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Video from SteadiDrone, whose APM-powered QU4D we fly all the time and love

Robohub has a good report on South African drone community, which had enjoyed light regulation but is now facing strict rules:

A couple of years ago, while I was living in Cape Town, I met a group of people who were so into drones and aerial filming that they managed to initiate me into the world of UAVs. It turns out that South African soil is fertile ground for UAV enthusiasm and businesses. Therefore, I will dedicate this post to the thriving drone community of the Republic of South Africa.

Let’s start with the legislation: there is none. SACAA, the South African Civil Aviation Authority created confusion some two months ago, when it firstly declared a ban on the use of drones for aerial filming, and then issued this statement, which basically says that SACAA doesn’t ban something that is illegal already. The only problem is that it is not illegal, since there is no legislation covering the issue. Meanwhile, the Cape Town Film Commission has been in discussion with the SACAA, the Ministry of Transport, the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, and has requested that the SACAA implement their model aircraft policy for use of the drones.

If approved, the policy will require adopting the below guidelines, which are similar to those used in Europe and Australia:

• Flying only under 120m
• No flying within 4.2 nautical miles of an airport
• Flying only in line of sight of the operator (500m)
• No auto pilot flying or night flying
• No flying over public property and roads without permission

Meanwhile, filmmakers are still flocking to Cape Town to take advantage of the breathtaking scenery and skilled local aerial filming production crews. 

Where drones are being used for filming, there is no doubt someone catering to their needs and providing them with equipment. SteadiDrone (see video above) is a proudly South African UAV manufacturer, founded in 2012 in the beautiful town of Knysna. Their flagship product is the QU4D, RTF quadcopter, which uses the APM 2.5 autopilot from 3D Robotics and is able to carry a GoPro camera on board.

Read the rest here. 

Built with a 3DR Pixhawk (APM:Plane 3.0.2), Finwing Penguin 2815 fixed wing air frame, S100 Canon camera and RFD900 Radio (excellent Australian product), my budget agricultural unmanned aerial vehicle (aUAV) has kept me busy and learning lots in any spare time over the last few months.

In my last post, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in Precision Agriculture, I outlined the main components of a UAV for precision agriculture focusing on a fixed wing platform for collecting high resolution paddock scale data. In this followup post I will attempt to log some of my experiences. Note that this is just a learning experience – there are many commercial UAV options available for agriculture that are less time consuming and provide similar or better results right away.

Components

Platform

I needed a fixed wing platform that is readily available, cheap, with potential for long battery life, stability in the air and plenty of space for electrical components. I chose the Finwing Penguin. With the standard 2815 Finwing motor, 60 amp electronic speed controller (ESC), 9×6 propeller combined with a 4400Mha 3 cell Lipo battery I was only able to achieve about 20minutes flight time or enough to map about 40ha at 12m/s. I have a CXN engine mount which enables me to go to a 10″ prop which some of the gurus recommend. I could also increase my battery capacity and battery cell count to get longer flight time.

The Penguin is rather unique in its class as it has inbuilt landing gear. This consists of a pair wheels at the front and a single wheel at the back. I think this assists in preserving the plane when there is nowhere soft to belly land. The landing gear also allows you to take off like a traditional plane rather than hand launching. After making weight or centre gravity (CG) changes I will often take off from the ground. The downside is that these wheels to block up with mud quite easily if you land in a wet paddock.

The wings (including tail wing) come off for transport. I usually remove the main wings but leave tail wing in place as it is quite hard to get on and off due to awkward wiring and attachment arrangement.

The Penguin UAV does come with a pre-cut hole to install a down facing camera but it does not suit to place the camera top facing forward which is desirable. It was also very awkward to get the camera in and out as I had the Pixhawk autopilot installed above the camera position. I decided to go at the plane with a hacksaw and build a camera mount that would allow the camera to be installed from underneath the plane and also enough space to mount the camera top face forward.

S100 down facing camera mount and landing gear

Finwing Penguin UAV wings off for transport

UAV Finwing Penguin internal shot

Autopilot, GPS & Radio modem

As far as autopilot is concerned 3DR Pixhawk with APM:Plane 3.0.2 was the best option. At first I had issues getting my plane to fly well but once I upgraded to version 3.0.2+ the autotune feature changed the game altogether. This allowed the APM to adjust the PID settings in the plane as I manually flew it around. It works really well! During my latest flight I had an 8km/h cross wind that the APM was able to fly against successfully.

