DRONE - May 2017.pdf

buyer’s guide • reviews • pro tips + more… May 2017 · No 20 · Price £ 5 . 99

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TRAMP HV

INTERNATIONAL DRONE DAY

SEE THE LIGHT

Why one small transmitter can make a big difference

Are you ready to celebrate with the rest of the world?

Essential advice for keeping your photos bright and beautiful

the shape of things to come

thermal imaging

A guide to playing It cool this summer

SPECS APPEAL We cast an eye over the latest FPV goggles

take one

The film made with a single drone shot

moverio

Keep your eyes on the skies

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How PowerVision is breaking the boundaries of drone design

The UKs longest established and most popular drone flying school

One to one hands-on flying lessons for beginners to experts Flying sites for lessons across the UK One Hour: £120, Two Hours: £200

Our Pilots

Alan Proto

Anto Baird

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Simon Smith

Newall Hunter

Tom Jacobs

Free flying lesson and drone set up when you buy your DJI drone from us Official partners to the CAA and Visit England’s 400ft Britain drone photography and videography competition 01244 893 872 www.phantomflightschool.co.uk

Geese on a Marsh Akastó, Hungary Photo by Csaba Daróczi / www.daroczicsaba.hu Supplied by Dronestagram

contributors

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Adam Juniper

Gemma Cox

Mark Baker

MATTHEW DUTTON

Hooked from the moment he saw the AR.Drone at CES, Adam has spent the years since building, crashing, sinking, losing and occasionally flying drones. With a background in photography publishing and over a decade writing about video and still photography in his rear-view mirror, he was the only choice for Ilex’s recent book The Drone Pilot's Handbook (on sale now!).

Our launch editor for DRONE, Gemma has worked at the helm of NEO magazine for over ten years. Spending over a decade immersed in Asian pop culture, she recently branched out into the world of technology to take on UAVs. She’s most excited about the future of FPV racing and the prospect of drone deliveries! Can drone racing go prime time? She certainly hopes so! Follow NEO at @NEO_Magazine.

Mark is a commercial drone pilot based in the New Forest. In 2014, he founded Naughty Cat Media and specialises in providing low level aerial video and photography using drones. Most of his work is carried out with lightweight and affordable systems like the DJI Phantom series. Check out some of his shots and get in touch at his website, located at www.naughtycatmedia.co.uk.

Matt is an avid 3D heli pilot and drone operator who has been busy setting up his own media production company. Flying from an early age, Matt has a passion for all things RC, particularly the aerial kind. He has a taste for filming and is always honing his skills. He uses a Phantom 4, Inspire 1 and an Osmo to aid his work, and spends most of his time trying to capture the perfect shot!

Andrew Wat ton-Davies

Lee Schofield

MICHAEL COOK

FERGUS KENNEDY

Andrew spends his time monitoring the globe for drone news stories, testing to death the things people send him (mostly drones), and hoping his cats won’t moult all over his quadcopters. He's a graduate of the Freedonia Flying Academy and has never failed to walk away from a UAV landing. You can follow him on Twitter at @raggedydrones

Known online as Painless360, Lee has a YouTube channel and business dedicated to making RC technology easier to use. An RC pilot for over eight years and with a 30year background in electronics he became hooked on quads when he was bought one in as a present. The rest, as they say, is history! By now he can probably strip a quadcopter and rebuild it blindfolded.

Michael gained his experience with drones through the US Army, flying the Shadow 200 system. After the Army he flew drones in Alaska before founding his own company, M2 Flight Solutions. As well as working with emergency services, he was also the first person to fly an AV Puma system 300 miles from the true North Pole – the furthest a UAV system has flown from a coastguard ship.

Fergus has worked in professional stills and video for over 15 years. He started flying drones three years ago and after qualifying for commercial work he set up Skylark Aerial Imaging. He has shot extensively for TV, and commercial and scientific work, with clients including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Canon, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Toyota and Nissan.

DRONE MAGAZINE

may 2017 • Issue 20 www.dronemagazine.uk

Uncooked Media Ltd, PO Box 6337, Bournemouth, BH1 9EH Telephone: 01202 586035 www.uncookedmedia.com

Editor: Ian Collen [email protected] Managing Editor: Gemma Cox Design: Imran Kelly Contributors: Mark Baker, Michael Cook, Csaba Daróczi, Dronestagram, Matthew Dutton, Adam Juniper, Fergus Kennedy, Lee Schofield, Andrew Watton-Davies.

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The Big Kahuna

To Issue 20 of Drone Magazine!

Editorial Director: Darren Herridge [email protected]

I

t’s pretty obvious to most people involved that the drone industry is moving incredibly fast. Not only in terms of the rising number of people using them or the ever-increasing variety of practical, professional and commercial ways they’re making lives easier (and safer) – but also the technology itself. What seemed aspirational barely a year ago has quickly become the norm and equally rapidly will begin to seem old hat in comparison to the new stuff filtering through all the time. My attention was drawn to one such example in these past few weeks, as I spoke to film director Paul Trillo about his new short film (more on that on page 38). The film itself was only recently released, but filming actually took place in the middle of 2016. If you travel back a year we’re talking about the Inspire 1 being DJI’s flagship filmmaking companion – with the M600 a brand new, but somewhat expensive, temptation and the Inspire 2 still little more than a softly whispered rumour. Back then most of us would have loved almost everything about the Inspire but it’s interesting to hear Paul talking about things like the lack of stability that is now increasingly commonplace, plus problems with batteries and reliability when he upgraded to a larger octocopter – problems that could have been easily resolved had this year’s tech been available. It’s hardly surprising that each new advancement makes the older kit seem outdated and less appealing, but it still amazes me that what was cutting edge 10 months ago is now barely acceptable on a commercial level. I guess it goes to show that pretty much everyone we’ve featured in the magazine who has told us about their plans to push the technology further, and make drones an even better tool for professional use on a daily basis, have certainly been true to their word. Enjoy the issue!

Distributed through the UK/US specialist trade by Diamond Comic Distributors, 020 8536 5730 Printed in the UK by Precision Colour Printing, Telford, Shropshire, UK DRONE is published every four weeks by Uncooked Media Ltd. All text and layout remains the copyright of Uncooked Media Ltd. DRONE is a fully independent publication and its views are not those of any company mentioned herein. All characters and artwork shown in this magazine remain the © and trademark or their respective owners. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the express written permission of the publisher. DRONE can accept no responsibility for inaccuracies or complaints arising from editorial or advertising within this magazine. All letters and emails received will be considered for publication, but we cannot provide personal replies. The publishers cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, transparencies or artwork. Please do not call, email or write to enquire whether your unsolicited submission has been received, as our priority is the production of the magazine. Another quality cold cut from

EST. 2003 DRONE © 2017 Uncooked Media Ltd ISSN 2059-2876

Ian Collen, EDITOR

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We take an aerial view of the UK’s recent Photography Show 2017

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contents

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12 // ABOVE AND BEYOND

17 // HAVE YOUR SAY

24 // THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW

We hear from the Israeli company granted approval to run fully automated beyond-lineof-sight aerial operations.

Another UK governmental department is looking for further input on drone use. Find out how you can get involved.

Once a place for more traditional snappers, this year’s event had a strong line-up of aerial camera-carriers.

14 // BEBOP 3D

20 // AIR MAIL

26 // INTERNATIONAL DRONE DAY

You can now pick up Parrot’s Bebop 2 with a Modeling pack designed for use in real estate and by building professionals.

We hear from Airbus Helicopters as it lays down some ambitious plans to create its own drone delivery system.

It’s that time of year again, as UAV owners around the world gather to celebrate the fact that ‘drones are good’.

16 // IDENTITY PARADE

22 // CLASH OF THE TITANS

30 // POWER RANGERS

Get all on the details on DJI’s recent proposals for an identification system for drone owners designed to keep everyone happy.

It’s like Robot Wars meets Laser Quest in a Tron universe. Time to arm up for the first Drone Clash showdown!

Easter may be over but there’s one big Egg we’re still interested in, plus the rest of PowerVision’s novel drone designs.

DRONE MAGAZINE

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Thinking of working on your own custom build? Here’s some top tips

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR ONLY £14.99! TURN TO PAGE 88

36 // COMPETITION

52 // A CLOSER LOOK

68 // ON THE MOVE

We’ve got TEN copies of the excellent companion book The Photographer’s Guide to Drones ready to give away!

Lee Schofield checks out the latest FPV goggles from Aomway to see how they compare to the ‘big fish’ in the market.

Our reviewer casts an eye over Epson’s Moverio BT-300 glasses, which offer an augmented reality view of your in-flight data.

38 // ONE SHOT HERO

58 // BITS AND PIECES

72 // LOST AND FOUND

Find out how director Paul Trillo was able to wow film fans with a short made from just one single, continuous drone shot.

From 3D printing to personal preferences, we break down a custom quadcopter build into a few key choices.

We also get to test out the latest in Trackimo’s GPS technology to ensure we never lose track of our drone again.

46 // THERMAL IMAGING

62 // TRAMP HV

80 // THE LIGHTER SIDE

Get some professional advice on how you might be able to make the most of thermography in a commercial environment.

ImmersionRC’s latest transmitter has a lot of good things going for it. We hook one up, along with a Race Wand, to see what it can do.

Our photography expert turns his focus to the balancing act of exposure so you’re no longer left in the dark.

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A bumper news section bringing you the biggest stories from around world WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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we speak to the director behind an ambitious film made with a single continuous drone shot

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Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

Out of Sight

World first approval for fully automated BVLOS system

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he Israel-based company Airobotics has announced that it has become the “first certified company in the world to fly fully-automated, commercial drones without a pilot.” This has enabled its pilots to operate ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight’ (BVLOS) flights of its Optimus drones – craft that are capable of launching from its Airbase ground stations to execute 30-minute flights with one kilogram “mission specific payloads”. Founded in 2014 by CEO Ran Krauss and vice president of research and development Meir Kliner, Airobotics received the certification from the Civil Aviation Authority Israel (CAAI) following a 24-month process that included over 10,000 flight hours and the production of “dozens of technical manuals, engineering books, reports and analysis.”

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The certification trials started back in March 2015, with a ‘Minimum Viable Product’ version being tested in 2016. The process required proving that the system could maintain strict safety standards, follow security procedures, enact emergency response and maintain system reliability at all times. This included testing based on the robustness and endurance of its craft, and operating the drones within various environmental conditions. The system is now in operation at Israel Chemicals and Intel sites in Airobotics’ home country, and the company is planning on adding further markets to its operations, having also gained a commercial license from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority for work with the mining company South32,

along with a Part 107 waiver from the FAA. Efrat Fenigson, vice president of marketing for Airobotics, has confirmed that the company is discussing “this new type of ‘automated BVLOS’ certificate with these aviation authorities and others”.

Stepping Stones Efrat also shared with us the company’s thoughts on how this step-in certification will impact upon the progress of drone development as a whole. “We [at Airobotics] see drones fusing into our lives in three steps. The first step, which we are already in, is deploying our systems in safer, unpopulated environments, such as mines, refineries, sea ports, and fabrication facilities. In these environments we can perform different

missions such as security, inspection mapping and surveying. The drone is proving itself as an invaluable tool, utilising the third dimension to gather and analyse aerial data. We are flying our system 24/7 to make sure it is safe, reliable and can get the job done. “The second step, which is 2-5 years from now, we think – and only after accumulating hundreds of thousands of flight hours with increasing reliability and safety – would be to use these systems in cities. Applications would mainly be around emergency response where the risk-reward ratio is very low. Imagine a 911 situation; someone has a heart attack somewhere in the city and a defibrillator can save his life. You can send this defibrillator to him within three minutes. “The third step of this vision is full, commercial, everyday use. We forecast this to happen somewhere in the next 5-10 years. Technologically we can do this much faster.” The path to this is expected to be a hard one, though, with Efrat telling us that “we believe that regulatory bodies will take a long time to approve this scenario.” However, Airobotics believes that there are ways to reduce the risks that extensive automated drone use will bring, including pre-designated aerial highways – or “what we call skyways over buildings and populated areas.” These ‘skyways’ would cater for flying at low altitudes and the company says it would involve equipping drones with low-altitude parachutes “in case of serious malfunctions, reducing the energy on impact”, the use of failsafe mainframe software to route drones and “handle communication with commercial and recreational aerial traffic”, and extensive use of multiple base stations.

The Great Beyond In the short-term Airobotics doesn’t expect the news to provide an immediate boost to its home country’s drone development scene, with other manufacturers unlikely to move to the area as a result of this world first approval process, as “the certification is local to Israel only, and Israel as a target market is a small one,” Efren explains. The benefits, and the longer-term company view, is more about outward thinking and building upon these foundations, as it “will now continue to leverage on this approval in

order to develop similar types of approvals in other countries.” Even so, the achievement, and the advantage it gives the company, is clearly huge: “Airobotics is unique in the Israeli drone space,” Efrat observed. “No other company today can be granted with this type of certificate, as their technology needs to catch up. The same goes for the world. We are not aware of any other companies that would be able to be given this kind of certificate.” More information on the system can be found at airobotics.co.il.

WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

Model Aircraft Parrot launches 3D equipped Bebop 2 pack

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rench drone manufacturer Parrot has announced the launch of the BebopPro 3D Modeling pack. It unveiled the new “all-in-one aerial imagery and 3D modelling solution for real-estate and building professionals” at the MIPIM property development and management exhibition in Cannes. The package, available from May and priced at £999 (excluding VAT), will contain Parrot’s Bebop 2 drone and Skycontroller 2, three LiPo batteries, a backpack and use of the Pix4Dcapture flight planning app, as well as a one year licence for the Pix4Dmodel image processing software. The bundle will be replacing the Parrot Bebop 2 Real Estate Edition that was launched late last year as the company’s offering to the construction and real estate industry, with a spokesperson for Parrot telling us that it will offer a “much more complete solution,” as well as another facet to its Bebop 2 drone that has had no hardware updates since its release at the start of 2016. The spokesperson also stated that the Bebop-Pro 3D Modeling came about as Parrot had “listened to a lot of professionals in the construction and real estate spaces to understand the way they were working, what their daily routine was and how they were approaching their relationship with their clients.” They also added that “we have identified some key points in their professional activity where the Parrot Bebop 2, associated with a complete solution, would allow them to save time, perform better and generate more business.”

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Parrot has been involved with professional civil drone use since 2012 and this offering will “target all real estate and construction professionals – architects, small architecture firms, small construction businesses and building craftsmen, real estate agencies – as well as insurance.” The pack would also suit “construction contractors looking for an easy to use, economical and time saving solution to create photorealistic 3D models or to get accurate measures such as height, length and surface to precisely build quotations or estimate the scope of work for clients,” along with “architects or real estate agents looking for innovative commercial or marketing tools.” Given the amount of automation the bundle offers and the laws in place that restrict the commercial use of drones, it does raise the question as to whether the package has been aimed at more general users beyond just the qualified drone operators. Parrot told us that

as regulations “differ from country to country we recommend professionals to get countryspecific information before flying and to always check local regulations.” To clarify the UK position on situations where an operator is not being directly paid for the gathering of the images themselves, we contacted Richard Taylor at the CAA. “This can be a grey area,” he explained. “The estate agent is not benefitting financially from the drone flight itself so why should they need a PfCO? Our view is that the estate agent has a clear intention of using the images or footage for financial gain. Even though the images are not being sold they are clearly part of a potential financial transaction – the sale of the property.” Further details on the existing regulations can be found at droneregulations.info – an initiative which Parrot is a contributor to. Further details on the Bebop-Pro 3D Modeling package can be found at parrot.com.

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DJI proposes a balanced drone ID framework

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JI has released a white paper to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International entitled “A Call for a Balanced Remote Identification Approach.” The paper proposes an electronic identification framework for small drones that would “allow authorities in the United States to identify drone owners when necessary while also respecting their privacy.” The 10-page document outlines a methodology by which a drone could transmit its location along with an identification code, “using inexpensive radio equipment that is already on board many drones today and that could be adopted by all manufacturers.” This could be issued, and identifiable, by a national authority and would use radio frequencies in the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz bands to transmit to local receivers using existing antennae and modified C2 or video link protocols on one or more open standards. The concept seeks to maintain the privacy of drone craft users, due to both potential conflicts with established privacy law and because of commercial considerations should operators be identified. The examples given in the white paper include “an alternative energy company scouting out a prospective new wind farm location”, “a drone company developing and testing the latest forthcoming product”

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and “a journalist engaged in investigative journalism”. It also points out that neither motor vehicles nor all manned aircraft are “subject to constant surveillance and tracking.” The white paper has been written in response to United States Congress’ direction to the Federal Aviation Administration, under Section 2202 of the 2016 FAA Extension Act, to develop means of remotely identifying the operators and owners of unmanned aircraft, with similar regulatory proposals happening in Europe. Whilst specifics on the devices used to receive the transmissions are not definable at this time, Brendan Schulman, vice president of policy and legal affairs, confirmed to us that, as the proposal involves using existing radio control frequencies, “the eventual cost of the receiver would be similar to that of high-quality drone remote controllers with a screen. It would be operated in a simple way; a map would be displayed of the surrounding area with a depiction of the nearby drones plus identification information, such as a registration number.” Regarding concerns about the potential duplication of IDs, Brendan stated: “This is a technical implementation question for the future that is not intended to be addressed in our paper. There are various ways to

secure identification information that could be considered. The regulations could make copying a number a crime, just like it is a crime to steal someone else’s car license plate.” As for DIY flyers putting a transmitter in their craft: “One of the considerations in any actual implementation would be which drones to exclude from identification requirements and what exceptions to make. Those exemptions could be based on weight, operational capabilities or other things. These are questions the industry needs to discuss and ultimately the regulators need to determine. “The industry supports accountability and smart solutions to policy concerns, and we all share an interest in safety. We have a track record of working together on issues like drone registration and flight over people rules, and I hope we will see the same collaboration on remote identification as well.” The paper also claimed that “the typical drone operator purchases a new model within approximately one year,” with Brendan telling us that this was “based on a casual observation of the market, not formal market studies. We release a new version of our most popular drones about once a year. Both consumers and professionals seem to have a strong desire to upgrade to our latest and greatest technology.”

Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

Under Inquiry UK government seeks further information on drone use

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he Transport Select Committee, whose role within the House of Commons is to monitor the policies and administration of the Department of Transport (DfT), has opened an inquiry into drone use in the UK, with the aim to “consider how the benefits of drone technology can be maximised within a robust safety framework.” At the launch of the inquiry, Louise Ellman MP, chair of the Transport Committee, said: “Civilian drones have the potential to fundamentally change how many industries – including the transport sector – work. This inquiry will consider the implications of this technology. We will also be asking whether enough is being done to ensure drone technology can reach its potential without compromising the safety of other aircraft and the public in general.” The committee is asking for written submissions to be received by Friday 26 May, on topics including the safety and security risks posed by drones, particularly to manned aircraft, the current enforcement arrangements for the misuse of drones in the UK, as well as insurance issues and actions needed to create a viable market for drone insurance. The committee has also asked

for evidence on the effects of the Vehicle Technology and Aviation bill on the dangers posed by the use of laser pens to distract the pilots of aircraft. This inquiry follows the DfT’s “Benefits of Drones to the UK Economy” public consultation, which finished gathering evidence on the 15 March. Simon Horswell, communications officer for the committee, has advised us that “the committee will be relying on the written and oral evidence that it collects rather than the information gathered in the DfT consultation. However, the committee is likely to look at the results of the DfT consultation as part of its inquiry.” As to how it fits in with the progress of the proposed Modern Transport Bill and the Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill 2017, Simon told us that “the committee’s inquiry is separate to the legislative process. However, the committee may inquire into aspects of proposed legislation where relevant to its terms of reference.” With regards the inclusion of questions about laser pens in an enquiry about drones, it appears to be a matter of practicality and timing, rather than a concern about drone users flying with laser pens attached or a

conflation of the two issues. As Simon puts it: “One of the themes that the committee is likely to be considering in this inquiry is the implications of drones for aircraft safety. Since the use of laser pens may also have implications for aircraft safety, the committee has decided to also inquire into this point.” It has not been confirmed if, or when, a final report from the inquiry will be published. However, it is normal practice for the committee to have written submissions that have been accepted as evidence published on its website. The Transport Select Committee is also intending to take oral evidence in public, although a timeframe for this was not available at time of going to press. With regards to who should participate, Simon explained that “the committee would very much welcome the participation of readers of Drone Magazine in its inquiry. Those intending to submit written evidence are encouraged to read our online guidance and ensure that their evidence addresses at least one of the points in our terms of reference.” Full details on the inquiry and how you can submit your own views on the matter, can be found on the parliament.uk website (under the Commons Select > Transport committee links).

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Words by: Andrew Watton-Davies

Home Delivery

Details of the flight and of the system used remain minimal at this time, with Amazon being silent as always on the project, but it was confirmed by attendee Corbett Moran that the pre-arranged delivery was of a bottle of sunscreen. It is also appears from the footage that a targeting mat is still being used for guidance in the landing part of the flight. Talking to The Verge, Amazon Prime Air vice president Gur Kimchi confirmed that the delivery was performed “with the assistance of the FAA” and that the demonstration has brought Prime Air “one step closer to making 30-minute package delivery by drone a reality”. Also exhibited at the event was the Method-2, a 13-foot tall walking robot produced by Hankook Mirae Technology and piloted by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Whilst not strictly drone-related, it is a real life mech, which is pretty awesome.

Amazon makes drop-off in the USA

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mazon Prime Air has added another first to its growing list of accomplishments, with a demonstration of its drone delivery system at the invite-only MARS conference (a tenuous acronym from ‘Machine Learning, Home Automation, Robotics and Space Exploration) at the Parker Hotel in Palm Springs, California.

The demonstration took place within restricted airspace near the Palm Springs International Airport and was the first such delivery by its system in a public setting and on home soil for the company, with all previous flights, including its first UK delivery in Cambridgeshire last year, having been on private property.

Growth Industry

FAA needs more funds to manage drone rise

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he FAA has confirmed that more than 770,000 drones have been registered in the 15 months since it became mandatory for all UAVs weighing over 250 grams, with over 100,000 craft having been added to the roster since the previous figures were announced in January. As part of a speech at the second annual Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium in Virginia, FAA administrator Michael Huerta

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also observed that, due to the rapid expansion in drone use within the USA, “we’re ushering in a new age of American aviation: the unmanned aircraft era. And it’s moving at a quicker pace than anything we’ve seen before.” Although the speech focused on the safety and security issues, another hot topic was the cost to the FAA of regulating drone use, which will also increase with the rise in drone usage. In an earlier announcement the FAA asked

the Drone Advisory Committee to “provide recommendation for options on how to fund the activities and services required both by government and industry to safely integrate UAS operation into the National Airspace System over the new and longer terms.” The document also states: “The FAA faces challenges of budget instability, budget inadequacies and lack of management flexibility” and warns that “without additional funds, the FAA will not be able to keep pace with the dramatic growth in public, industry and business demands for UAS operations.” The schedule states that recommendations should be put forward by 30 June, with a report to be submitted by March 2018.

Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

No Bull

Utah clamps down on livestock harassment

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Ban Grounded

he state of Utah has passed a law that makes it an offence to harass livestock with an unmanned aircraft system. House Bill 217, signed into effect by Governor Gary Herbart on 21 March, explicitly designates the use of drones to “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly chase, with the intent of causing distress or harm livestock” as a Class A misdemeanour in the state. The means those doing so face a maximum of a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 dollars. We spoke to Representative Scott H. Chew, the sponsor for the bill which is the first of its kind in the USA, who confirmed that the legislation is “more of a preventive measure” than a response to an outbreak of drone-based cattle bothering. However, he did note that “there have been some incidents of misuse of UAS harassing livestock, mostly in populated areas where people have been able to observe the misuse.” Scott explained that law gave authorities a channel to stop irresponsible behaviour, rather than being a means to detect it, while the bill can help with wider issues relative to drone misuse, stating: “The use of these flying machines require open spaces and many open areas are not only occupied with livestock but also private property, so trespass has also been an issue.” He also told us that “some of the drive behind the bill was created because last summer our Governor had to call a special session to address the misuse of drones near wildfires, because our state experienced a $10,000,000 expense.”

Drone bylaws blocked in Wales

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roposals for new bylaws to set up drone “exclusion zones” in the Rhuddlan and Rhyl areas of Denbighshire in Wales, as originally reported by us back in Issue 16, have been called off following a report presented to the Communities Scrutiny Committee. In the report, Gary William, head of legal, HR, and democratic services, stated that “merely passing a resolution banning drones would have no legal effect,” adding that “there is a risk that any bylaw created in respect of this issue is, to all intents and purposes, practically unenforceable.” The report mentioned that there were elements of the 2016 Civil Aviation Act which put strict controls over drone users already and that whilst “it does not seem possible to further govern drones in flight, it may be possible to regulate the take-off or landing of drones from council-owned property.” A Denbighshire County Council spokesperson has confirmed that the committee agreed that introducing a ban would be unenforceable and that national legislation already in place to regulate the use of drones was adequate – noting that it would be keeping a “watching brief” on the ongoing government consultations on drone legislation. Arwel Roberts (left), the original proposer of the bylaws, told us that “the policing of the skies is problematic and county councils have no workforce to do such work. Our police are possibly the only force who could control the unlawful use of unmanned aircraft. We have licensed drone users who use them to help residents and businesses, plus county councils. The Department of Transport should protect these users and inform the public of the rules and bylaws with regard to unmanned aircraft.” WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

On The Buses

Airbus plots a route into the drone delivery market

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irbus Helicopters, the France-based helicopter division of the global Airbus Group, has announced that it is to begin trials of its Skyways project – an autonomous drone parcel delivery service – in “mid-2017” at the campus of the National University of Singapore. The project has been made possible by a “memorandum of understanding” being signed by Airbus Helicopters’ executive vice president of engineering Sean Brice-Dumon and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’s director general Kevin Shum earlier this year. The project is based on the Skyways octocopter and hinges on the drones being flown through “aerial corridors”, or set paths, to pre-designated drop-off “landing pads” that are picked to ensure the maximum safety of the craft and those beneath it. The project will also be building on an operation management system originally produced by its colleagues in Airbus Defence and Space. According to project leader Bruno Trabel, “the goal of the project is to assess the efficiency and economic effectiveness of such a transport system and provide tangible proof to authorities and the general public that commercial drones can indeed operate safely over urban areas… Singapore is the right place for Airbus Helicopters to start such innovative operations.” Speaking for Airbus Helicopters, Gloria Illas explained to us the reason for choosing the location for the project. “It’s a challenging urban and populated environment; its weather conditions and demanding regulations show how necessary it is to address this type of activity with the ultimate sense of safety and security which is in Airbus Helicopters’ DNA. A second important point is the mindedness of

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Singaporean authorities, permanently tuned to innovation and already one of the logistics world leaders.” This sentiment echoes that of the Permanent Secretary of Singapore’s Ministry of Transport, who at the Business Times Leaders Forum in March stated that: “In 2030 you can bet your money that aerial transport will also be a means of urban mobility.” The project could be seen as a competitor to those already undertaken by companies with greater direct experience in logistics. However, Airbus has made it clear that it is looking to produce and sell a technology, rather than getting into the delivery business itself. A press

statement on the project reads: “We’ve no intention of competing with the Amazons and DHLs of this world. On the contrary, we see these companies as potential customers.” When asked further on the issue Gloria Illas added: “Up to now, despite some communications presenting interesting initiatives and successful trials, no massive and safe deployment of disruptive logistics has been made visible anywhere in the world. This is why we, at Airbus Helicopters, think that we still have a role to play in this structuring business. Should our systems be safer, more reliable and cost-efficient, they would be adopted by the big ones.” Airbus has a similar ‘down to earth’ approach towards the partialities of the technology, hence the decision to focus on set paths rather than ad-hoc routes. As Gloria explained, “drones are flying objects and must be considered as such. As you probably know, airplanes have been flying for decades along air routes and approach paths, studied to reduce the minimum level of risk of collision, accidents, and protecting the people on board and on the ground in all types of circumstances. “Movies today show drones flying in swarms and avoiding the others by a few centimetres. Movies are exciting but they neither reflect the reality, nor put safety as a number one priority, such is Airbus Helicopters’ approach.” Further details on the Skyways project, and other drone projects, can be found at the main website airbusgroup.com.

Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

No Can Do

New Canadian rules draw mixed response

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ransport Canada has issued a new set of rules for the use of recreational drones with a launch weight between 250g and 35kg. The rules, which came into effect on 13 March, carry restrictions for UAV operators that include not being allowed to fly higher than 90 metres from ground level or further than 500 metres from the operator; within 75 metres of buildings, people, animals, or vehicles; or within 9 kilometres of airports or any location that aircraft take off and land from. Other no-go areas listed in the new guide include controlled airspace, “where you could interfere with police or first responders” and at night or in clouds. In addition, all drones must have the operator’s name, address and telephone number clearly marked on them. Failure to comply with these rules carries a maximum fine of $3,000 (around £1,800). The announcement, which Brendan Schulman at DJI has said was released with “no consultation with any relevant stakeholders”, was made by Transportation Minister Marc Garneau who stated that he is “taking strong measures now, before a drone hits an airplane and causes a catastrophic event”. The rules have been confirmed as an interim measure, until a full set of new regulations are released in June. The news rules have been well received in some quarters, with the Ottawa International Airport Authority saying it “applauds the announcement… concerning increased safety measures related to recreational drone activity.” Rob Eagles, the International Air Transport Association Director of Air Traffic Management and Infrastructure said “The introduction of this temporary order will help protect airspace users and the travelling public.”

Rob also added: “Looking ahead, advanced technology will provide new ways to appropriately regulate recreational, commercial and State UAV operations. Transport Canada plays a critical role in helping to develop these standards and regulations.” However, many recreational uses took to social media identifying large areas of the country where flights have now been made impossible. We spoke to Tom Comet, operations

manager for the aerial cinematography company Droneboy, who was of the opinion that “this is going to cause problems for the recreational user. We’re based in southern Ontario and now there’s almost nowhere that a recreational user can fly in this area if you follow the letter of the law.” Tom did acknowledge the potential dangers of misuse, saying “there is the odd yahoo, flying in the wrong place and at the wrong height, but that’s going to continue regardless as those people aren’t going to follow the rules. It might make people a bit more fearful to go to the store and pick up a drone, but probably not just because the rules are in the news right now and then they’ll go away.” He also voiced the concern that Transport Canada “can’t police it; the rules they already had in place were already being blatantly broken and there is nothing happening about it.” Tom was also worried about the impact on the commercial industry: “It’s going to affect our talent pool. In the past people have come to me and shown me the video they’ve taken, and that’s how I determine who in an interview I can bring in, but now that’ll go away.” For more information and a full list of the new rules, head to www.canada.ca/drone-safety. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Attack of the Drones

aerial Demolition Derby lined up for December Words by Andrew Watton-Davies

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ave you ever dreamt of mixing Robot Wars with anti-drone technology and FPV racing? Well, dream no more, with the announcement of the first Drone Clash event taking place on 04 December at a former naval base in Valkenburg, the Netherlands. The competition is open to 30 teams, with 4 teams participating in each round as they try to capture the enemy’s “Queen drone” whilst defending their own from drone fighters, plus an assortment of anti-drone tech in “The Hallway of Doom, Death and Destruction”. Participants score points for hitting and grounding rivals, with the maximum points going for snatching a rival drone out of the air and delivering it safely to a designated location. Each team has one FPV race band frequency to play with and must bring one Queen and one Fighter drone. Other than that, plus a restriction on electromagnetic interference, jamming technology, and demolishing parts of the arena, the rules are pretty light, as the organisers are focusing on innovation and blue-sky thinking as well as the rampant destruction of UAVs. Bart Remes, Project Manager from Delft University of Technology, told us that the goal of the event is “to inspire people to think out of the box in a creative way; to find a solution

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to taking drones out of the air in a safe way. The main reason we’re doing this is because we believe that if you want to integrate drones into the air space you have to make sure that you can also prevent drones from being everywhere, and if you can do it in a good way, you can make sure that drones will be integrated into our daily lives.” Creativity and carnage is pretty much assured. As Bart puts it, “there probably will be destruction during the event” and the rules have been left deliberately light to avoid cramping anyone’s ideas. “If teams want to participate they’ll have to make a safety case. We don’t have flight rules, but to make sure that it’s safe for the public to come in and watch, we need to make a safety case of their system. If they are safe enough, they can join the competition.”

Alongside the contest, there will also be a Clash Expo. Organised by Robo Business Media, Bart describes it as a place “where companies can present their existing antidrone systems to the public” as well as a place where they can network with drone manufacturers, as “ideally these companies can team up with the creative minds who join the competition, and hopefully new products will come out in the future.” The anti-drone manufacturers will also get to join in the fun, as the aforementioned Hallway of Doom, Death and Destruction will be loaded up with their finest toys. If you need any added guarantees of safety, then the event is being sponsored by the Dutch National Police Corps. “The police are looking for anti-drone solutions, but there is not a plug and play solution right now,” Bart explains. “The Dutch police are experimenting with eagles, but they are looking for a robotic replacement and that’s why they are involved and looking for a better solution.” Entry to the event is open to “companies, universities, hobbyists, everybody” but there is a €150 deposit per team and all participants must be registered by 07 May. If you’re interested in entering or want to find out more, full details can be found at droneclash.nl.

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re p or t: 7 1 0 2 w o h s y h p a r g o t o h t he p

Adam Juniper took his camera along see how more and more photographers are beginning to appreciate the aerial perspective…

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rones can buzz around your living room; they can race, or perform freestyle flips; they’re threatening to deliver pizzas and parcels to your doorstep. Mostly, though, in the current civilian space they’re used for imaging in the form of photography and video. So it should come as no surprise that they were highly visible at The Photography Show 2017. The show, the industry’s largest annual event in Europe, occupied the NEC’s cavernous Hall 5 in Birmingham for four full days over 18-21 March. The biggest stands were, of course, taken by the leading camera manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon and Sony. Interestingly, though, in a world replete with gear, drones were not far behind. As you entered into the hall the massive safety net around the PowerVision stand was one of the very first, and biggest, things vying for your attention. Although the firm has much to shout about (more on that a little later in this issue) the most spectacular part of its display, simply for the uniqueness of its industrial design, is the PowerEgg.

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The PowerEgg is an eye-catching model, but then it has to be if it wants to compete in the consumer category that includes one of the world’s most iconic products, the DJI Phantom. It was not the company’s only offering at the show though; the PowerEye was also

very much in evidence. This mighty-looking aircraft, with its interchangeable lens camera, is a clear swipe at the DJI Inspire and was drawing the eyes of passing photographers. If you’re not a photographer (and somehow avoided all the hype surrounding the DJI Inspire launch) you might not realise that a key feature photographers look for on higherend cameras is the ability to change the lens, so the optics are suited for the situation. Certainly the reaction had been very positive, with show visitors I spoke to very excited to see the Eye. It might even have left more of an impression than the Egg despite being a little less unconventional. Further into the hall, Yuneec was camped out in some style. Literally, in fact, given the very cunning indoor/outdoor nature of its trailer and safety cage which would clearly be just as at home outdoors. The stand also had one foot firmly in the consumer camp with the 4K Breeze on display as well as the very rescue-friendly CGO ET dual camera, which includes both body-heat thermal and low-light sensors and can fit the company’s Typhoon-H

aircraft. This is a strong play for the company as its applications are immediate and obvious in the more recession-proof law enforcement, security and safety markets. The DJI stand, too, was big enough to include a flying cage, and the gorgeous Inspire 2 was very much in evidence. Distributor London Camera Exchange was selling aircraft straight from the stand and, reportedly, blasting through its fresh stock of the Mavic Pro Fly More Combo (which includes an extra battery and travel case). This product has experienced supply troubles since its launch and the four months that have passed don’t seem have done anything to reduce that. Also in the hall was Aerial Motion Pictures (AMP), home of the ICARUS Commercial UAV Course. Ella Shepard from the firm said that “a lot of photographers had been really interested in turning pro – we had to add extra course dates into our programme.” As well as the exhibitors, the show organisers themselves had acknowledged the significance of the sector with a dedicated

Power Rangers

The NEC is certainly a melting pot. ComicCon overlaps with the show for a couple of days and the PowerVision team took the opportunity to show its PowerEgg to a slightly different audience.

‘Drone Zone’ stage in which a number of industry figures gave talks on aspects of drones. It’s quite a compliment for a sub-set of photography to get its own stage and the space devoted to drones was notably large. Among those speaking included André Becker and Pete Rawlinson from DJI, Achim Glufke and Sascha Hagemann from Yuneec, the PowerVision team, Riley Stricklin from Lume Cube talking about adding its lowweight light solutions, AMP instructor Tom Pattison discussing turning pro and esteemed drone author and journalist Adam Juniper (ahem). These were all well attended and many photography enthusiasts and pros at the events indicated they were planning on buying a drone, or a second drone, in the next year. All of this means that the show looks to have firmly established itself in the drone calendar,

at least for those with professional applications in mind – and we look forward to an even greater aerial presence next year!

“Many photography enthusiasts and pros indicated they were planning on buying a drone in the next year”

The crowd waiting to enter the hall; throngs like this formed on each of the show’s four mornings.

The Yuneec stand was a popular stopping point for many visitors, with the likes of the Q500 worth a quick photo.

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All photos courtesy of International Drone Day / That Drone Show From above it’s clear just how difficult the rainforest is to navigate at ground level. Fixed wing drones can cut hours off a relatively short journey if they have space to take off and land.

06 May: Make a Date

International Drone Day As the third annual celebration of drones approaches, Ian Collen chatted with the event organisers to see what’s in store for 2017…

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s many of you will be only too well aware, drones don’t always get the best press. For all the many, many great things we know they can do, there are always more stories about (possible) near misses with planes or some idiot flying over a football match. In an effort to redress the balance, the husband and wife team of Sarah and David Oneal, creators of That Drone Show, organised a global event back in 2015: International Drone Day. “A few years ago when drones were mentioned by the mainstream news it was always with negative connotations

– drones are dangerous, drones can invade your privacy; that kind of thing,” Sarah explained to us as we took her back to the event’s origins. “In the minds of the general public there was also no real differentiation between military drones and the drones we all love. “There was also a perception that drone pilots were troublemakers, and many of us were facing restrictions around where we could fly. Knowing all of the many wonderful things drones are used for, and how responsible most drone pilots are, we found this very frustrating. So, we decided to create International Drone Day in order to educate the media and non-drone community about all the awesome things drones are used for. “We wanted them to see that drones are used in search and rescue operations, in agriculture, in conservation, to prevent animal poaching, in film and TV, and so much more. And, of course, we wanted them to know that they are safe and fun. Hence the motto ‘Drones are good’. Finally we also wanted to protect our right to fly.”

Taking Off

That first International Drone Day was a great success, with some 150 events around the world drawing collective crowds in excess of 40,000 people – with one key factor being that every event tied into the day would be open to the public and press, to ensure that IDD would be as much about educating the wider non-drone community as it would be a good excuse to get a few like-minded folk together for a fun day’s flying. 26

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“We decided to create International Drone Day in order to educate the media and non-drone community about all the awesome things drones are used for” After that initial success, it begged the obvious question: “same time next year?” – and it seems almost everyone answered ‘hell yeah!’ The 2016 IDD was even bigger, with 180 events spread across 53 countries seeing more than 60,000 people taking part. The Drone Magazine team was also able to get involved, taking in the MiniAirShow down in Brighton which saw a great couple of days flying over a sunny weekend, covering everything from FPV racing to drone building workshops, aerial displays and presentations. And as we all headed home everyone was thinking much that same question once again as we looked ahead to what could lie in store for 2017.

