erroneous control inputs and occasional light wind gusts.

• Fly - With eBumper4 installed, flight in open areas is unchanged. The pilot can switch to Precision Mode which scales back control inputs, allowing for more precise aircraft control.
• Detect - The eBumper4 continuously monitors its environment for obstacles. If one is detected, eBumper4 responds to reduce the likelihood of a collision.
• Correct - As the aircraft moves away from the obstacle, normal control is returned to the user, and operations can continue as before.

Four sonar sensors provide the drone with information about the physical environment to the front, right, left, and above it. When eBumper4 senses an obstacle in its field of view, it prevents the drone from getting too close to the obstacle. It “bumps” off the object, keeping the drone at a safe distance. You can then navigate the drone safely away from the obstruction. 

eBumper4 Components for Phantom 2 line(beta version shown)

eBumper4 Components for Iris+ (functional "works like" prototype version shown)

Robust integration of the eBumper4 sonar sensors required a significant development and testing effort to understand the very noisy environment of a quadcopter. Our solution ultimately combines a mix of precise sensor placement and triggering, clever filtering, as well as smart physical integration.

eBumper4 for Phantom 2 line (beta version shown)

eBumper4 for Iris+ (functional "works like" prototype version shown)

The eBumper4 ships with a set of base features, all of which you can configure:

• Precision and Performance Modes: From your remote, select one of two eBumper4 protection distances, which governs how far away the drone starts executing a bump avoidance maneuver. Choose Performance Mode for faster speeds in open areas, or choose Precision Mode for slower speeds in more cluttered environments.
• Auto-Takeoff: With the literal flip of a switch, your drone takes off to a hover about 6 feet off the ground. Thanks to the top sensor, there will be no more unfortunate encounters with your living room ceiling.
• Precision Control: Adjust the sensitivity of your aircraft to your control inputs, giving you the ability to more precisely control position and velocity. This is especially useful for indoor flight in tight spaces.
• Self-Centering: When obstacles are present to the left and right, the self-centering function centers the aircraft between them, equalizing the distance to the obstacle on either side.
• More to come (see "The Future of eBumper4" section)!

eBumper4 features can be configured via a graphical user interface available for Android and Windows PC, so you can tailor eBumper4 to best suit your individual needs. Don't have Android phone/tablet or Windows PC and want Mac or iPhone? Let us know, and we'll see what we can do!

eBumper4 Configuration Interface Mock-Up

eBumper4 comes with four sonar sensors and an electronics board pre-installed in an injection-molded ABS plastic housing, mounting hardware, installation manual, operations manual, some nifty Panoptes stickers, and a Panoptes lanyard for your remote control.

eBumper4 is designed as a retrofit kit that attaches to pre-existing interfaces on your drone, and installs in about 10-20 minutes. Below are the main installation steps for the eBumper4 on the DJI Phantom. The install for Iris+ will be similarly straightforward.

eBumper4 Installation on Phantom 2 Vision (beta version)

 eBumper4 is designed with the future in mind. New capabilities will be available as software updates instead of costly hardware upgrades. The Panoptes team is busy developing additional features for the eBumper4:

• Tractor Beam: Smoothly approach an object of interest, giving a real-life zoom effect to your video.

• Relative Position Hold: Keep a constant position relative to an object of interest - whether it is moving or not.

• Obstacle Avoidance for Waypoint Flying: When on a waypoint following mission, autonomously avoid obstacles.

• Training Mode: Learning to fly a powerful drone like the Phantom and Iris+ can be an intimidating task. Training mode lets you gradually scale up your control inputs as you become more comfortable with flying.

The campaign is off to a good start on Kickstarter. I totally need one of these. APM-powered and appears well designed. Backed!

The Splash Drone is a fully waterproof quad copter, packed with useful features and capable of landing and floating on water. This drone is designed for the outdoor type who uses a GoPro camera to capture their adventure on water or land.

The Splash Drone comes in two flavors, traditional remote control or app based control to unlock its autonomous features.

Standard Remote Control Version: Allows you to fly in GPS assisted mode, attitude mode, or hover over one position to capture your action. It also has return to launch location and automatically lands at the flip of a switch.

App based Control: Your Android device allows you to use the Splash Drone's autonomous features with an app that lets your fly a mission on a set path of activate the Follow Me mode.