The GPS is a Ublox LEA-6M. It works well considering the price point. I did not attempt autonomous landing which is when GPS accuracy is more important. This GPS is able to get a fix within seconds of start-up and generally no issues throughout flight.

I initially used the 3DR radio modems but had all sorts of problems keeping a solid connection with my GCS. I decided to bite the bullet and buy a quality radio modem that should last me a long time and exceed all my range requirements. The RFD900 Radio pair is compatible with 3DR equipment and slotted in quite well. I did have to manufacture a cable to connect it to the Pixhawk and it took a bit of searching to figure which wires went where but I got it sorted within an hour or so. The RFD900 did have some driver issues on Windows. I had to install an old driver before I could get Mission Planner connected to the Pixhawk through RFD900. This all equates to time spent mucking around… BUT once working this product is excellent and I always have strong telemetry signal.

UAV actual flight path exported to Google Earth

Ground Control Station (GCS)

The Mission Planner software which runs on the ground station laptop allowing you to program the UAV and monitor it in flight is very good -  especially the Auto Waypoint Survey Grid feature. This allows you to draw the area you want to on the map. Simply load in a photograph from the camera you will be using and the target elevation. From this information is draws a flight path with your desired overlap.

Mission Planner: Footprints Survey Grid

Mission Planner: In Flight Data

Ground Control Station

Sensor & Image Processing

Canon S100 is my sensor of choice as it is a great balance of quality, price functionality and size. I started with a Canon D10 but many of the photos came out under exposed. The S100 has a larger sensor and inbuilt GPS so it is a better choice for aerial mapping. The downside to the S100 is that the lens protrudes from the camera which exposes it to damage in a rough landing.

With UAV aerial mapping you need a way for the camera to trigger every few seconds on its own. With a Canon camera it is easy using the Canon Hack Development Kit (CHDK). This updates the camera firmware, allowing you to use intervalometer scripts to trigger camera every few seconds. CHDK also offers what seems like unlimited settings for the camera. It seems difficult to find a complete set of settings to use with CHDK, but for my next flight I will try using the DroneMapper documentation to setup CHDK.

In my last flight approximately 30% of my photos came out blurry. I discarded the worst of the photos but still had to use some poor quality photos to ensure the map had no blank spots. This is probably due to a combination of camera settings, camera mount and propeller slightly out of balance.

Using desktop software trial of Agisoft Photoscan I was able to product a 40ha orthomosaic. The application works surprisingly well considering all images are taken at slightly different angle and are only provided with one GPS point for each photo. It is a very computer intense process and if I was to do a significant amount of processing would need to upgrade my computer. Alternatively I could use DroneMapper, but my dataset did not meet their requirements because I had to cull some images. I hope to try DroneMapper next time.

UAV imagery : Suntop Wheat

I took my data a step further and set up a web server to host the data as tiles. You can check it out here. How to store and share data collected by UAVs is something I have been thinking about. An orthomosaic for a single paddock can be several gigabytes and take a powerful computer to view in its raw form. The web seems like a good way to display data having a server store the data and only send bits of the image that the end user requests as they zoom in and move around.

The S100 can be modified to collect NDVI data – check here for example.

Always learning the hard way

This is my second flying UAV. My first was a Finwing Penguin as well. I spent a couple days putting my plane together and all the components. It is a nervous time flying your brand new plane for the first time. The first time out my plane few OK in manual mode but since I am a very ordinary pilot I like to use assisted flying modes. I changed to Fly By Wire mode and due to a APM setting (that I had to set) the autopilot had reversed the elevator sending it crashing into the ground. This snapped the plane in half and bent up the fuselage. Thankfully this durable foam returns to shape when you put it in boiling water and the pieces can be glued back together, reinforced with carbon fiber and fiberglass tape. Now I follow the suggested checks in the APM:Plane instructions more closely.  I’ve had no crashes since but have landed in mud which can be painful to clean out of the landing gear.

Fuselage post crash on maiden flight

Conclusion

Putting together this UAV I have learned how all the components of a UAV fit together, challenges faced by the commercial suppliers, and a better understanding of the enormous potential on offer. I think the biggest challenge is not the UAV platform itself but collecting high quality consistent data that can be quickly processed and given a useful, profitable application. The setup I have discussed here not including laptop or the countless hours of time comes to about AU$1200. Obviously for mapping large areas on a consistent basis, a commercial UAV would be preferred or even essential.

Sparkfun did a great job with the Autonomous Vehicle Competition this year, and this wrapup video is no exception. The first half is the rovers, the second is the aerial competition. You'll recognize many DIY Drones stars in it!

Final scores are here. 