“We are super excited that International Drone Day is entering its third year,” Sarah tells us. “We were blown away that tens of thousands of people took part in the first two years – and this year is going to be even bigger! We have more teams than ever before and new teams are forming every day. We project there will be more than 180 events worldwide.” It’s worth pointing out that we spoke with Sarah a month before the show kicks off on 06 May – and there’s still time for plenty more people to get involved. Talking about the evolution of the event over the past three years, Sarah does point to couple of changes in the format. “The first is that drone racing is now a huge part of the day.

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IDD in the UK

Although the USA is where the majority of the IDD events are taking place, there are many more spread across the globe (as seen on the map below) with a good few taking place in the UK. The Team MiniAirShow is back again in Brighton and there are also teams in Oxford, Bristol, Scotland (near Edinburgh) and Wales (in a picturesque part of Carmarthenshire), while the Team Essex crew, which hosted an event for the original 2015 IDD, is also making a return with some inter-school drone racing planned, amongst other things. For the full list of events, check the www.internationaldroneday.com website, and if you can’t find something that suits you perhaps try your local flying club to see if they’ve got anything of their own planned for the day (as it may take a little while for the website to be fully updated with the newly confirmed events) or follow IDD on Facebook @internationaldroneday for all of the latest announcements.

“What we love is that each team caters to their local community. It really is a day belonging to drone pilots and driven by the Team Captains” Thanks to our partnership with MultiGP, drone racing is now a key part of many events. We are also partnering with Rotor Rush to put the International Drone Day race course into their simulator, so that children throughout the world will then race the course. How cool is that? One of the biggest events for this is Team Essex in the UK. “The second change is that while the day continues to be focused on education – the battles to inform people that drones are good and to have places to fly safely – it has also become a celebration of flying. We are proud to have the AMA as the title sponsor for International Drone Day. They do great work for the drone community and have opened their fields to anyone that wants to host an event.”

the main event

So, what are likely to be the big headliners taking place this year? We might be biased towards some of the UK shows, but the USA is very much home territory for International Drone Day and host to the majority of events. “Every year one team hosts the mothership event and this year it is Portland, Oregon,” says Sarah. “Portland Team Captain Curtis Dart has organised drone racing, flying and lots of education and fun. Our movie The Drone Invasion will also be screened as part of the day.” Sarah and David will be heading to Portland to play their part, and they’ll also be joined by the likes of the Roswell Flight Test Crew (with Patrick ‘Lucidity’ Sherman a regular contributor to this magazine), Jim “Demunseed” Bowers 28

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good friend Maria Stefanopoulos at Good Morning America. And if any of your readers aren’t yet listening to BBC Radio 4’s The Archers they need to! They have been showing positive uses of drones for a year or so in their storylines. There has also been much more dialogue between the agencies that determine where we can fly and the drone community. While far from perfect, we are having conversations we couldn’t have had three years ago.” With another big weekend looking likely, kicking off on 06 May, this is one drone celebration that looks like it’s here to stay and Sarah sees no reason why it can’t become even bigger. “As drone use becomes more prevalent International Drone Day will continue to grow. There will be more events, and events will grow in scale. “What we love is that each team caters to their local community. It really is a day belonging to drone pilots and driven by the Team Captains. All the International Drone Day Team Captains put on amazing events. They spend so much of their own time and money organizing them, so please be sure to thank your local Team Captain on the day. They are working hard for the drone community!” IDD 2017 promises to be another great day (or two!), so why not get involved yourself – whether it’s finding your nearest event and popping along to join in the fun, or perhaps even rounding up a few mates and putting on a race or an aerial display of your own! And don’t forget to spread the message: Drones are good! and Amelia Dronehart founder Rhianna Lakin – who we interviewed back in Issue 06 (which is well worth a look, if only for some of the great photos she’s taken!). International Drone Day tends to follow a similar routine to New Year’s Eve, and how we all follow the firework displays as midnight moves from East to West. “The day kicks off in Australia, and events are held in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and North America, where Team Hawaii closes the day. For every one of you taking part remember that whatever the size of your event you are one of around 90,000 people coming together on one day to show the world that drones are good!” With two years passed since that first International Drone Day, and another big showcase on the way, does Sarah think that the positive messages have been hitting home with the non-drone communities? “There has definitely been a shift in acceptance” she says. “While there are still ‘bad news’ stories about drones, there is also an increasing focus on the positive. “One huge thing is that features using drones have become a regular fixture on mainstream morning television, especially in the US thanks to the work of our

To find out more, simply head over to www.internationaldroneday.com to track down your nearest event or to sign up for a team! WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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All Photos by PowerVision From above it’s clear just how difficult the rainforest is to navigate at ground level. Fixed wing drones can cut hours off a relatively short journey if they have space to take off and land.

Standing to attention and ready to fly. The battery is accessed by a flip-up lid, while the camera is exposed by removing the lower shell segment.

Oval Office

When it’s completely closed up, the Egg resembles some kind of clockwork masterpiece. It also has a large white surface area without sharp interruptions, which might be very appealing for those who like to customise their devices.

The power, the vision,

the egg… With PowerVision looking to change how we see drone design, Adam Juniper takes a closer a look at the PowerEgg and the company’s other intriguing creations…

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I

f you thought that the drone industry had matured, the market leader had been declared, and all was going to remain stable and boring, think again. With a headquarters in Beijing, China, and offices around the world, PowerVision has, at last, most definitely arrived and its growing product line makes it a real contender – not just for prosumers or for consumers, nor for any particular entrepreneurial sub-section. Indeed, PowerVision has planted itself very firmly in almost every category – and created a new one for itself while it was at it. Being taken seriously in the wider drone world isn’t as easy as it once was. When the DJI Phantom first appeared, it had so little competition that it almost completely defined the image of consumer drones. It even reached as far afield as South Park! Since then, as a quality enthusiast drone, the Phantom has faced numerous competitors, but most have sought primarily to compete against the ever-improving feature list. That makes for great drones, but it doesn’t necessarily create iconic products. PowerVision has taken a step back and realised that features are important, but it has also seen that design is crucial, and that originality is highly desirable, too. In other words, we love a 4K camera, but customers also want something that they can connect with and, ideally, something people will remember.

Great Eggs-pectations

Step forward the PowerEgg; almost certainly one of the most interesting looking drones you’ve ever seen. That’s a bold claim for a journalist to make on your behalf in such an innovative market but, in all fairness, this drone looks like an ovulation. It’s not just a catchy name, as it really does look very much like a super-charged egg. But the shape isn’t just a novelty, though; it’s something that serves a very distinct purpose: to protect all of the vital components – the props and their arms, as well as the folding landing legs – in as convenient a way as possible.

Wally Zheng, PowerVision’s founder and CEO, began designing the PowerEgg by thinking about what he might want to chuck in a normal backpack on a trip. An egg, as an organic shape, seemed least likely to snag against any combination of other possibilities (clothes, laptops, DSLR cameras etc.). In fact Zheng is explicitly on record as saying that the consumer DSLR might fall victim to the improvement in phone cameras, while the drone offers a perspective the phone simply can’t. Preparing to fly your PowerEgg is a matter of unfolding the eight arms; first the four with props by hand, then the four landing legs at the touch of a button. You will also need to crack a piece off the shell to uncover the camera, but that really is about it. Opened, the PowerEgg does take on a slightly different look; there is more than a hint of a cartoon villain’s evil tech, or perhaps something that would cause some concern to the latest incarnation of The Doctor. Close it up again, though, and depending on how many American sports movies you’ve watched, a little bit of you will find yourself wanting to shout “Go long!” and throw it down the field. One thing that is interesting is to see the motors facing downward, with the arms extending over them and the props pushing the arms upward rather than pulling them, as is more common. It has been suggested that this would help prevent water ingress in light rain, but that’s not something we’ve been able to test for ourselves quite yet. What it certainly does do is to make for a stronger arm, since the curve forms an arch shape in flight mode.

Behind the Curve

Despite being comfortably ahead in the originality stakes at this point, the Egg has more to offer. The drone also includes what PowerVision is calling “the industry’s first gesture control”. While this description is something the likes of Parrot might have a few queries about (smartphone tilt control is something it has offered for some time), PowerVision’s Wiimote-like ‘Maestro’ controller is certainly an innovative approach and one that has the potential to broaden the drone community just as Wii Sports made it possible to introduce console gaming to a new wider market. Pleasingly, though, it doesn’t come at the expense of the more familiar twin-stick controller. That also comes in the box, making the egg just as appealing for more experienced pilots. Both controllers feature an auto take-off and land button; once you’ve used this to get in the air the four landing legs will fold into the egg’s body. If you choose a non-automated landing then the sonar sensors will open the legs for you as you near the ground.

PowerEgg Specs • Price: £1,399 • Dimensions: 272 mm x 476 mm (in flight, 272 mm x 176 mm closed) • Weight: 2.1kg (including battery and props) • video: 4K UHD • stills: 13.8MP • Sensors: Optical Flow, Sonar • Battery: 6400mAh LiPo • Flight Time: 23 minutes • range: 3.1 miles (5km) • max speed: 13m/s

In flight the Egg’s arms feature coloured front and rear illuminations for familiar controls.

“The shape isn’t just a novelty; it’s something that serves a very distinct purpose: to protect all of the vital components in a convenient way”

Whichever controller you choose, you need to connect it to the base station, which has clamps for an iOS or Android phone or tablet. This might sound a little complex, but in practice it involves no more than plugging in one cable or another when you start (and might never be a problem if you opt not to switch between control devices). The base station does need to be charged separately, but PowerVision’s charger can power up both controllers, the base station and a battery at the same time. The base station incorporates the three-mile range radio, which means that whether you use the Maestro or the sticks,

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there is no half measure there. The live video signal seen in the app is 720P, while gimbal controllers on either device can rotate the camera through a full and unobstructed 360 degrees, and record either 4K video or 13.8MP stills.

In One Basket

Software modes included with the polished-looking app include a very straightforward looking Orbit mode, a Selfie mode that keeps the 4K camera locked onto the pilot (well, strictly, the controller), Follow Me and Waypoint. In Flight mode all the usual telemetry is clearly displayed and the layout and design is certainly up to other Chinese rivals. Similarly the options to adjust settings are all present in the software, with one exception. According to the company’s international tutorial videos, the aircraft will first fly in “safe mode” – nothing unusual there. It also adds a ‘minimum safe distance in flight’ feature, which seems like a plus, but a feature we can see raising more debate is that the safe mode speed restrictions and advanced flight features won’t be unlocked until the pilot’s total flight-time exceeds 300 minutes. Whether this is implemented in this market remains to be seen, but the idea of gifting the advanced features and higher speeds to pilots who have earned their wings might be a very positive thing for the industry as a whole in the never-ending battle against excessive and ill-considered bans and restrictions. Oh, and the PowerEgg will be in the stores before the next season of Game of Thrones, if that matters to anyone.

An Eye on the Future

If the PowerEgg has caught your attention (and how could it not?) but you have rather more commercial needs, then PowerVision’s answer is the equally striking PowerEye. Rather than being based on the staple part of a healthy breakfast, the Eye seems instead to be at least based on a fly. It’s not quite as far down the road as featuring flapping wings and compound eyes, but there’s something impressively insectoid about this meaty quadcopter. Like its most obvious competitor, DJI’s Inspire, this drone’s principle feature is its detachable Micro Four Thirds compatible camera, opening up access to a range of lenses. In fact, though we doubt if PowerVision would be as crass as to mention that other aircraft by name, it can hardly have escaped potential operator’s attention that they wouldn’t need to buy all new lenses to make the switch should they wish to take advantage of the PowerEye’s other attributes.

“PowerVision has apparently spared nothing on the effort to make its craft beautiful in both form and function”

When unfolded and ready for business, there’s no questioning the seriousness of the PowerEye.

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“Looking at these offerings it seems that many of us will have one more aircraft to add to our wishlist in the year ahead”

For one thing the PowerEye is impressively portable. With folding rotors, and arms and legs that fold downward, the whole thing collapses into a size that’s easy to carry in a backpack (yes, that test again) while also providing a cage of protection for the camera. Actually, if you’ll forgive an aside about the variations between DJI’s approach and that of PowerVision, the difference is that PowerVision has apparently spared nothing on the effort to make its craft beautiful in both form and function. They even include powered landing legs, a feature that left people in awe of the Inspire when it first appeared, but now can feel a little impractical as one goes through the rigmarole of unpacking the aircraft, setting it from Travel mode to Landed mode (where the legs lift the body), removing a protective cap and then adding the camera to the mount.

Okay, so practical design is one thing, but what can it actually do? The body features three forward-facing cameras, two for automatic obstacle avoidance, and the third to provide a FPV or ‘pilot’s view’ for two-person operation. Beneath is the already discussed MFT primary camera, which is mounted on a meaty gimbal. Owners of other interchangeable lens systems who have had to buy different counterweights to match their lenses will really appreciate the simple turn-to-adjust counterweight system. The gimbal has also been built to allow an optional dual-camera system, with a 640 x 480 thermal imaging camera which the pilot can switch between as they see fit.

Eye in the Sky

In flight there is an additional mode with the arms above the body, but the real problem is that the camera needs removing and body returning to Travel mode after landing to keep the aircraft as flat as possible. It’s such an irritation that some DJI owners have solved it with unusually-shaped cases (INSPAK do an especially good one) that enable you to travel with your Inspire ready to fly. PowerVision avoided this with the Egg since the camera doesn’t need attaching for each flight and the legs have only two positions: ‘in flight/storage’ and ‘ready to take off’. It has avoided it altogether with the PowerEye since the arms and legs are initially extended and locked into place by hand, which means one can travel with the camera attached if one chooses. There is no loss for those who love automated landing gear, though. Once aloft the legs will get out of the camera’s way allowing it full 360-degree rotation. Back on the ground, if the craft is going into longer term storage than our mythical backpack, there is even the option to take the legs off altogether.