The Splash Drone's payload release mechanism is a blast! Drop water balloons or a bottle of water to your thirsty friends across the lake. It comes equipped with an emergency flare carrying system that can be used in real life situations.

I have been working on drones since 2007, way before most people knew what they were. Back then I was a video producer at a TV station, but my obsession with drones lead me to a career change. Along the way I've met some incredible people. After forming a team of like-minded drone geeks, we've successfully made and brought to market our own On Screen Display (OSD), a Long Range System (LRS) and other drone accessories.

We always knew that we wanted to make a waterproof drone, but it needed to be practical and easy to fly for first time users. So with our combination of experience in both manufacturing and drone design, we started working on a concept. After tons of feedback and several iterations, the Splash Drone was born. Above all, the most difficult challenge was developing the waterproof gimbal. We started with a clear dome, but quickly realized that we needed a gimbal that could touch the water, uncovered.

After many iterations, tests and sleepless nights, we have completed the tooling, injection mold and design of all the major components.

The Splash Drone is designed for filming your aquatic adventures, without the fear of loosing your drone.

• Fully integrated design
• Internal 5.8ghz 600mw video transmitter
• Self Tightening Carbon Fiber Props
• Payload Release Mechanism
• Emergency Flare Carrying System
• Autonomous Flight Controller
• Waterproof Gimbal

We have done the necessary work to make the Splash Drone reliable, easy and fun to film with. We have completed the injection mold, identified manufacturers that can supply the necessary part and built several prototypes that meet our quality standards.

At this point, all we need is your pledge to start manufacturing the Splash Drone. When we meet our goal, we will be able to make it available to everyone.

Here is one neat trick we would like to share with you!

Software in the loop (SITL) allows you to simulate APM:Plane, APM:Copter or APM:Rover on your computer without using any hardware. Think of it as a virtual simulator of your unmanned machine.

It is possible to set up SITL to work with UgCS. This process consists of two parts:

1) Setting up SITL on Linux
2) Connecting SITL and UgCS



SITL needs Linux to run, so it is suggested that you either do this on a virtual machine in Windows environment or run it on Ubuntu. For best results we suggest doing this on a native Ubuntu computer instead of a virtual machine.

1. Setting up SITL on Linux

To set up SITL on Linux, follow these instructions (http://dev.ardupilot.com/wiki/simulation-2/setting-up-sitl-on-linux/ (http://dev.ardupilot.com/wiki/simulation-2/setting-up-sitl-on-linux/)) up to and including Step 5.

2. Connecting SITL and UgCS

1. Find the vsm-ardupilot.conf file on your computer. It should be in the UgCS install directory.

In Windows, it is located in:

 C:\Program Files (x86)\UgCS\bin\vsm-ardupilot.

The ip address should be changed to the one on which Ardupilot host is running. To find the ip address in Ubuntu, go to System Settings → Network and you should see the IP Address. Copy the address and replace the vehicle.ardupilot.tcp.1.

address with the one you have.

3. Launch the Ardupilot simulator

Write the following lines in the Terminal:

cd ardupilot/ArduCopter (or cd ardupilot/ArduPlane if you want to simulate the airplane)

make configure

sim_vehicle.sh -w

4. Run UgCS. You should find ArduCopter in the vehicles list:

It will be located in Austrialia



5. Now you can create mission plan for it (select 3DR ArduCopter QUAD profile when asked). It's ok, that battery is zero. It will fly anyway



Calculate path and upload it to vehicle. After successful upload you need to arm the vehicle and as quickly as possible. Arm it by typing the following command into terminal:

rc 3 1100

This means that you send the signal of 1100 through the third channel of your imaginary RC.

Now switch the vehicle to Auto Mode and it will start flying the mission. You can also experiment by entering some manual commands.

Best regards,
UgCS team

P.S. The next time you launch the simulator use the command:

sim_vehicle.sh --console --map

Is your Skywalker FPV/UAV box looking worse for wear, and all beaten up? Then upgrade to our premium tailor-made "UAV Bag" made for the Skywalker 168 to 1900 series aircraft. (Patent Pending)

We have been working on UAV bag for the last 6 months and lot of field trials and revision. We initially sell the bags together with our Skywalker UAV Mappers. But we would be starting to sell it on it's own.