Some of you may remember my T3 entry: a 3D scan of the UMBC campus.  If not, check out the blog post.  Well I'm glad to say that since then I've gotten the scan printed!  My lab partner and I are looking at starting a small business, and while doing so we were introduced to Potomac Photonics, a company which specializes in precision small parts.  They were kind enough to print our scan as a proof of concept.  The print is actually dinner plate sized; the level of detail is just amazing.

Check out the full posting on Potomac's website.

Also relevant: the posting at our lab Ecosynth's webite.

Hi!

We have improved area scan tool of our software. Now you can set direction of "snake" any angle you like or require!

You can get UgCS for free at our site. Just register and download from the Products section!

Please be reminded that our offer for free polos in exchange for flight report is still on! Let us know what you think of UgCS. Especially things you don't like are welcome!

Here is more details on how to obtain UgCS polo for free: http://diydrones.com/profiles/blogs/new-release-of-ugcs-and-goodies-up-for-grab

Great post from Kean Walmsley at Autodesk on using ArduCopter for 3D capture:

SF10/A Laser Altimeter - no compromises.

The SF10/A is our latest generation of laser altimeters designed for fixed wing and multicopter UAVs. This uncompromising design has evolved from our high accuracy SF01 series with dramatically lower weight (31g) and excellent performance from 0m to 60m. Designed for serious amateurs or professional UAV operators, the SF10/A has been optimized to give high reliability data during the critical approach and landing phase of a flight as well as high accuracy data for precision hovering of multicopters.

Taking lessons from the popular SF02/F low cost laser altimeter, the SF10/A has analog and serial interfaces along with an I2C bus. In addition, there is a full featured USB port for changing settings such as the I2C address and analog span. 

Size comparison of the SF10/A (above) and the SF02/F (below).

The SF10/A draws 120mA from a 5V power supply and the readings update 15 times a second at a resolution of 1cm. A very high signal-to-noise ratio keeps readings stable and accurate right up to the full range of 60m, even in bright sunlight. This has been achieved through the use of wide aperture, aspherical lenses and narrow band optical filters. In addition, a low noise, high gain APD (avalanche photo diode) detector offers the best signal sensitivity possible.

Other advancements included fully shielded magnetics for low EMI emissions and susceptibility, a high speed, 12bit analog output for easy interfacing, adjustable damping and selectable fail-safe controls.

We are now accepting orders through our online store at Lightware Optoelectronics

I would like to give special thanks to NamPilot for initiating this project and providing his expert guidance and unbounded enthusiasm throughout!

Tug Boats, Quadcopters, Jet boots, Cranes, Speed Boats, you name it, it was there. Sunny Friday and no winds may for some nice aerial filming. Here is a sample of what we shot on location in Kenosha WI.

Gear used- DJI Phantom 2 with GoPro Zenmuse H3-3D gimbal, 5.8Ghz FPV system.

Highlights (and lowlights) from all three heats of the PBR class of the 2014 Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle competition. Won by my "Driving Miss Dizzy" ArduRover, thanks to Tridge and Tom Coyle for coaching and code. Thrills, spills and some very close calls!

Good piece on the front page of the Wall Street Journal business section today. I'm quoted in it: 

The big aerospace companies "are the [computer] mainframes of this industry…We're the personal computers," said former Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson, who founded California drone maker 3D Robotics Inc. in 2009. "This is exactly what happens from industry to industry: The mammals emerge, they're small and pathetic, but they get better, faster, and then you have an evolutionary shift."

Go mammals!  We tiny mice like feasting on dinosaur eggs. (I may have slightly misremembered my evolutionary biology)

Here's the thesis paragraph: 

The two groups tend to have different sensibilities and different target customers, even meeting at different conferences. They've coexisted amicably, with the big firms serving the military and the smaller players serving hobbyists. But now their relationship has soured over efforts to influence long-delayed drone regulations and their increasing convergence in the market as demand for drones takes off.

The whole article is here and worth reading.

One of the Problems with the PX4 / Pixhawk is that it uses a PPM-Sum receiver which when so configured may not work at all for the normal receiver based method of one at a time ESC programming.

And especially so for 4 in 1 ESCs.

The one at a time method I have developed uses the Wikis normal all at a time method that goes through the Pixhawk to the ESC rather than the receiver straight to the ESC.

It is essentially the same as the normal all at a time method for calibrating ESCs as described in the wiki (repeated 4 times)

(REMOVE ALL PROPS)!

Remove all ESC signal outputs except one from the PWM output side of the PX4 / Pixhawk.