PowerEye Specs • Price: £3,999 • Dimensions: 513 x 513 x 310 mm (in flight, 340 x 285 x 296 mm closed) • Weight: 3.9kg (including battery and props) • video: 4K UHD • stills: 16.1MP CMOS • Sensors: Optical Flow, Sonar • Battery: Dual 9000mAh LiPo • Flight Time: 29 minutes • range: 3.1 miles (5km) • max speed: 18m/s

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The PowerBee will be going up against the likes of Intel’s ‘Shooting Star’ display team to put on stylish aerial light shows.

Gone Fishin’

Ever heard of drone fishing? No, there’s no reason why you should have, but it really is a thing. It turns out that several fishing enthusiasts have found different ways to use (and often lose) their drones by using them to cast a line off. It’s all a bit Heath Robinson and it has to be said that drones’ distinct dislike of water has proven predictably problematic for more than one of these inventive anglers. PowerVision, however, might have them covered with its underwater solution: the PowerRay With a built-in 4K camera, 1080p real-time streaming to a drone-like controller (or a gesture-based one), would-be nature documentarians can pilot their way into a swarm of fish, adjusting the brightness of the LED lighting for best effect. Since the lights can also be used to attract fish, the PowerRay “is like a cheat code for angling,” especially if you’re attaching your line to the craft itself. Its sonar can provide detailed information on fish distribution and depth in the area. There is also a water temperature sensor and even the option of a fish alert on the mobile app, so you can drop the Ray into the water and wait for it to tell you when the fish might be ready to bite. Or you can hook up a set of its VR Goggles and take a tour of the riverbed yourself. Suddenly fishing seems a lot more hightech and could prove considerably more interesting to many non-fishing folk.

in the year ahead, whichever of the leading contenders we might previously have been considering. The Ray and the Bee, however, promise more – they hint at where PowerVision might be heading as a future provider of robotics in other areas, and that looks to be no bad thing at all. Well, until the Eggs become self-aware, that is, and start hatching mini-offspring all over the place.

We’ll have more on the PowerEgg in our next issue with a full hands-on flight test. Until then, you can find out more about the entire PowerVision range by heading to its website: powervision.me.

Busy Bees

A little further down the line than the other PowerVision products is the PowerBee, a drone with a great big colourchangeable light in its hull designed to be operated in a fleet. Before Intel’s Super Bowl light show, that might have been difficult to explain, but now the possibilities offered by a fleet of over one hundred flying coloured pixels are more than apparent. PowerVision has wisely steered clear of outlining prices for this product just yet, since it still faces some serious regulatory hurdles. The software is capable of flying multiple aircraft within a few centimetres of each other – indeed it’s proposed to sell the drones in packs of six – but who can actually fly them is another matter. It might be that PowerVision chooses to offer the drones as a service itself.

A Vision for 2017

Looking at these offerings it seems that, at the very least, many of us will have one more aircraft to add to our wishlist 34

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PowerRay Specs • Price: From €1,599 (£1,356) • Dimensions: 465 x 270 x 126mm • Weight: 3.5kg • video: 4K UHD (1080p live streaming) • stills: 12MP CMOS • Theoretical Depth: 100m • Battery: Dual 6400mAh LiPo • sailing Time: 1-4 hours (based on speed) • Max Cruise Speed: 2m/s (3-4 knots)

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The Photographer’s

Guide to Drones

How to master the technology for picture perfect results

A

s soon as most people get their hands on a drone with a camera attached, one of the first things they’ll do is to take it up in the air and grab a few photos from this suddenly accessible aerial perspective. Most of us will have shots of our homes, or a few friends waving at the skies stashed away somewhere, but it takes more than a little enthusiasm to turn this early flirtation into high-quality photos you’d want to share with the world – but that’s where The Photographer’s Guide to Drones comes in, and we’ve got TEN copies to give away to you guys! This 250-page book, written by best-selling author and awardwinning photographer Colin Smith, explains everything you need to know about drones in order to take your aerial snaps to a whole new level. A valuable resource for any would-be photographer, it will show you how to fly safely and create compelling photos and videos that really stand out from the crowd. It covers the basics such as mastering simple flying techniques and flight patterns, along with the rules of composition and other tips for getting the best possible results once you’re up in the air. There’s also advice for creating the best files to suit your photo and video needs, plus post-processing techniques to help add a little polish once you’re back on the ground, such as some easy-tofollow tips on making videos look both dynamic and smooth. The Photographer’s Guide to Drones is written by Colin Smith and published by Rocky Nook. It is available on the publisher’s website, www.rockynook.com, and other good bookstores (ISBN: 978-1-68198-114-7). However, if you want to be in with a chance of

winning one of TEN free copies, simply email us with the answer to the following question:

Which of the following is a common composition principle that is frequently used in photography? A) Rule of Birds B) Rule of Thirds C) Rule of Thumb You can enter by sending an email to [email protected], with the correct answer in the subject header, along with your name, address and a contact phone number. Closing date: 25 May 2017. Good luck!

terms and conditions Terms and Conditions: Competition is open to mainland Great Britain and Northern Ireland residents only. Prizes are subject to availability. No correspondence will be entered into. No employees of Uncooked Media or the companies providing the prizes may enter. No cash alternative is offered to these prizes. Entries are only valid if they reach us by the closure date. Multiple entries will be disregarded. The publisher’s decision is final. Good luck! 36

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DRONE PRO

Paul Trillo: The Direct Approach

Fancy yourself as a bit of an aerial Steven Spielberg? Then you should check out At the End of the Cul-de-Sac, the latest short from director Paul Trillo which is made from one single continuous drone shot. Ian Collen spoke with him to get the behind-the-scenes report on how it was done…

“I

t’s a short film that plays out in a continuous shot following a man’s mental breakdown in a dystopian suburban community, where public shaming is taken to extreme heights.” Now that’s not your usual film pitch – and it gets even more unusual when you realise that it was all to be shot in one take using a drone and, in what is possibly a filmmaking first, to include dialogue.

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That was the premise for At the End of the Cul-de-Sac, the latest short from New York-based director/producer/ writer Paul Trillo. Although it was shot around this time last year, it was only recently released (at the beginning of April) – and to great acclaim, not just for the great aerial work or the boldness of the one-take set-up, but also for its dark storyline. We’ll try to avoid any spoilers but it does unravel into a brilliantly disturbing tale and one with language that would be equally NSFW. It’s certainly a very impressive piece of work and a glimpse at his portfolio suggests a well-oiled flair for visual storytelling. So what was it that first brought the notion for filming with drones to his attention? “I had used drones to do a couple of shots in some commercials initially,” Paul tells us. “I think the first one was about four years ago when the technology was still very rough. A lot of my work involves concepts built around different techniques and effects, and drones were incredibly exciting for me as a way of moving a camera with no strings attached.” Some two years ago Paul shot “an experimental piece” called Chromaticity, “where we flew a small fleet of drones

DRONE PRO

around with smoke grenades attached.” He’d teamed up with Brian Streem, a friend and fellow producer who’d go on to found a company called Aerobo with the aim of using drones to do more creative work. Even so, shooting a 10-minute film (with dialogue!) in a single aerial take is not your everyday project.

would have been quite so familiar with the growing potential of drones on a film set. “It wasn’t a tough initial sell in that most people are game to do something creative and new as a break from the usual type of jobs,” Paul told us. “Both the crew and cast were incredibly excited about the project since it was the first drone short to make heavy use of dialogue. “After I got all the right people in place, I did have to instil a sense of confidence that we could pull this off. I had worked with drones before but never to this level. I had done complicated shots before but never this long. I had to be more meticulous than I had ever been before to trick myself and the others that we could do such a crazy stunt.”

Reach for the Sky

With a plan in place, Paul says that one of the key tasks was recruiting the right people for the job. “The drone pilot was arguably more important than anyone else on the shoot. This whole thing relied on him to do something he hadn’t done before, and no pilot had really done before.” Paul called on Mike Ferguson, an experienced pilot who has been flying planes and single rotor helicopters for over 15 years. “Brian was confident that if Mike couldn’t pull this off then probably no one could.” But what about selling the idea to the rest of the cast and crew? We’d have thought that not everyone involved

Getting Animated One very important detail that might ring a few bells with drone pilots who meticulously plan their flights in advance is the use of animatics to create a computer-generated version of the film long before they’d arrived on set. “I created an animatic in Cinema4D that was a beat-by-beat breakdown of the entire film,” Paul explains. “3D models were placed on the Google Earth map and I used computergenerated voices to figure out the timing of the dialogue.” With the animation finalised, Paul and the crew were able to visualise every single scene in advance of the shoot. “Both the actors and the pilot had to have that animation memorized while keeping things feeling somewhat natural. The Assistant Director, Jake Wasserman, had to break down that animation into tangible cues and plant walkie-talkies throughout the scene so that when one domino piece fell into place he was ready to call out the next domino piece. Everyone had to be incredibly present and I’m impressed by everyone’s dedication to executing my vision.”

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“I had to be more meticulous than I had ever been before to trick myself and the others that we could do such a crazy stunt” Once a suitable location had been found – “something visually appealing, outside of the airport airspace, with no power lines and everyone in the area approved of” – the next big problem was in making the cast comfortable with the technology swirling around their heads. “When I first thought of the idea, a drone short with dialogue, I knew the challenge from the outset. The entire film would need to be ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement); nothing from the production would be useable. What I didn’t know was how the actors would react to having a drone in such close proximity to them.”

Not unlike planning any professional flight, Paul and the crew were able to script the entire aerial shoot from start to finish.

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Up Close and Personal

Obviously a one-shot film isn’t just about turning up on the day and winging it, and there was a detailed rehearsal process. These were shot with an Inspire 1 (filming was done long before the Inspire 2 was announced) with an

X5R camera, with the plan to switch to a custom-built octocopter with a MōVI 15, A7SII and a heavy cine prime lens for the ‘real’ take. “I wanted this to feel as cinematic as possible but really what’s important is the performance,” Paul says. “The Inspire created a more comfortable environment for the actors. It’s incredibly unnatural to have this loud, dangerous thing buzzing around your head. So the smaller that is, the better the end result.” The larger craft didn’t come without its flaws, though, and problems with it saw the final shot used for the film actually being taken from one of the rehearsal takes. “If I were to do this again, I would have never considered the super large drone and only done takes on the Inspire. We ended up losing about an hour of prime daylight because we were messing with the larger drone.” It is worth bearing in mind that when you’re filming something in a single take, the drone and camera are just one of many moving parts that Paul had to micromanage – but when the camera started rolling everything

DRONE PRO we were nearly out of light since the sun set at 4:30pm that day. By the time we were ready to do another take, we were completely out of daylight. I was devastated as I thought we didn’t get the take. I thought we’d have to come and shoot it again and I just lost thousands of dollars. “It wasn’t until I reviewed the Inspire’s ‘rehearsal’ take that I began to talk myself into salvaging it; what you see as the final film was supposed to be a rehearsal. It was truly our first and only good take.” And presumably the mechanical issue was rectified with a little digital wizardry in post-production. The results are certainly impressive, especially for a rehearsal. It’s also interesting to see how far the technology has come in the short period since the film was

Practice Makes Perfect Although the film itself was shot in a single take, it’s worth emphasising that the final product actually came from a rehearsal shoot – and when we asked Paul for any advice for his fellow directors as a result, he was quick to draw attention to his due diligence. “I can’t stress how important the rehearsing, blocking and choreography is when doing something this intricate. That’s really the key; how dedicated are you to rehearsing something as many times as it takes? “That’s all a good long take is, tons of rehearsing. Rehearsing can certainly limit the spontaneity of an actor’s performance so you want to make sure that you’re rehearsing only the cues and timing. Work with each actor on their own to make sure that when you’re finally rolling the real take, you keep some surprises up their sleeve.”

was effectively out of his hands. “I had to do as much as I could to tee everyone up for success but ultimately once we called action I was essentially a spectator. The Director of Photography, Greg Wilson, and I had a walkie-talkie that allowed us to modulate the tempo of the drone pilot’s moves, but that was about as much control as I had. “On the day of the shoot, we ran very rough rehearsal walkthroughs of the scene before going to lunch. As we ran our first rehearsal take, my heart was racing. There was a lot on the line, especially since this was all coming out of my pocket. I had no idea if this would actually work. I felt the rehearsal take worked for the most part but it wasn’t perfect.”