External Dimensions: L x W x H - 49" x 11" x 18"
Weight (Dry): 6.9 kg
Materials: 1000D Nylon Cloth (Outside), 420D Nylon Cloth (Inside), YKK #10 Heavy Duty Zippers, YKK Hook and Loops.
Features: Rigid heavy padding and stackable. Acceptable in commercial airlines. Backpack straps. Individual wing pockets/bags. Hook and loop airframe "strap downs". Capable of carrying 35-40 kg internal load.

Dear Friend,

I'm happy to present the  prototype of Virtualrobotix thermal camera. 

In last months we work a lot on this new project , it's based on new Flir sensor and VR uBrain 5.1.

We implement a specific firmware on uBrain for control the flir sensor , read image , trasmit it in realtime by USB or Bluetooth to PC or Mobile application.

The actual function supported in early prototype are : 

• Live video streaming.
• Recording on SD card.
• Snapshot by event (push a button or specific programmable event).
• We storage raw data and telemetry data from sensor so is possible to have a very detailed information about the temperature of all the point available in the image .
• Is possible to analyse the image of VR Thermal Camera in realtime or in post processing with a specific appication. 

Actually we are developing specific application for our UAV especially for VR Spark as an alternative payload , actually we intend to propose this solution for video inspection in energy enviroment or solar field and a lot of other UAV or not UAV application if you are interested on this kind of technology contact me at : 

r.navoni@virtualrobotix.com

original post : http://www.virtualrobotix.com/profiles/blogs/virtualrobotix-thermal-inspector-preview-2015

best

Roberto Navoni

We're obliged to the chaps down at Exmaps for sticking the data from a Low Orbit Helium Assisted Navigator (LOHAN) test flight into their "Drone Flight Logbook". The virtual two-hour High Altitude Ballooning (HAB) mission makes for entertaining viewing.

The purpose of the flight in October 2014 was to test our Vulture 2 spaceplane's avionics package - including Pixhawk, servos and batteries - at altitude, to see how it'd handle the cold.

The Exmap virtual flight includes pitch, roll and yaw data as well as altitude. As you can see, HAB payloads take a bit of a beating up there in the stratosphere:

The mission was conducted by our US allies at EDGE Research Laboratory, seen here inflating the mighty orb which carried the kit aloft:

There's more on the mission and Exmaps here. 

Please forgive me sending this Chinese letter to this English community, i'll try to explain what's up, maybe worth a laugh.

sb-dji.com, a website was online maybe not no more than a year, posting(repost) "daily" dji products fails in Chinese drone/RC online communities. The owner of the website did not stated his motivation of setting up this website, but i believe he was a very frustrated DJI customer, as the letter stated "had dispute in customer service".

Today in his  new "daily" post, other than a smashed Phantom or crashing Inspire 1, it's a laywer‘s letter send to the Internet domain name register office whom provided the sb-dji.com's domain name, stating sb-dji.com web site contents  has Reputation infringement to DJI company, and requesting "assistance from the domain service office to shutdown this website in 5 days"

Alright, all the flying alway phantoms ... you will rest in peace.

P.S. sb literally means retarded in chinese (pinyin initials)

Hi there,

First of all thank you for your feedback, we are truly excited to get so many warm comments and smart suggestions from all of you.

For all of you who see this project for the first time, check out earlier post to get some info ( http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/fpv-gimbal-for-zoom-camera?xg_source=activity , http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/fpv-gimbal-for-zoom-camera-first-week-of-tests )

Order site: http://vertigofpv.com (choose "Choose Kit" or "Order" button and then "Add to cart" under the desired kit to get to PayPal checkout. You can also choose "Store" from the upper menu)

Please remember to fill in the delivery address in the PayPal checkout step.
The delivery date is set to 01 of May 2015, but in practice we should be ready 2 weeks earlier.

If you need an invoice, please send us the necessary info by email (vertigofpv@gmail.com), after making the payment with PayPal.

Feel free to ask anything about the product at all time.

Cheers,

Greg Dronsky

Excerpt: 

The Aerorozvidka project is one example of what you might call a war startup. Natan Chazin, a Ukrainian battalion commander, founded it in May of 2014 with three other men. His small team has grown to more than 20 people who comprise a special tactical unit supplied with armored and bulletproof vans and 16 drones running on the two most popular software platforms– either NAZA or Pixhawk, developed by 3D Robotics (now maintained by the Linux Foundation). They’re basically hobby drones that have be chopped up and reconfigured for intelligence gathering missions. The Aerorozvidka has also produced its own missiles, which the group is working to incorporate onto UAVs. The enemy has been able to knock down three of them. As far the nascent ceasefire, Chazin says it has not changed matters much from his perspective. (It also doesn’t apply to intelligence gathering.)