If your ESC outputs only have one grounded connector as is the case for the 4 in 1 ESC leave that one connected and we will calibrate it first.

Follow the procedure in the wiki for calibrating all of the ESCs at one time (except only one ESC / motor will be getting calibrated and run when you put the throttle stick back up at the end of the procedure.

(Note, after the calibration procedure, it actually takes a bit of time after putting the stick back up before the motor will turn, on mine I actually need to move it up and down a few times to get this to work, but I believe it is a necessary part of the tuning procedure.

Then disconnect the battery again.

Put the throttle stick back up and we will do the next one, order is not important and it doesn't make any difference which PWM out line you use so long as it is one of the ones used for your number of motors.

After you have done this first ESC, if that ESC connector was the only 1 with a ground wire on it you must do the following: Turn the connector upside down upside down and slip the ground pin only on the far left ground pin only of your PX4 / Pixhawk. (OR) On a Pixhawk or PX4 with a case on it you will need to remove the ground socket pin from the ESC connector housing and put it on the ground pin of the PX4 / Pixhawk).

If you have grounds on all ESC signal connectors as is normal for individual ESCs you can ignore the procedure above.

In any case connect the next (any) ESC signal lead to one of the active PWM connectors (right 4 for a Quadcopter on a PX4) such that the signal ESC lead is connected to a PX4 / Pixhawk PWM signal out pin.

Perform the above procedures 3 more times for a quadcopter as described in the wiki substituting a different motor / ESC pin each time, making sure each motor does spin up properly at the end of each calibration procedure.

After the last one is completed, leave the battery connected and the throttle down and reconnect all ESC signal leads to the PX4/Pixhawk PWM outputs as they should be and try throttling up - (all four motors should behave roughly the same, starting and stopping at the same time as you move the throttle up and down.)

You should now be good to go. 

Before connecting your props make sure your motor spin directions are correct and your transmitter stick calibration is OK. You should then be able to hook up the battery, press the safety button, arm and throttle up watching all 4 motors start and speed up at the same time.

And if you hold the copter and tilt it with a little bit of throttle you should be able to observe the motors on the down hill side speed up and the uphill slow down while they try to re-level the copter.

Put the props back on and go fly. (or at least finish setup and maybe do an auto tune.)

The above system works fine and is a lot easier solution for one at a time ESC calibration than the traditional receiver based method, especially for PX4s and Pixhawks.

I think this might be a very good procedure to add to the DIYDrones wiki, in any case I will detail it on my quadcoptersarefun.com website on the Four In One ESC page: http://quadcoptersarefun.com/FourInOneESC.html

Best Regards,

Gary

I have explored the x350 Pro for about a month and tested it with Mission Planner.  I must say the X350 Pro flies very well, pre-tuned.  It Loiters perfectly out of the box.  Last year I built three APM F450 and it was nice for a change to have a RTF.

The x350 Pro Flight Controller Devo M, has a variation of Arducopter in it.   I have included a video recorded the first day I hooked up the x350 Pro to Mission Planner and sure enough, it did every standard thing with the Mission Planner.  Attached here is copy of the Full Parameter list extracted using Mission Planner. param-full-list-qrx350pro.txt

Included in the x350 Pro combo, is a Devo F7 radio transmitter, but I have tested it with my FrSKY Taranis and X8R and it works just fine (if you rather buy the BNF version).   The x350 Pro is capable of handling the 6 flight modes and 2 optional switches.  I tested some basic waypoint routes and it flies just as well.  The only thing, out of the box, without any modification I am not able to add telemetry module or osd.  However others have managed to solder them on.  I was told a newer version will be out and will include OSD soon.

The FPV videos shown here were filmed using the iLook+ 1080p.  I have the original iLook and iLook+, both version released under a span of 6 months.  I will definitely recommend going with the iLook+, as it makes a world of difference between the two.  The iLook+ comes built-in with a video transmitter, sized to be a GoPro so you can also use it with other gimbals.   Some people call it a FPV backpack, and have been packing them into a box to make it easily swappable for the convenience.   I have not flown beyond any further than what is shown on these video, but it definitely has some range using a Fatshark goggle or the F7, more than enough to film a football field and baseball field.  The signal strength of the video is on the side of the short F7 antenna.  For the Fatshark I use the matching 4 lobe skew planar wheel .  The G-2D gimbal is definitely lighter than the gimbal i purchased off eBay and a lot more refine.

All in all, a quadcopter to consider for a BNF at about $310 at www.bg.com/x350pro/bnf. The 5200 mAh LiPo gives me about 17 minutes of flight time or more.  The original battery can be expensive.

size comparison between gimbals.