One Take to Rule Them All

Without spoiling one of the film’s most striking moments, a scripted mechanical element failed to work, but Paul says the cast carried on anyway. Also, in the final shot where the drone rises up for a stunning overhead he tells us that “a gust of wind threw it off course”. In addition the take also cut out a little earlier than planned, losing a number of frames. “I figured it was a good start and was ready to move on to the bigger set up. When we ran it again we had more problems.” Once again the mechanical ‘gag’ didn’t fire and that wasn’t the only problem. “The lead actor’s mic pack came loose and the drone battery was dying sooner than expected. We landed the drone and tried to pick up the take in one of the fast camera moves. The ending was better but WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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“It’s allowed amateur filmmakers access to what was once an expensive shot. I would have killed to have had a drone when I was a kid!” shot, with the Inspire 2 still barely a rumour back then and Paul pointing to problems with the drone’s stabilizing tech. “There is this unsettling floating movement that is always present, even when the camera is supposed to be still. It’s not a type of floating movement we’re used to seeing since it has a different quality than handheld. At first it bothered me, but the more times I watch the film the more I grew used to it. I think it adds to the unsettling atmosphere of the film.” Unsurprisingly Paul is happy to have drones as part of his filmmaking arsenal and can see even more people following in his footsteps (or air trails?). “It’s certainly allowed amateur filmmakers access to what was once an expensive shot to be done incredibly cheap. I would have killed to have had a drone when I was a kid! However, the purpose of making this film was to explore other ways of using the drone for storytelling purposes. When anyone can get a ‘cool shot’ you’ve got to bring something else to the table. You have to bring your unique perspective on why the hell you’re using a drone in the first place.” Paul tells us that this “definitely won’t be the last time I use a drone” and even hints at some technological advancements he’s working on to further eliminate the potential for human error. “It was a personal challenge to do this film, a giant experiment essentially. I’m pleased with the results but this was only to prove that we could do bigger and better things. If you’re interested in drones or long takes, or both, please check out the film and let me know your thoughts. Even if this is not someone’s cup of tea, I hope it inspires people to use drones more for storytelling purposes.”

We’d certainly recommend a viewing – though we would emphasise that its ‘Mature’ rating makes it unsuitable for younger readers. You can watch the film, along with a ‘Making Of’ featurette and a variety of Paul’s other work, on Vimeo (vimeo.com/paultrillo) and via his website paultrillo.com. 42

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Take-off! Soltvadkert, Hungary Photo by Csaba Daróczi / www.daroczicsaba.hu Supplied by Dronestagram

interview

The Heat is On As thermal imaging becomes an increasingly used option in the UAV world, we spoke to Ray Faulkner, managing director of thermographic experts iRed, to find out how to take flight as an infrared drone pilot…

T

he commercial drone market has dramatically increased over the past year or so - thanks to greater affordability, improved operational software and wider availability - which has led to more people than ever taking up flying. Many of these pilots have embraced the technology and have since started to venture from being a keen hobbyist into the commercial sector. The successful ones have usually been people with existing skills, such as photographers and videographers, who spotted the extra dimension that aerial platforms can provide. Indeed, until recently the mainstream market

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had been driven by the needs of photographers in terms of drone size, design, gimbal, flight time, control system and software. This audience still constitutes the greatest number of CAA-registered pilots, but this will probably change as new and innovative opportunities continue to appear. One such avenue is the growing number of opportunities for using thermal imaging (or thermography), as well as several other sensor-driven technologies that enable you to utilise your aerial platform in entirely different ways. Ray Faulker is one of those who has embraced the potential, and he was happy to help us shed a little light on the subject.

interview For those not already familiar with it, what exactly is thermography?

All Images by iRed

Thermography is a specialist technique which uses infrared-sensitive cameras to inspect buildings, electrical equipment, rotating machinery and even animals. This non-invasive method allows the identification – both in terms of location and severity – of problems associated with temperature change. The higher an object’s temperature, the more infrared radiation is emitted. Rather than using a CMOS or CCD detector, such as those used in digital cameras which record different levels of a range of visible light colours, a thermal imaging camera uses a microbolometer array to accurately measure levels of infrared radiation across a scene. As such, infrared cameras know nothing of visible light and can work in total darkness, as the level of ambient light doesn’t affect them. Different cameras use different parts of the infrared spectrum and each is useful for a variety of different applications. New ‘Gas Find’ infrared UAS cameras, specifically designed for the oil, gas and utility industries, work on the short-wave spectrum to detect gas leaks. These cameras provide exceptional results in areas previously considered impossible to survey. Long-wave UAV cameras, on the other hand, are far more common, and are being used to find a variety of common issues, such as missing insulation, air leakage and damp.

“Infrared cameras are capable of inspecting pipes, electrical pylons, wind farms and photovoltaic sites, to name just a few” When did you start using drones with your own surveying business? Our aerial survey work dates back to 2007 when we were desperate for a way to capture thermal images of building roofs to identify leaks and a lack of, or missing, insulation, together with inspecting generally inaccessible areas. We designed a pneumatic mast system built onto a Mercedes Sprinter van that extends to 30 metres with an electricallydriven pan and tilt head supporting our normally ‘ground’ based cameras. Control and image capture gave us as many headaches then as the new equipment and remote control of drones do today. However, we learnt many lessons in developing techniques for aerial survey work that have become directly transferrable onto UAVs. Since then we have been continually developing, with our first drone built to carry a full-size camera.

How did you incorporate the drone into your daily routine? Having the experience gained using our aerial mast system, this meant we had already developed generic Health & Safety risk assessments and method statements to cover most situations. These were reviewed and updated as needed. Environmental considerations for thermal surveys are usually more restrictive than UAV requirements, so the main problems we faced were incorporating the restrictions from CAP722. The addition of drones was actually a natural progression for us.

A Different View You can use a thermal imaging camera to detect a variety of potential issues, using different colour palettes to help the user better identify them – as seen in these three images derived from the same shot.

I think it is very important to remember that the UAV is just a tool. It enables us to put our cameras in a position that would otherwise be impossible and therefore it provides an incredible ‘added value’ to the service we give.

What should you look for in your first thermal imaging camera? It’s only in the last few years that thermal imaging technology has progressed to a stage in which infrared cameras can fit into the palm of your hand. These condensed cameras, commonly referred to as ‘cores’, are significantly lighter than their full-sized counterparts and, as such, are ideal for integration with aerial platforms. Despite their diminutive size, additional factors such as temperature sensitivity and accuracy, resolution or radiometry all play a part in determining the appropriateness of a camera for undertaking commercial surveys. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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‘Thermal Sensitivity’ defines the smallest temperature difference your camera will be able to distinguish. The greater the sensitivity the more contrast there will be, essentially making your job easier. Specific jobs, such as livestock counting, will usually have significant temperature differences between the subject and the environment, in turn making a high thermal sensitivity unnecessary. For jobs in the industrial or construction industries, however, it’s generally recommended a camera has a minimum sensitivity of 60mK. Temperature accuracy is an important feature when precise temperature measurement is required. Typically, uncooled thermal imaging cameras have an accuracy of around ±2°C or 2% – whichever is greater. This means that if you are looking at an object that is a known 20°C, the infrared camera could read it as 18°C or 22°C. When conducting aerial thermographic inspections, the imaging core is more susceptible to changeable environmental conditions, which can have a detrimental effect on accuracy, so this needs to be kept in mind. Ask the manufacturers how the accuracy changes with height and wind speed. The resolution of an infrared camera will determine the level of detail in a thermal image, otherwise known as a ‘thermogram’, and therefore the number of temperature points. These temperature points are the key pieces of data that are used to analyse your subject and can be the difference between determining a small air leak on a large building or missing it entirely. The majority of infrared camera cores currently on the market have resolutions of 336 x 256, 640 x 480 or 640 x 512, with higher resolutions being more popular for commercial surveys. 48

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interview This leads us onto the most important aspect of an infrared camera core: radiometry – or the ability to read and store temperature data. In simple terms a radiometric camera enables you to measure the value of the temperature points in an image, whereas a nonradiometric camera does not. In other words, whilst you can successfully detect temperatures and differences in real-time with a nonradiometric camera, you won’t be able to record the temperature data for later analysis. On the other hand, most radiometric cameras allow you to change a range of parameters post-flight, such as the palette, temperature scale and emissivity, making for a streamlined workflow together with more professional looking reports.

What type of drone is required to undertake infrared aerial surveys?

What other survey opportunities would a system like this offer?

Whilst the CAA Permissions talk in general terms of up to 20kgs, more and more industries are demanding lighter drones primarily for Health & Safety considerations. Therefore we would suggest that, unless you have an exceptional reason to the contrary, you plan for a system to be sub-7kgs. This will immediately limit you to a number of commercially-made frames available, but if you stick with them you will find it far easier to produce your Operations Manual and submit acceptable ‘safety cases’ for individual projects. Home-built frames may offer significant cost savings initially but the onus will be on you to prove its airworthiness and safety.

Infrared cameras are capable of inspecting pipes, electrical pylons, wind farms and photovoltaic sites, to name just a few, with each application having its own specific workflow requirements. However, there are plenty of other commercial opportunities involving different payloads that are still in their infancy. For instance, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), is an exciting surveying method that uses laser light to measure the distance to a target. A survey consists of millions of points of highly accurate data that can be converted into a 3D mesh for use in many software modelling packages, such as 3D Studio Max, Maya or Sketchup. As it stands, the current problem is still the huge weight of these ‘mobile’ cameras, but more

Your Thermal Needs According to Ray, “to see heat loss or gain, the basic principles of physics and heat transfer must be understood. This in turn means that there are certain environmental requirements recommended for anyone wishing to collect accurate and actionable data. Various thermographic inspection schemes will determine their own criteria, but in general terms the following provides a good start-point.”

Themal cameras don’t use visible light which means they can ‘see’ in the dark, but can’t see through transparent surfaces like glass.

No Solar Radiation

“Building surfaces must be free from solar radiation for a minimum of two hours prior to the start of a survey – longer if the building consists of a heavy fabric. This is to allow for the effect of solar heat gain in the wall to dissipate. Typically aerial building surveys can be expected to start after dark or be finished by sunrise.”

Temperature Difference

“To see heat loss or gain from a building, at least a 10ºC temperature difference between the inside and outside must be achieved for a minimum of 24 hours prior to the survey if occupied, or 72 hours for a previously unheated building. If the building has no operational heating system, temporary direct heaters (such as space heaters) may be required. This is because the building fabric itself needs to be ‘warm-soaked’ and not just the air warmed up.”

Dry Surfaces

“Prior to the start of the survey, building surfaces must be dry so that artificial cooling – both convective and evaporative – does not skew the results. For heavy building fabrics, such as brick, it’s highly recommended that the surface has been dry for at least 24 hours. For lightweight buildings, a minimum of 12 hours is recommended.”

Low Wind Speed

“The wind speed during a survey should not be greater than 5m/s (19kph). It has been deemed that at any higher speed it would be impossible to calculate the forced convection cooling effect across the surface in question.” WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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importantly the prohibitive cost of entry, running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. At a more practical level, multispectral cameras are both lightweight and reasonably priced. We’ve been using them for a couple of years now within the farming industry. A timely survey can provide the agronomist or farmer with information about the need for fertilizer, water or pesticides during the various stages of crop growth.

For those looking to provide thermographic surveys, is any specific training required? In addition to being comfortable with the operation of your drone, specific infrared training should be undertaken as soon as possible before offering thermal imaging as a service. Thermography training qualifications are often referred to in sequence, with companies referring to their courses as either levels or categories. Whilst the majority of foundation courses should teach you the fundamentals, it’s important to note that

In the Red iRed has been delivering specialist infrared surveys and training for commercial applications since 2002. Most recently, their team of expert thermographers have released the two-day APS (Aerial Payload Specialist) Infrared Certificate course, which is designed for new and existing drone pilots looking to expand their range of commercial services. The course covers basic infrared principles, sustainable workflow design and industry-standard techniques and practices.

industry-recognised qualifications will often be far more desirable in the commercial industry. Industryrecognised qualifications, such as the PCN Category 1, are usually accredited by a third-party – in this case the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing – via annual audits in order to ensure the highest standards are consistently maintained. The level of training undertaken will usually be driven by the customer’s minimum requirements or laid down scheme provisions. However, it is generally considered that foundation level courses are designed for those wishing to data collect and perform simple reporting, with advanced training being for those that then wish to analyse thermographic imagery and produce professionalgrade reports. Hybrid specialist courses designed to bridge the gap between UAVs and infrared technologies are now starting to emerge as well. These payload courses provide an introduction-level approach to general thermography training and serve as a springboard to accredited training.

Finally, what advice would you give to any aspiring commercial drone pilot? Being a commercial UAV pilot is all about your payload. Certainly a pilot will require all the skills and experience to navigate the drone on a mission. They will also be expected to be completely familiar with all of the safety aspects associated with a flight and emergency procedures. But that only answers the ‘how’ a mission will be flown. A customer is employing you for the ‘what’, the deliverable; a photograph or a survey. It is essential, therefore, that in preparing your business plan you recognise not only the costs in delivering a service, but that the fee charged is realistic when compared to the alternative options available to the customer.

You can find out more about the work of iRed and the range of thermography services on offer over at the website www.ired.co.uk.

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All photos by Aomway, except where stated

First Look

As Aomway makes further moves into the FPV market, Lee Schofield casts an eye over its first set of goggles: the Commander V1…

A Virtual • Price: Approx. £320 • WEIGHT: 172g • DiSPLAY: 854 x 480 (WVGA) LCD • LENSes: Glass optics (binocular) • HD INPUT: 720p, C-type HDMI • Interpupillary Distance: Adjustable 59-69mm • WEBSITE: www.aomway.com

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F

PV goggles are like radio manufacturers to us pilots: we all have our favourites. The market has seen a huge number of new models in the last two years based on the larger 5-7 inch displays housed in large foam boxes. Fat Shark, Boscam and Skyzone have been the brands that most pilots have used when looking for the sleeker, more compact designs, but recently Aomway has released its first set of FPV goggles aimed squarely at this top end of the market. Costing around £320, they need to be good. Considering this is Aomway’s first attempt at a compact ‘all-in-one’ set of goggles, it’s clear that the company has thought carefully about it. The majority of what pilots are looking for are present and correct in these new Commander V1s. A quick look at the basic specifications shows that they share the most common features with other models from Fat Shark, such as the Dominator V3 goggles. Both feature a 16:9 aspect ratio, DVR, demisting fan, IPD adjustment, AV in/ out, head tracker support and diopter lens support for those pilots who need sight correction. But the specifications only tell part of the story.

