Innehållsförteckning för December - January 2021 från RotorDrone Pro

From firefighters to city planners, employees in public works departments across the United States are wondering how they can benefit from using drones. Although municipal budgets are notoriously tight, the cost of a few basic drones, training, and licensing fees, is well worth increased efficiency and human safety. So what’s stopping these departments from embracing this new technology? The biggest hurdle may be the knowledge needed to follow FAA rules and guidelines. To help solve that challenge, in this month’s “Cleared for Takeoff,” Wendie Kellington and Patrick Sherman explain the basics of U.S. drone regulations and how commercial drone pilots can become certified. From explaining U.S. airspace classification to drone trespass laws and more, this 14-page feature will ensure that your public works drone program will get off to a…

DJI has announced a Solution Development Partnership with Shell Oil Company to create, test, and deploy DJI drone technology at its Deer Park Manufacturing Complex to improve efficiency and worker safety during industrial inspections and emergency incident response. “As one of the world’s largest energy companies, Shell has provided us with valuable insight into the unique challenges of conducting aerial inspections at one of its largest facilities where infrastructure exceeds the height of 250 feet off the ground,” said Cynthia Huang, Director of Business Development at DJI. “Through our collaboration, DJI will receive valuable first-hand insight into the complexities of deploying drone technology at a world-class refinery, and co-develop new product features like AI Spot-Check that will allow Shell and other innovative energy companies to use drones to safely and…

Walmart and Zipline have launched a first-of-its-kind drone delivery operation in the U.S. The new service will make on-demand deliveries of select health and wellness products with the potential to expand to general merchandise. Trial deliveries will take place near Walmart’s headquarters in Northwest Arkansas using Zipline’s proprietary technology. Zipline will operate from a Walmart store and can service a 50-mile radius. Their launch and release system allows for quick on-demand delivery in under an hour and also eliminates carbon emissions, which lines up perfectly with Walmart’s sustainability goals. The operation will likely begin early next year. Zipline, which operates the world’s largest drone delivery network, began operating in late 2016 in Rwanda primarily focusing on the on-demand delivery of medical supplies. To date, they’ve safely delivered more than 200,000…

[Editor’s note: inspired by Patrick Sherman’s “Night Flight” feature in our October/November issue, Andrew offered his personal test questions that he created for his own FAA Daylight Operations Waiver. Answers are upside-down at the end!] ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Keithly (@akeithlyphotography) is a commercial photographer and videographer in Tennessee who creates photos and videos for architects, realtors, and advertising. He started using drones soon after Part 107 was released and has found them to be an essential tool in his work. 1. What are some of the factors that increase the risk of UAS night operations compared to daylight operations? 1. UAS fly differently at night, making it difficult for pilots who are used to flying during the day.2. A pilot’s visual acuity is reduced, and vision is his/her most…

Aerial maps can be created from a collection of aerial photos that are stitched together with computer software. A batch of overlapping, vertical aerial photos is processed and referenced with their GPS position. The processed aerial maps are used in many industries such as agriculture, emergency response, construction, mining, and environmental monitoring. When they’re made at regular intervals, aerial maps can document changes to a specific area in a process known as “change detection.” Multiple aerial maps, collected over time, can be compared with current and past images to detect patterns that are not visible from the ground. Change detection is essential for many applications such as monitoring snowpack, vegetation density, and storm erosion. While several companies have developed mapping solutions, this article will focus on three that are compatible…

Based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Pix4D has been creating professional maps and models from drone imagery since 2011. The Pix4D Pro Mapper subscription service costs $350 a month and offers unlimited processing with no limits on spatial resolution. A two-week free trial is available to anyone interested in trying Pix4D. Processing is offered both on the cloud and also with its desktop software on a 64-bit PC running Windows 7, 8, or 10. The Pix4D Capture app is compatible with the 3DR Solo, Parrot Bebop, and DJI line of drones, including the Matrice 100. The Pix4D app does not display as much data during the flight as Maps Made Easy. The app is designed to be used with cloud-based processing. One convenient feature is the ability to upload images directly from…

We love hearing from our readers. Your emails, tweets, and comments let us know what you’d like to see in print and online. Here’s what some of you are saying about RotorDrone Pro. RotorDronePro.com › Herd the One About the Missing Cows? When a herd of cows mysteriously disappeared, the quickest way to find them was to try to spot them from a bird’s-eye view. The worried farmer turned to newly qualified drone pilot John Allcock to find the missing 100-strong herd. After all, every second was vital, especially if they had wandered onto roads. John’s drone discovered that some of the inquisitive beasts had meandered into a neighboring farmer’s fields while two were discovered stuck in a brook and had to be rescued. Cue the cow jokes: Alan Piney:…

With its low visual profile and ability to fly in winds of up to 45 knots, UAVTek’s Bug provides full situational awareness for operators in law enforcement and the military. The company’s managing director and founder, Howard Humphries, said: “We are very proud of the fact that the Bug is designed and built in the UK. “This demonstrates that the UK drone industry can produce world-class unmanned systems. We have outstanding partners, including BAE Systems and General Dynamics, who are collaborating with us to develop the best possible technology for our troops. This is just the tip of the iceberg. As we move in to 2021, we will be releasing a full range of purpose built UAVS for all aspects of military use.” Weighing in at less than 200 grams,…