Welcome to our first National level Drone User Group Conference! Through our meetup page you will be able to pre-register and therefore assure your space at the conference. This is a family friendly event so feel free to bring the kids and keep reading for options to bring your own drone! Along with your registration you can enjoy the entire museum at your leisure. First lecture starts at 9 AM sharp, so you should be there about 30minutes prior to ensure you are checked in and ready to go. All registered names will be on a list so you will need some form of ID to get checked in.

The location will be the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. We will have a 200 seat auditorium for speakers, and an 80 man conference room for storing your equipment, as well as a place to go and chat. Ticket sales will be limited to 230.

The closest airport is Love Field Airport which is literally where the Frontiers of Flight Museum is located.  If you can't land there the next place is the DFW International Airport which is about 25 minutes from the FoF Museum.  Mapped for you here. 

We will also be setting up at least a dozen personal drones on the Mezzanine to show and educate the public for the museums new promotion "Meet the Drones" day (actual name may vary). If you would like to sign up to display your drone setup or help with the Conference, please visit our separate National DUGN Conference Volunteer Signup Page and send an RSVP.  Instructions for it are brief.

We will also have a Friday Night Social Dinner, family friendly at a location to be determined.  Please see our Friday Night Social Dinner Event Page to sign up (free).  Location to be determined.

Last but not least, you may sign up to compete in our Search and Rescue Challenge II competition the following Sunday!  Details on the event will be forthcoming "soon" but you can count on 150 acres and multiple drone use, it will ROCK!

TICKET PRICE: $40 Per Person

TICKET CAP: 230 Total

LOCATION: Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas TX, Sept 13th

ALL PROCEEDS GO TO FUNDING THE CONFERENCE, SEARCH AND RESCUE CHALLENGES, MEETUPS AND TRAVEL ASSISTANCE FOR SPEAKERS.

Speakers with the tag "Sponsorship Needed" will need travel assistance in order to attend.  Once ticket sales have reached sufficient levels they will be funded.  If you would like to personally donate to a specific speaker(s), please contact Chad Frazer and he will make arrangements to make that happen. 

Techinstein and Lucidity from Roswell Flight Test Crew - *Sponsorship Needed*

Have a look at the potential, and the pitfalls, of this emerging technology — as well as a discussion on their own work with first responders, research scientists and other community groups.

Brian Zvaigzne is the technical expert responsible for designing, building and maintaining the multirotor aircraft used by the Roswell Flight Test Crew to capture aerial imagery and demonstrate their potential to firefighters and other first responders, as well as the community at large. He has a lifetime of experience with radio-controlled vehicles, as well as computers and other electronic systems. Known to Roswell Flight Test Crew fans as “Techinstein,” Brian’s previous media experience includes eight years on broadcast radio in the Portland metropolitan area as the co-host of a computer help call-in show. Having studied electronics at Delta College in Michigan, he currently owns an information technology business based in Beaverton, Oregon.

Patrick Sherman is the public face of the Roswell Flight Test Crew. Known as “Lucidity,” he is responsible for building the partnerships that have allowed the team to fly with the public safety community, hot air balloonists, research scientists and many other groups and organizations. Currently working in strategic communications for a regional public safety agency, he has prior experience as a newspaper reporter and magazine editor. He currently writes for a number of industry publications, including Model Aviation, RotorDrone and RC Sport Flyer. A master scuba instructor and licensed private pilot, he holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Southern California in sociology and English, as well as an MBA from Willamette University.

Rich Hanson, Government and Regulatory Affairs Representative of the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

FAA UAS Policy and UAS Guidelines.
sUAS Rulemaking Process.
sUAS Program Challenges.
AMA’s sUAS Program.

Rich Hanson currently serves as the Government and Regulatory Affairs Representative for the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) headquartered in Muncie, IN. He’s served in this capacity since May 2008, and previously served on the AMA Executive Council for 15 years as a member of the Academy’s board of directors.

Jim Blanchard, ScD, Chief Scientist, UAS Academy

Flight Operations Quality Assurance for Emerging UAS Operators

Jim Blanchard has been involved in many of the most advanced aviation systems innovation of the past 4 decades.  His inventions include the synthetic vision system, computer-aided debriefing station, and TalkMarker.  He has a long history of philanthropic work in education, and uses UASs in his work as an educator and scientist, including helping developing and emerging nations in closing the education gap through applied science.  He’s a human factors advisor on the UAS ARC RPAS Certification sub-committee and the FAA/RTCA Special Committee 228 working on Detect/Avoid and Command/Control.  He holds 4 earned degrees in the fields of Science, Engineering, and Management, and is licensed pilot.