Photos by Lee Schofield / Painless360

“These are very good goggles and work impressively well, but with a little more thought they could have been excellent” The first thing you notice when you hold them for the first time is how lightweight they are. Even with a battery attached they are significantly lighter than other goggles in this class (around 50g lighter than the Fat Shark Dominator V3 goggles). The second thing you notice is how nice the plastics are. In the photos the plastic may look a little cheap and I was concerned that they had scrimped on this part of the build. Not so, and with the light grey colour and finish to the goggles, they are very nice to hold and use. Crucially, the image quality is very good as well.

The Pros

So far things were looking pretty good, and the Commander boasts a lot of impressive features considering that this is a ‘V1’ design:

In-Built Diversity From the specifications this looks like ‘real’ diversity here. The goggles come with antennae but sadly one of them is a simple dipole, which means you just need to attach another more useful antenna of your choice and you have a great setup for flying in challenging conditions. We added one of the Aomway circular polarised antennae here to complement the patch supplied with the goggles and have been impressed with the performance. There’s no need to buy extra modules or cut into your expensive goggles to install a LaForge setup here to get flying; it’s all ready to go.

Auto-Scan Feature In addition to the manual controls the goggles feature an auto-scan function. This is very handy and I end up using features like this when the model powers up and I can’t remember how I left the video transmitter after a day flying with friends.

Smart Battery The connector for the battery is a little unusual. Most manufacturers use the barrel connector to attach the batteries. While these goggles have that same connector, they come with a lead that connects to the balance tap for 2s, 3s and 4s LiPo batteries. This means that you can run the goggles from any battery you have with you. Nice idea. The other benefit is that the battery holder is at the back of the goggles so that the weight is not near your face, which helps to balance the goggles when using them. Along with the reduced overall weight this makes them very comfortable to wear for any length of time.

Clear OSD One of the nicest features of the Commander V1 is the OSD that is used for the settings and features of the goggles themselves. Selecting the channel, band and other settings causes a pop-up OSD to appear so you know exactly what parameter you are changing. This OSD also displays the goggle battery voltage, too – always handy in case you’re starting to get a little low on power! WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Photo by Lee Schofield / Painless360

The Cons

These goggles are certainly a great starter for Aomway’s first attempt, but there are a few things that need to be considered before taking the plunge:

No USB Connector A lot of the modern R/C systems include a USB connector or Bluetooth connection for a companion application. Both are omitted from these V1 goggles. Aomway had a chance to really shake up the market here with the introduction of a companion app so you could change how the OSD worked, download DVR video, update firmware and change settings/ defaults to suit how you fly with the models and the FPV equipment you use. I suspect that there will be a way to update the firmware using the SD card (as yet unconfirmed) but having access to the goggles with a USB, to allow you to customise them to how you want them to work, would have been a cut above the others on the market.

Branding and Support The manual that comes with the goggles is below par. In particular the way that the buttons and two ‘joysticks’ work on the top can be very confusing. With goggles costing this much you would expect far better documentation and warranty information. Also Aomway.com was recently launched but the website is very light on details of what to do in the event of any technical issues. I know that if I have a set of Fat Sharks that have a problem then they will be fixed, and a friend of mine can vouch for their returns and repair service, too. Aomway needs to provide this level of service if it wants to command these higher price points.

Locked at 16:9 The displays in these goggles are very bright and clear. Sadly the display is locked to the 16:9 ‘widescreen’ aspect ratio. For someone like me, who flies with 16:9 cameras on fixed wing models, this isn’t an issue. For other pilots the ability to flick the display into 4:3 would have been very welcome. Maybe this could be addressed with a firmware update?

Can’t Change Receivers These are ‘all-in-one’ goggles with no modularity to change them to work with the receivers and element you need. For many pilots this will be welcome; just unpack them, attach the antennae and battery and go fly! In practice I’ve found

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that the diversity setup in the goggles works well and there is a very limited amount of detail about the antenna being used in the OSD. For a lot of pilots the ability to change the receiver is important, though, but that option isn’t available here.

Summary

Whenever I see something that calls itself the ‘V1’ my immediate thoughts are ‘”this is a first attempt then – when will the improved V2 be out?” These are really good goggles but little things are missing, or needed, like the fact that the OSD doesn’t show signal strength/RSSI for the FPV signal. That would be very useful for pilots; the OSD is there, as is the integration with the diversity system in the goggles. Another give away that these are the first version of these goggles are those controls. They are confusing and there’s a lack of any printing on the case to help you remember which switch does what. Some do more than one thing, based on how long you press them, to make it even more complex. By taking the good features that pilots like and putting them into a set of goggles, Aomway has made an impressive entry into this section of the market. The Commander V1 are very good goggles and work well, but with a little more thought, and evidence of a bullet-proof warranty, they could have been excellent.

A Reader’s View Humber Bridge, Yorkshire/Lincolnshire Photo by Shaun Bettany

The latest reader to get in touch with some eye-catching imagery that’s all their own work was Shaun Bettany, who’s recently become a PfCO registered pilot. Not only was able to get a great selection of shots of the Humber Bridge on his travels, but he was also kind enough to enlighten us with a few interesting details about the location… “The Humber Bridge spans two counties from Barton-upon-Humber in North Lincolnshire to Kingston upon Hull in East Yorkshire. The famous landmark is a 2,220 metre single-span suspension bridge and when it opened on 24 June 1982 it was the longest of its type in the world. It held the record until June 1997 (when it was surpassed by the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan). “The bridge spans the Humber – the estuary formed by the rivers Trent and Ouse. Before the bridge opened commuters would go from one bank to the other by ferry or by driving via the M62, M18 and the M180 (the bridge shortening the distance of a trip from Hull to Grimsby by some 50 miles). “The photograph was taken using a DJI Mavic Pro from the south bank of the Humber at Waters Edge Country Park, which covers 86 acres, and from where there are some great views of the bridge, such as those you can see here!” If you’d like to get one of your own photos into the magazine – and by submitting a photo for us to use, you are acknowledging that it is your own work and property – then simply email us at [email protected], along with the image (high resolution where possible) and a few details explaining the shot. Who knows, next issue it could be your best work featured on these pages!

From above it’s clear just how difficult the rainforest is to navigate at ground level. Fixed wing drones can cut hours off a relatively short journey if they have space to take off and land.

Build It Yourself

Pro pilot Michael Cook pulls apart one of his quadcopters and takes you through the key elements of his preferred custom built set-up, as well as embracing the perks of 3D printing…

I

n several previous issues this magazine has covered ‘building your own drone’ in various steps and stages, but this time we’ll break things down into the main component parts and maybe help you choose what you might need for your own build. One thing to always bear in mind is that as the technology continues to be developed further, the advancements allow us to do to things we couldn’t have done before. One such example is the ability to create your own parts with a 3D printer. I have done this myself and I have to say it can be incredibly rewarding. Not only was I able to make my own part, but if it broke there was no need to go online to order up a replacement and then wait for the mail to arrive two or three days later. Instead I could simply print off another part in a matter of minutes and keep on flying! Over these pages I’ll try to shed some light on the different technologies out there to help build you a better quad, and take your flying to all-new heights. I’ll break a quadcopter down into its main features and run through some of the options available to you. There are no hard and fast solutions that will be perfect for everyone, but hopefully you’ll get a few good ideas to get you started.

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Body Talk

Let’s start with the body, or the main ‘belly’ piece of your craft. Most of the time it will be a fairly simple shape – so it’s not too complicated to create yourself if you do happen to have a 3D printer. There are many different ways you can make it but remember that this piece is the primary ‘skeleton’ that will hold everything together, and for that you might want to use a CNC machine to cut out a nice piece of carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is lightweight and very hard to break (our interview with Carbon Candy last issue goes into some detail on it). If you did want to create your own, you can buy your own CNC machine for a little as $399 or £350 on eBay. If you have any CAD skills you can even design your own base plate. If not, then don’t be discouraged because there are many different websites out there that supply CAD files for these kinds of build that you can download. Moving on to the arms of the quadcopter, these should be lightweight but you will have to choose what type of material is best for your build. If you have a 3D printer that you can print out the arms of the quad and, since this might be a piece that breaks quite often, 3D printing could work out to be the best solution for your build. Websites such as www. thingiverse.com have thousands of files for quad arms. There are many different styles and many different sizes for arms, base plates and many other drone parts, but you don’t necessarily need to know how to make them. If you can resize an image on your computer and open a file, you are pretty much able to start printing these designs for your arms. As mentioned, 3D printers are becoming cheaper and cheaper to own, although it is worth pointing out that the more you’re willing (or able) to pay, the higher quality parts you’ll likely be producing. ABOVE: The more skilled you get, the more intricate and creative your 3D printed designs can become.

general motors

Moving on from the core base plate and arms, let’s take a look at the motors and the ESCs. My personal number one choice for ESCs would be Castle Creations. I’ve found that nothing else can compete with them when it comes to the power and performance I’m looking for. If you are trying to build a racer or a 3D stunt quad, then these are the type of ESCs to have, but if you are just flying for fun they are still pretty great, too, as from my experiences they won’t let you down.

If you want something with quality but more of a ‘fun flyer’ price tag you can go with companies such as Turnigy, who have been in the ESC and motor business for quite a while now. You will find that there are many different ESCs to choose from as they are one of the most important things on your quad. They help to balance your craft, give it forward thrust or stop it from smacking into a wall. If one fails it’s a very bad day for you and your quad, so it’s worth choosing carefully. As for motors, I tend to use T-Motor. They deliver an impressive collection of well-built motors that are starting to become the standard for quadcopters. However, if you’re new to custom builds, things can quickly start to get a little pricey and it’s easy to opt for the cheaper options – which is perfectly understandable and often a wise move (it makes sense for your first few builds to be reasonably cheap as you’ll quickly be looking to improve!). With motors you can go for lesser alternatives, but you are going to have to take into consideration how much weight you are going to be lifting and for how long you’ll want to fly, so you do at least need to make sure you choose motors that are up to job. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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You’ll find plenty of choice, so try to have a clear idea of what you want your build to be capable of to help find the right parts for the job.

“You don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on your model and then buy a cheap $50 autopilot and have it come crashing down on the first flight” power station

Next up would be the autopilot and, again, there are many different ones to choose from. As with many areas of a build, when it comes to prices for autopilots you do get what you pay for. We’ve said that a quality custom build is going to be pricey, but you don’t want to be spend five or six hundred dollars or pounds on your model and then buy a cheap $50 autopilot and have it all come crashing down on the first flight. I nearly always go for PixHawk. It’s worth pointing out that there are people who are making cheaper replicas of such systems, but don’t be fooled by the imposters as these autopilots will rarely do the same job and are far more likely to crash. Always buy from a trusted dealer or straight from the likes of 3DR’s website. One of the final choices to make is batteries. When it comes to batteries you might want to consider what you’ll be using your drone for, such as speed or power (and the payoff versus the extra weight). I tend to go with Venom as my

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primary choice or the likes of Tattu. Both of these companies really put out good quality LiPos, even though their prices can vary in a big way. Many of these companies have been making batteries for R/C cars, planes and anything else that uses LiPos for years now, and that expertise is continuing to spread into the drone world, which can only be good news for the future. Last, but by no means least, we shouldn’t forget about those all-important props. You know, the things that get your home-made drone into the skies! There are also many different types and makers of props, although I don’t really have a personal preference in this instance. That said, I do usually look for carbon fibre designs as they will last longer and tend not to break as easily as plastic ones do. And if you are likely to be flying in cold weather (as discussed in my previous article on winter flying in Issue 15) then carbon fibre is definitely the way to go! All drone builders will eventually build up their own preferences (and often brand loyalty) over time, so if you are new to things it’s always worth looking online to see what other people have made work for them, and maybe apply those ideas to what you’re trying to achieve with your own build. It might not happen straight away, but with a little patience and perseverance you can create your own perfectly formed drone!

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t he ne w

All Photos by ImmersionRC, except where stated

Lee Schofield takes a closer look at ImmersionRC’s fresh range of Tramp HV transmitters to see what good things can be found in these small packages…

T

wav e

he past year has seen a number of innovations in the area of first person view (FPV) flying. We’re seeing more options with goggles, much more choice for good cost effective cameras, high-definition is starting to become more affordable, and we’ve seen innovations in the area of analogue FPV transmitters. Last year ImmersionRC launched its new range of FPV video transmitter (Vtx) products and accessories that add some features we’ve not seen before and indicate a direction for some of the future enhancements and innovations in the coming year. So what is it and why is it different? Pilots who have been flying for a fair few years will have a fondness for the original ImmersionRC Vtx units (some of which we touched on in our interview with co-founder Sander Sassen last issue). My first 25mW unit was supplied as a bundle with my first ever set of FPV goggles from Fat Shark and I’ve been a fan ever since. In the last few years the video transmitter technology for FPV from many other manufacturers has more channels, more features and comes with a smaller price tag, too. Smaller, powerful transmitters with selectable power output, full 40-channel support and a wide voltage range have become common and easy to setup and use. The new Tramp HV line of video transmitters is ImmersionRC’s updated Vtx that provides all of this, and more.