Based in San Diego, California, Maps Made Easy lives up to its namesake. Its app, Map Pilot, is compatible with all DJI drones, including the Mavic Pro. The app is only available for iOS devices. The service allows users to make an unlimited number of small maps without limits on resolution. This is a great feature for novice mapmakers as they can learn and get experience for free. The pricing system is not subscription based; it is, instead, calculated by how much data needs to be processed for the map. Since this is a point-based system, the user should calculate the actual cost for all maps more than 250 points. The application is helpful in that it tells users during the flight planning process if the number of photos for…

Unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) or more commonly, drones, are a quickly-emerging technology that has enormous potential to spark a revolution, or at the very least increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness, across a number of industries. Drones are rapidly becoming cheaper, smaller, more powerful, and easier to operate. As a result, the commercial drone space is currently growing at an unprecedented rate, with new solutions, models, and companies emerging every day. An average of 1,000 commercial drones is registered in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) online database every week, and their number is predicted to increase 900% by 2021. However, as the commercial use of drones increases and continues to evolve, the potential risks of this technology need to be considered. Advances in drone technology are inevitably accompanied by a host of…

Location: Piangrande, Italy Pilot: Antonio Di Marco (@antonio_dima_dimarco) Drone: Fimi X8 SE SEND US YOUR PHOTOS If you have an image that you’ve taken with a multirotor that you’d like to see show cased in “Over the Horizon,” please send your high-resolution image, your Instagram handle (if applicable), and information on the location and the drone you flew to capture the image to RotorDrone@AirAge.com. Every photographer we feature on this page will receive a free one-year subscription or extension to RotorDronePro magazine.…

Photogrammetry software company Pix4D has released Pix4Dmatic, the digital photogrammetry software for accurate and fast corridor and large scale mapping. Pix4Dmatic has been created to suit an evolving demand as professionals map bigger areas around the world. Projects that would have previously been mapped by aircraft are now being surveyed with drones. With Pix4Dmatic, these expert projects are easier to accomplish. Pix4Dmatic now offers support also for large datasets resulting from multiple flights by easily processing over 10,000 images without compromising the results’ accuracy. This software will potentially open the door to a new era of drone mapping. Pix4Dmatic is available for Windows and macOS. pix4d.com…

Scentroid’s new drone-based air quality analyzer, the DR2000, is a leap forward in the aerial air quality monitoring and environmental industry. With the assisted drone, it can analyze ambient air at heights of 125 meters above ground level, which was previously impossible to accomplish. While in flight, several built-in sensors provide remote monitoring of a multitude of chemical compounds (sensor variance based on monitoring project). The DR2000 Flying laboratory provides a platform to conduct both impact assessments and air quality measurements for a wide range of applications, including the monitoring of fugitive emissions, flare emissions, pipeline leak detection, methane from landfill sites, agricultural or cannabis facilities, odor emissions, military or emergency applications, urban scanning, and more. The DR2000 technology weighs 520g, allowing for a diverse drone portfolio. Advancements in sensor…

Navigating the regulations forpublic sector drones The rules and regulations that govern the use of small uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) are premised on how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines these machines and their operators. Under the law, a two-pound UAS is an aircraft, no different from a Cessna 172 or a Boeing 737. In its official glossary of terms, FAA defines an aircraft as a “a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air.” There is no mention of its size, crew, range or mission—only that it is a mechanism that flies. Likewise, people who operate UAS are pilots, holding a credential granted by the FAA: the Remote Pilot In Command (RPIC) certificate. The successful addition of UAS to the public worker’s toolbox…

Based in San Francisco, California, DroneDeploy offers two subscription-based plans for its mapping services. The free plan allows users to process up to five maps per month. Each map may be compiled from up to 500 images but with a limited spatial resolution of 5cm/pixel. A subscription to the DroneDeploy pro version is available for a monthly fee of $99. This app allows users to make an unlimited number of maps, using up to 1,000 images per map. The resolution for this service is limited to 2cm/ pixel. For professional users, a business version costing $299 a month processes an unlimited number of maps, using up to 3,000 images per map. The maximum resolution for this service is high, at 1cm/pixel. The DroneDeploy app is compatible with the more common…

I’ve been interested in aerial photography for as long as I can remember. I’m amazed how a mundane subject takes on an entirely different look when viewed from above. Aerial photography provides you the ability to view your surroundings from an entirely fresh perspective. Several years ago, I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a DJI Mavic 2 Pro. I was particularly attracted to this drone due to the 1-inch CMOS sensor and the adjustable (F2.8-F11) aperture. All images shown here were captured using a DJI Mavic 2 Pro set on Raw format, manual, automatic white balance, and ISO 100. CAMERA SETTINGS In regard to camera settings, I always shoot in the Raw format at 100 ISO, and have found an aperture setting of F4.5-F6 to produce the sharpest images.…

The drone market has experienced strong growth in recent years. As both hobbyist and professional users alike take great interest in exploring the capabilities these devices have to offer, this growth is set to continue over the long-term, with a huge 76,000 drones projected to be flying the UK skies by 2030, according to Skies without Limits, a 2018 report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. As drones continue to evolve and reach new heights that humans cannot, we are seeing a rapidly growing range of new use cases and application types. Drone-based delivery services are coming to the fore as highlighted by UPS’s Flight Forward project launch. Drones are also being put to work in the construction industry to track site progress and collect data for 3D model planning. This was most recently…

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