Jonathan Challinger, Software Developer for 3DR

Discussing ArduPilot Mega's new compass interference learning capability, logging system and how the transparency of open source benefits the common user.

Jonathan Challinger is a former Computer Science student who now does independent software development and flight log analysis for 3D Robotics. Jonathan has contributed a number of ideas to the APM project, including prototyping the inertial navigation system that makes ArduCopter the highly performant system that it is today.

Gene Robinson from RP Flight Systems Inc.

UA in Search & Rescue (SAR)

Eugene “Gene” Robinson is the owner of both RP Flight Systems, Inc. and RP Search Services. RPFlight Systems, Inc. was incorporated specifically to produce economically viable flight platforms to loft various sensors and imaging payloads. RPSearch Services is an IRS recognized 501©3 organization that utilizes UA technology to assist in search and rescue/recovery (SAR) operations on a charitable basis.Using the Spectra flying wing to complete hundreds of missions, this UA has provided actionable data to incident commands in 30 states and has flown in four countries.The Spectra is directly credited with 11 recoveries and credited for breaking up a human trafficking operation in Mexico.

Paul Lake, Founder/Executive Director – Search One Rescue Team

Search and Rescue Mission Examples

Paul Lake is the Founder and Executive Director of Search One Rescue Team. Founding the team in 1983 Mr. Lake and Search One are now in their 31st year providing trained K9 teams and ground search management to law enforcement and emergency response agencies throughout  North Central Texas.

Mr. Lake is also a certified K9 handler in the disciplines of Air Scent and Human Remains Detection, an Incident Commander, and a Public Information Officer for team field operations. Starting in 1994 he served as a Texas Peace Officer for seven years, four of which was as a K9 handler and narcotics interdiction officer. Mr. Lake has been on over 400 searches with Search One, has multiple finds, and has been classified as an expert witness regarding K9 detection of human remains in the Texas criminal court system. He is currently serving his fourth year on the Board of Director for NASAR (National Assoc. for Search and rescue).

And in addition to all that … he’s a really nice guy!

Timothy Reuter, President, DC Area Drone User Group

The Drone Social Innovation Award

Timothy Reuter is President of the DC Area Drone User Group and Founder of the Drone User Group Network. He is also co-creator of the Pocket Drone, the most funded drone campaign in the history of Kickstarter.

Shah Selbe, Engineer, Conservation Technologist, National Geographic Explorer

Soar Ocean, the Use of Inexpensive Drone Technology for Ocean Conservation

Shah Selbe is an engineer, conservation technologist, and technology expert working to identify and implement innovative approaches to ocean conservation. This work began at Stanford University in 2009 and has included working with a number of influential nonprofits and government organizations worldwide (Center for Ocean Solutions, Monterey Bay Aquarium, New England Aquarium, National Geographic Society, Waitt Institute, Pew Environment Group, and many more). This work, often called “FishNET”, was honored as 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Semi-Finalist, 2011 Savannah Ocean Exchange Gulfstream Navigator Finalist, and 2011 Katerva Award Nominee. Most recently, this work resulted in National Geographic naming him as one of their 2013 Emerging Explorers. Selbe is also a writer on the Ocean Views blog on National Geographic NewsWatch.

It's definitely going on... http://www.abc-7.com/story/25872339/drones-fly-into-lcso-companies-others-consider-benefits

I know what I and other think about this(unreliable wrong machine, wrong Tx).. let the flaming begin :)

      hzl

ps its GOING to happen no matter how ill advised

It took almost two years of research, development and thorough testing in order to bring the next generation flight control system. Welcome SmartAP 2.0 - multirotor UAV autopilot with the capability of fully autonomous flight including takeoff and landing. The official beta release of the system is launched! More info at http://sky-drones.com. 

DroidPlanner has just been updated with an incredible feature that comes very close to "one-button 3D mapping" with ArduCopter. Here's a quick tutorial on how to use it to create a mission that autonomously takes off, circles a building taking pictures of it and lands, capturing all the imagery you need to stitch together a 3D model like the above. This model was taken with a 3DR Iris and GoPro camera in just one circle and stitched together with Autodesk Memento/ReCap.

You can see some 360-degree rotatable examples here and here. For best results, click the little cube box at bottom left and pick "Shadeless" for the rendering options. 

(Don't forget you can now do this via Bluetooth with your Android phone or tablet, in addition to the usual 3DR long-distance radios.)