From DefenseOne:

At the Donetsk Airport, a handful of Ukrainian military men by Jan. 19 had been fighting off the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic, or DPR, for months. Much of the airport structure had been obliterated. The once-smooth runway was a lunar landscape of debris, craters and blast marks. A small eight-rotor drone rose up form the ruin and ascends out toward the battlefield, sending live video of DPR artillery positions to the Ukrainian military. A target enemy tank was selected. The men of the Aerorozvidka (air reconnaissance) project who piloted the drone from nearby Debalcevo watched as a missile hurled toward an enemy tank like a soccer ball to the net. “We need a goal! We need a goal!” they chanted and erupted with cheers as the shell destroyed the tank in a fireball.

While drones have been an aspect of U.S. wars for a decade, the Ukrainian conflict represents the most significant use of drones in warfare on two opposite sides of a battlefield.

Groups like DPR use highly sophisticated Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to collect data to target missiles and artillery fire, which has proven to be an enormous advantage on the battlefield. When Steven Pifer, former U.S.ambassador to Ukraine, and a delegation went to the front lines of the conflict to assess how the United States could help, Ukrainian commanders requested jamming equipment and radar to better intercept Russian drones. They also asked for as well as American-made military drones, like Reapers (though not necessarily armed.)

Even if the Obama administration decides to supply the Ukrainian military with requested drones, the U.S. hasn’t had much success getting already approved aid out to Ukrainian forces in a timely or consistent way. The war refuses to wait.  So, in garages, research labs and bunkers in places from Kiev to Debalcevo to Chicago, Ukrainian solders and citizens are trying to get military drones to the front lines.

The Aerorozvidka project is one example of what you might call a war startup. Natan Chazin, a Ukrainian battalion commander, founded it in May of 2014 with three other men. His small team has grown to more than 20 people who comprise a special tactical unit supplied with armored and bulletproof vans and 16 drones running on the two most popular software platforms– either NAZA or Pixhawk, developed by 3D Robotics (now maintained by the Linux Foundation). They’re basically hobby drones that have be chopped up and reconfigured for intelligence gathering missions. The Aerorozvidka has also produced its own missiles, which the group is working to incorporate onto UAVs. The enemy has been able to knock down three of them. As far the nascent ceasefire, Chazin says it has not changed matters much from his perspective. (It also doesn’t apply to intelligence gathering.)

For the drone warriors of Ukraine, keeping UAVs in the air is a growing challenge. The Russian-backed militias have access to the latest and most sophisticated in signal jamming and GPSspoofing technology from suppliers like the Moscow-based Radio-Electronic Technologies Corporation, orKRET, and expensive, truck-based anti-aircraft systems like theKurasa 2.

The most sophisticated UAV that has come out of the Ukrainian side since the start of the conflict is called the PD-1 from developer Igor Korolenko. It has a wingspan of nearly 10 feet, a five-hour flight time, carries electro-optical and infrared sensors as well as a video camera that broadcasts on a 128 bit encrypted channel. Its most important feature is the autopilot software that allows the drone to return home in the event that the global positioning system link is jammed or lost.

Drone-based intelligence gathering is often depicted as risk-free compared to manned aircraft or human intelligence gathering, but, says Korolenko, if the drone isn’t secure or the signature is too obvious, the human coasts can be very, very high.

“Russian military sometimes track locations of ground control stations,” he wrote Defense One in an email. “Therefore UAVsquads have to follow certain security measures - to relocate frequently, to move out antennas and work from shelter, etc. As far as I know, two members of UAV squads were killed from mortar attacks after [their] positions were tracked by Russian electronic warfare equipment.”

Korolenko has either designed or modified several UAVs to help with the war effort. He’s part of a volunteer group called the People’s Project, a kind of tech incubation lab based primarily in Kiev. With its slick website and project-based focus, it shares a lot in common with your average Silicon Valley start up but instead of producing e commerce apps, they’re building to equipment to get to the front as quickly as possible. He describes the business model as “sort of wartime crowdfunding,” Kickstarter for conflict.