Steps

1) In the Edit screen, hold down the trash can icon, which will clear any previous mission you had and auto-create the first waypoint, which is an auto-takeoff. Then tap the Add Waypoint button (the top one with the "+") and tap the center of the structure you want to 3D-map:

2) Tap on that new waypoint and in the drop-down menu, select "Circle". This will tell the copter to do a single circle at the default altitude (20m) and the default radius (10m), with the nose of the copter and camera always facing into the center of the circle. If that's what you want, you're done!

3) (Optional) If you want it do to do multiple circles at the same altitude, change the "Orbits" number in the menu below. If you want it to do multiple circles at different altitudes (to give the stitching software a range of views), tap on Advanced and change the Steps number to the number of circles you want, with the Altitude Step being how much higher each circle should be over the one before:

4) At that point, you can either launch the mission and when it's done it will loiter, waiting for you to manually land, or you can add more more waypoint to autoland (triangle waypoint icon below). If you're done, don't forget to press Send Mission to send it to the copter!

5) If you want the copter to circle with a larger or smaller radius, select Parameters 

In the Parameters list, scroll down to CIRCLE_RADIUS and change it whatever value you'd like. (Note that in the screenshot below there's an error: the units are in centimeters, not meters. So 2000 is 2000cm or 20m. That will be fixed in the next push)

When you're done changing that, remember to Write the parameters to the copter:

6) Now that you've finished the mission, set your onboard camera to take a picture once per second in stop-motion or "intervelometer" mode (I use a GoPro Black with my Iris, which works great, but you can use any camera that has this mode). Don't forget to start the camera!

7) Now switch your copter to Auto mode and nudge the throttle up a bit. The copter will take off, fly to the structure, circle it at the altitude and number of times you selected, and automatically return and land at your feet! Mission accomplished!  

Some safety notes:

• Watch out for trees and other obstacles! Make sure your first circle is above any trees or other things that might be in the path of the circle
• Make sure your radius is at least twice the distance from the center to the edge of the structure. You want to have at least ten meters clearance from the structure at all times
• If you're doing an autolanding, make sure you've got plenty of room for the landing and no obstructions on the route home. If you can't ensure that, do the landing manually.
• Don't plan any mission where your view of the copter will be obscured. You must be able to take over manual control if it looks like your mission will take the copter into harm's way

Stitching

Once you've finished the mission and acquired the imagery, you'll need to use stitching software or a cloud service to turn it into a 3D model. Autodesk offers some good free choices for that:

• 123D Catch. Quick and dirty. This won't make the best model, but it's easy, works most of the time, and has a good web viewer so you can share the 3D model with anyone.  Mac, Windows or Web
• ReCap 360: This offers better renders, but it can be hard to get it to reliably generate a model. Web
• Memento: This is beta software, but it works great for me and is my go-to tool for high-quality renders and a very easy-to-use interface.  You have to join the Autodesk Labs program to use it (that's free and open to all), but it's well worth it for this gem. The only downside is that it's Windows-only so if you're a Mac user like me you have to dual-boot or run Windows in a VM

Coming soon...

In the next version of DroidPlanner, the interface to change the altitude, radius of the circle and the number and step-distance of each orbit will be improved to a simple "point and drag" feature, which is very intuitive. Basically, you'll just point at the structure you want to 3D map, drag the circle so it's well outside the structure, drag a slider for the altitude and press go. One-button mapping!

Hello everyone. I have been active on this forum for over a year now, and have had the opportunity to discuss my slow, but steady progress in the RC multi-rotor hobby. I had previously flown RC helicopters; and planes before that.

Recently, I started working with local public service groups, consulting them about the potential uses of UAS in disaster response, and search and rescue. I have also started working with a group of FPV hobbyists in an attempt to develop rules and regulations for FPV racing. In short, I am taking the early steps of turning a hobby into a business.

Now, the FAA is wanting to shut the door on many of us who endeavor to expand this hobby, and burgeoning industry. FPV America (the organization, for which I am an unpaid consultant) has started a petition at change.org asking the FAA to reconsider their stance, especially in regards to FPV flights. We have also decided we will send a copy of this petition to Congress, the White House, and major media outlets. We are hoping to get ten-thousand signatures, and received one thousand in the first day. But, we still have a long way to go.

Please help by signing, and sharing! Please, also support other efforts, such as those by the AMA. This is the time for our voices to be heard, and from many directions. We need to tell the FAA, "you can't take the sky from me!"

From GCN (via Dronereport). Although the prototype is relatively big now, the researchers plan to reduce it to 4 ounces. It is, however, very expensive ($7,500):

The biggest hurdle for unmanned aerial vehicles to clear in order to gain Federal Aviation Administration approval for use in the national airspace is development of systems to prevent them from crashing into each other and, even more important, into manned aircraft.  And the key challenge in developing such a “sense-and-avoid” system has been developing technology that can reliably detect the presence – and the course – of other aircraft and to engineer it into a package small enough and light enough for UAVs.

Researchers at the University of Denver’s Unmanned Systems Research Institute may have the answer.  The group has developed a phased-array radar system that weighs only 12 ounces and is small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand.    

According to Mark Rutherford, assistant professor of computer science and deputy director of the Unmanned Systems Research Institute, the team wanted to develop a radar-based solution because radar offers several advantages over the two other technologies – optical camera-based systems and transponder systems – that have been under development for sense-and-avoid systems.

Transponder-based systems are highly reliable but only work when all the aircraft in the airspace are equipped with transponders.  “There may be government regulations in this country that say that everything has to have a transponder, but in some cases a transponder would cost more than the whole vehicle,” Rutherford said.  “We’re not sure that we want to plan on the fact that everything out there is going to have a transponder on it.”

Camera-based systems may detect other aircraft regardless of the equipment they carry, but their effectiveness is affected by atmospheric conditions.  “Radar works in nighttime, and it works regardless of the lighting conditions and in weather conditions where you don’t have good visibility,” Rutherford said. 

Despite radar’s advantages, Rutherford said, “we couldn’t find anything that was designed specifically for very small vehicles. And most vertical takeoff and landing vehicles are really limited in payload, so we wanted something that would work in that context.”

The team built everything from scratch except the antenna – digital signal processor, circuit boards and the software.  “In our field tests we were able to detect and identify targets of the size roughly equivalent to UAV at about 100 meters or 300 feet,” Rutherford noted, and added that the team is continuing to work on increasing the range of the unit. 

The technology was licensed in April to Integrated Robotics Imaging Systems in Kenai, Alaska, which will be testing it on its Infotron IT180, a French-made, dual-rotor unmanned platform. 

At 31 pounds and with a 71-inch rotor diameter, the Infotron device is larger than many UAVs. But John Parker, president of Integrated Robotics, said he plans to further reduce the size and weight of the system, making it feasible for a wider array of smaller UAVs. “When I’m done it will be about 4 ounces,” Parker promised.  “I’m going to be refining it and changing it and either adding claims to the existing patent or patenting the changes that we make.” 

According to Parker, new phased arrays are available that don’t require a servo device to move the radar.  “Instead of having the sensors driven, they are actually applied to a dome – to a “radome” – and they have overlapping fields of view so you don’t have to have a servo driving them back and forth,” Parker said. “So they can continuously scan the sky ahead.”

Parker says he’s also receiving interest from the general aviation sector.  “Other small radars that are being used in general aviation are in the $15,000 range,” Parker explained.  “We think we’re going to be in a very good position at around $7,300 to $7,500.  That’s why general aviation is interested in this.”

“I see this industry changing rapidly the next 24 months,” Parker said.  “I think you’ll see the commercialization begin to occur. It’s already happening.”

The good people at ReadyMadeRC have released their response to the FAA's Notice of Interpretation of the Special Rule for Model Aircraft and urge all US based model aircraft operators to submit their own thoughtful comments.

Excerpt from ReadyMadeRC's Response

In our over 26 years of combined FPV experience, along with over 75 years of combined model aircraft experience here at Ready Made RC, LLC, we have found that operating model aircraft using video glasses or “goggles” is a safe way to enjoy recreational model aircraft.  FPV video glasses offer much more precise control of the model in flight and, when combined with a spotter, offer a much greater situational awareness than simply flying a model from a single operator’s perspective viewing the model aircraft directly from the ground.  A line of sight operator by necessity focuses nearly all of his attention on the model as seen from the ground, as opposed to an FPV operator who is focused on the airspace ahead in the direction of the model’s flight.  For this and other reasons, in our opinion, FPV operations are as safe as, if not safer than, traditional model aircraft operations, which are themselves extraordinarily safe.  The FAA is unfortunately confusing the choice of where someone might fly a model aircraft with the method of control, and in the process is misreading the 2012 statute which concerned only the location of model aircraft operations.  We also cannot believe that the FAA actually has studied the way FPV works or else it would come to the same conclusions as we have about safety.

A pdf copy of this statement can be downloaded here.