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A multi-rotor UAV developed by the Ukrainian Aerorozvidka (air reconnaissance) group for use in data and intelligence collection for targeting.NATAN CHAZIN / AEROROZVIDKA

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The reliance on crowdfunding is an unfortunate necessity for parts of the Ukrainian force. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior have built up a reputation among someNGO workers in the region as inept at best and nakedly corrupted by Russian infiltrated at worst. Nongovernmental organizations and volunteer groups have provided a much bigger operational thrust to the men at the front lines than is typical.

As Oriana Pawlyk reports in this piece for the Air Force Times, the donations include drones themselves. A group called Chicago Automadin has been sending off-the-shelf Phantom 2 UAVs to the front lines and has been looking to bulk up their anti-jamming capabilities.

Off-the-shelf solutions will not push back the forces blowing westward from Russia. Even if the United States were to provide lethal aid in the form of shoulder-fired missiles, radar and drones, a fundamental capabilities and  resupply gap would persist on the ground. The DPR and other pro-Russian military groups have a more willing backer and clean supply lines to the front. “No one thinks the Ukrainian army would beat the Russians,” Pifer told Defense One.

The crisis in Eastern Ukraine is providing a glimpse of how future wars not only will be fought but funded. It’s also a living lesson in how quickly war changes technology, and vice versa.

What Korolenko, Chazin and others can do is reduce casualties on their side and drive up costs for the enemy. They can buy time.

From Queensland University of Technology:

Queensland University of Technology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, have announced their next international unmanned aircraft challenge, UAV Challenge Medical Express 2016.

The previous UAV Challenge, held in 2014, tasked entrants with designing and creating an UAV that could deliver an emergency package to a hiker lost in the outback.

Announcing UAV Challenge Medical Express 2016 at an unmanned systems conference associated with the Avalon Airshow, event co-ordinator Dennis Frousheger said the 2016 challenge was designed to push UAV technology to the limit.

“It’s unlikely that traditional fixed-wing unmanned aircraft or small multi-rotor vehicles will be capable of meeting this challenge – new hybrid flying robots will probably be required,” said Mr Frousheger, an engineer in CSIRO’s Digital Productivity Flagship.

“This time, our hapless bushwalker is stuck in a clearing in the Australian Outback, surrounded by floodwaters, and his doctors have requested an urgent blood sample be sent to them. He’s found his way to a clearing and has emailed his GPS coordinates.”

“Joe’s located in an area surrounded by obstacles so teams will need to develop systems capable of understanding the landing site, and plan and execute a landing – all of this at a distance of at least 10kms from their location.”

To complete the mission, teams will need to deploy an aircraft from a small town outside the flooded area and have it fly autonomously for at least 10km to find Outback Joe. The robot aircraft must locate Joe and automatically land nearby. After Joe places his blood sample into the aircraft, it must take off and fly quickly back to the town.

UAV Challenge co-founder Professor Jonathan Roberts, a QUT robotics expert with the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, is not expecting a winner in the first year of the new competition – but is happy to be proven wrong.

“It took eight years to save Joe in our Outback Rescue competition – that’s with more than 2,000 people from 350 teams working on the problem and sharing their knowledge,” Professor Roberts said. “We’re expecting many of those teams to take up the medical express challenge, along with others keen to push the envelope for UAV capabilities. The prize for saving Joe will again be AU$50,000.”

The competition will take place in September 2016 in Outback Queensland, Australia.

If you live in London, it can be difficult to find a wide open space that's suitable for practising your drone-flying skills. The capital's eight Royal parks are an obvious choice, but now aspiring pilots will have to look elsewhere -- staff have recently posted notices that strictly prohibit the use of drones and model aircraft inside the grounds.

It's a sad day :(

I wonder how many numpties it took to bring this about or if they're just following the US and National Parks idea.

I wonder if it will become toxic and councils will start implementing the same idea.

-- Crispin

My other life: Drone Imagery

I've been working on silkopter FC for almost an year and this is the 3rd iteration. The core idea is to model a multirotor as a signal processing device that takes sensor input streams and a RC stream and outputs a PWM stream.

Each processing unit is modeled as a node with zero or more inputs and output streams, each with its own sample rate.

More details here:
https://jeanleflambeur.wordpress.com/