The Tramp Stamp

This thumbnail-sized video transmitter packs a lot of features into its tiny case: l Small and lightweight: Weighing only 4g (without the

SMA cable) and 32 x 20 x 8mm in size, this means that it can fit in almost any model. The pigtail SMA lead for antenna connection can help with tricky mounting and routing cables into tricky areas on modern frames. l Wide input voltage range: Original units, like ours here, can support up to 4s Li-Po voltage but models released after March 2017 can support 6s voltages easily, so there’s no need to find a lower voltage on those models that need 5s and 6s power. l Power selectable between 1mW and 600mW: The 1mW setting is used as a ‘Pit Mode’ that allows you to power the model at a race meeting without stepping all over the FPV signal of another pilot. l Full 48-channel support: This provides you with access to all of the traditional four bands and RaceBand, too, with a few extra ones if you have a Race Wand (as seen to the left, but more on that in a moment). l Thermally protected design: All of the main electronics are housed under a metal shield to help with stray RFI interference on the model. The other neat trick is that it also measures the temperature of the module and reduces the power if the Vtx starts to get too hot. This can happen easily when testing on the bench and the Vtx isn’t cooled by the airflow in flight. 62

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Photo by Lee Schofield / Painless360

l Th  ree ways to change the settings: We’ll look into this

in more depth in a moment, but being LapRF certified means that the Tramp HV is designed to work alongside the ImmersionRC LAP Timing system. lA  nti-Glitch power-on protection: Some video transmitters can briefly send signals on many frequencies and channels when turned on before the logic on board takes control and the radio transmitting circuitry is configured. This can cause interference with other pilots in the area, so ImmersionRC has designed the new Tramp HV to power up and change channels cleanly without this potential problem. l Calibrated power: Anyone who owns a power meter (we do, another ImmersionRC product, in fact) will know that a video transmitter’s stated power output and actual power output can be very different. 25mW video transmitters can be 40-60mW easily. This would not be passed for flying at a race meeting where the limit was 25mW power. The Tramp HV has a calibrated power output to make sure the power you set is the power output you get. This all adds up to a very capable little video transmitter that provides all that most of us are used to and with a few extra cool tricks thrown in for good measure. We’ve mentioned the Race Wand, so let’s look at that next…

Tap and Fly

Also known as the TNR, or Touch ‘N’ Race Wand, this is an optional part of the Tramp HV system. The eagle eyed among you might have noticed that there is an extra board that connects to the main Tramp HV FPV transmitter. This little RF board is designed to be mounted in an ‘easy to get to’ place and used with the Race Wand to set the channel, power and band. The Race Wand and this little radio receiver work in a similar way to the wireless pay systems on your credit and debit card. The model you can see on these pages is the consumer version of the product, but there are other versions of it for race organisers with more features to make their lives easier – so what exactly can you do with it? Well, you can use it to both read and write the configuration you want for your FPV system, even if the

“A very capable transmitter that provides all that most of us are used to and with a few extra cool tricks thrown in” Photo by Lee Schofield / Painless360

Vtx isn’t powered. You can set the wand to ‘read’ the configuration, too, which is handy if you can’t remember how you left it the last time you flew. To use the Race Wand, you hold it in close proximity to the RF board of the Tramp HV and press the button to get the current settings shown on the screen. As you can see, the channel, band, power and temperature of the module are shown. The cool thing is that because the wand also powers the system you can change everything without the Vtx using any of your battery power. You select what you want to use, hold the wand to the RF board, press the button and ‘hey presto’ – the settings have changed. Any of you who’ve struggled to get the tip of your finger or fingernail onto the settings button on an internallymounted Vtx in a race quad will know how easy using that wand sounds in comparison. The other benefit is that race organisers can set the Tramp HV settings for you at race events quickly and easily. The wand allows them to configure a race with the number of pilots in the race and then change the setting from one quad to the next by tapping the wand to each craft. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Get Connected

The most obvious way to configure the Tramp HV is using the button on the side of the transmitter. Pressing the button for three seconds will cycle you though band, channel and power settings and can also be used to get the Vtx out of ‘Pit Mode’ if you’ve come back from a race and the race organiser had left it in that mode for safety. This is very familiar to those who fly FPV. Interestingly in the manual for the product ImmersionRC is very clear that it doesn’t consider this as the preferred way of changing the settings. As we’ve already talked about the primary method to configure one of these cool little

units is with the Race Wand. This is a very smart way to set up the Vtx without even powering it on, therefore making sure that other pilots in your area are not affected. Setting the power to 1mW would allow you to power up in the pits and check the OSD, camera and Vtx are all working before a flight, and make any changes you want to your FPV and flight controller PID settings. Having your model with the RF board externally means that set-ups for races and trying to figure out who is on what channel before a race is no longer an issue. You can also set up using software like Betaflight. ImmersionRC has really thought about this and, although it is not the first to offer configuration changes via the OSD on a flight controller (that honour goes to Team BlackSheep), it means that you don’t need a wand or access to the button if you want to change settings. There are a few extra wires on the Tramp HV and one is labelled as telemetry. If you are flying Betaflight (or one of its close cousins that support IRC Tramp peripherals) then you can change all of the settings right from your radio and FPV goggles.

Connecting to Betaflight

Betaflight added support for the Tramp HV protocol to change the settings last year and the set-up is simple, as you just need to wire up the Tramp HV to a spare UART. Firstly find a spare UART on your flight controller and connect the telemetry pin from the Tx pin on that UART. This allows the command needed to change the setting to be sent using that wire. Then connect the flight controller to a PC and start the Betaflight GUI. In the ‘Ports’ tab configure the UART connected to the Tramp HV with the ‘IRC Tramp’ settings in the Peripherals section in the far right. Access the Betaflight OSD menu by holding the throttle mid, yaw left and pitch up and then you can navigate to the ‘Features’ area of the OSD, and in there are the selections for power, band and frequency. You can even see the temperature of the unit, too! Don’t forget to select ‘Set’ at the bottom of the screen when you change anything.

Other Options

Photos by Lee Schofield / Painless360

A Serious Stance

When unfolded and ready for business, there’s no questioning the seriousness of the PowerEye.

Getting connected to the likes of Betaflight is a fairly straightforward procedure for seasoned flyers.

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In the screenshot image to the right you may well have noticed a few other options in the ‘Peripheral’ setting. The other one worth mentioning is TBS SmartAudio from Team BlackSheep. TBS SmartAudio is another solution that allows

the settings of an external device to be configured through the Betaflight GUI. The set-up is almost exactly the same as with the IRC Tramp system – you connect the SmartAudio wire to a spare Tx pin on a UART on your flight controller, select ‘TBS SmartAudio’ for the UART you are using in the ‘Peripherals’ section of the Ports tab and you’re away. TBS has had this technology for a while now and I first came across it back in November 2015 when I built my first TBS PowerCube quadcopter using TBS OSD and Vtx components. For configuration of any of these systems it’s best to be using a Betaflight OSD, which is an on-screen display that is configured and managed by the Betaflight code. Many flight controllers now support this new standard but older OSD systems, using separate MinimOSD boards, won’t work in the same way.

Summary

This is the start of a new era of connectivity for FPV systems and components. The implication for this could be huge for builders and pilots, as the models we build can become even more integrated and with access to setup, settings and configuration vastly simplified. We now have two propriety systems that essentially do the same job – one from ImmersionRC, the other from TBS. We already have a number of options in the hobby to send and receive data from the separate parts of a multirotor model. We have ways to communicate with the separate parts of the system – OneShot and DShot for power/throttle signals, i2c for general sensor data, FrSky, MAVlink and MSP protocols for telemetry and control. Is it time to think about making this less complicated? Using these alongside the propriety protocols from ImmersionRC and TBS enables us to connect pretty much any combination of flight controller, radio receiver, ESC, motor, FPV and OSD, and have a working model with centralised control. As the hobby matures it may be time for the emergence of an agreed set of configuration protocols that any peripheral or device manufacturer can use and support, so we can have even more choice and flexibility for how we connect and use FPV systems, and with easier support. For me, the Tramp HV system is a welcome addition to the huge number of video transmitters on the market; it can do things no others can as well as doing the basics better than almost any other model out there. I’ve bought dozens of really small Vtx units in the last few years as I’ve been

“It can do things no others can, as well as doing the basics better than almost any other model out there” building models and some have worked well, some well for a short time, and some not at all. From now on, if there’s anything I need a Vtx for the Tramp HV will be very high on the list. Photo by Lee Schofield / Painless360

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Frozen Salt Lake Akastó, Hungary Photo by Csaba Daróczi / www.daroczicsaba.hu Supplied by Dronestagram

All photos by Fergus Kennedy (product images from Epson)

A Virtual

epson Moverio BT-300 Can augmented reality offer up a way to keep your eyes on the skies while tracking your flight data? Fergus Kennedy takes a closer look at the latest contender…

REVIEW

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• Price: £719 • Dimensions: 191 x 178 x 25mm • weight: 69kg • Operating System: Android 5.1 • Display: Silicone (Si) OLED • Resolution: 1280 x 720 • contrast: 100,000:1 • camera: 5MP • battery life: 6 hours • Website: www.epson.co.uk (.com in the USA)

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n the fast-moving world of drone-related technology, there are many incremental improvements that marginally enhance your flying and filming experience. But every so often something comes along that has the potential to be a game-changer. When flying solo, and particularly when shooting video rather than stills, you have to constantly shift your gaze from the drone to the screen of your phone or tablet, to check the shot or your flight data. Of course, you can go fully immersive with FPV goggles and rely solely on this view, but this option is really only practical for advanced pilots, and should be only be attempted with the help of an observer to keep a direct line of sight to the drone. However, there is now some clever crossover technology that goes some way to solving this problem. Augmented reality, or AR to its devotees, is a way of displaying information (which could be data and/or pictures) over your view of the real world. What Epson has

“Effectively you’re running an Android tablet with the display floating in front of your eyes and the controls on a touchpad” done with the Moverio BT-300 is to come up with a system that allows you to see your drone’s camera view and flight data, whilst keeping an eye on the drone through a semitransparent display embedded in a pair of glasses. It’s a pretty cool concept, and one we were certainly keen to try out and see how it performed in the real world.

Goggle Box

Opening the packaging you are presented with the glasses themselves, which are low profile with thick, clear glass lenses. It’s possibly not a good look as a fashion accessory, but they are certainly smaller and lighter than previous models. The dual displays, one for each eye, seem to be projected from the sides onto prisms within the lenses in front of your eyes. The glasses are connected by a cable to a touchpad which houses an Android device, complete with the triangle, circle and square buttons for back, home and recent (or history) options. Effectively, you’re running an Android tablet with the display floating in front of your eyes and the controls on a touchpad fixed to your remote. With this in mind, Epson has included a mounting bracket that will allow secure attachment of the touchpad onto a DJI Phantom or Inspire remote. Also included in the

box is a selection of tinted clip-on lenses for the front of the glasses (more on these later). So how did well did the system work? Our first attempts at getting it all up and running were a bit frustrating, with various niggles and glitches, not helped by the fact that this writer wasn’t entirely familiar with the Android environment, being more of the Apple persuasion. After various updates and downloading the DJI Go app onto the device, we got it up and running and connected to the remote via a USB cable. The DJI Go screen looked slightly different from its appearance on a phone or tablet, with the video window reduced in size, within a wide black border. The Moverio BT-300 is now compatible with both DJI Go and DJI Go 4, so support is good with most up to date DJI drones (we’d say from the Phantom 3 onwards).

First Person View

Our first attempt at a flight was with the DJI Mavic Pro. Initially we had issues with a huge lag between the camera view and the display (in the order of 15 to 20 seconds). After a couple of restarts, things seemed to work more solidly so we headed out with the Mavic. At the time of writing there was no secure mounting option for the Moverio’s touchpad

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“There is definitely a lot of potential for drones and AR, and maybe one day we’ll all be flying in an augmented world!” onto the diminutive Mavic controller, but we made do with a Heath Robinson arrangement of elastic bands and gaffer tape. However, with a little ingenuity and a 3D printer we could produce a much neater solution and there are commercial third party mounts available online already. During the flight, the system generally worked well. It was sunny, and once we’d clipped on the darkest shades to the front of the goggles to help reduce the glare, we were able to see the on-screen display clearly. The downside was that with such dark glasses, we struggled to maintain a clear view of the Mavic itself, particularly so when it was below the horizon (it is small and grey after all!). In the end, the best solution we found was to slide the glasses down our nose a little bit and spot the drone over the top. This slightly defeats the point of the glasses, but it proved a more seamless solution than having to look down to our phone on the controller. During our second test flight, this time with a DJI Inspire in cloudier conditions, it was easier to see both the heads-up display and the drone through it, as the display was brighter relative to the sky and we could get away with the less dark lenses. The touchpad was also much more secure using the supplied mount connected to the Inspire remote. Of course, the Moverio can be used for applications other than drone flying. Possible uses might include an OSD for fitness enthusiasts, displaying heart rate, distance and speed, for example, or getting additional object-tracking information overlaid on reality for a museum exhibit, for instance. The glasses also have an integrated camera so you can shoot photos or videos of what you see – but we should point out that it can be a somewhat disorientating experience to walk around your house seeing an overlay camera view of the same scene your eyes are seeing, but with a slight lag!

Litchi. The app splits the view into two halves, one for each eye, and can even be set to allow head-tracking. This means that tilting your head up and down can tilt the camera on the drone, or even so that rotating your head from side to side yaws the drone. This is for experienced pilots, though, as it definitely takes some getting used to. You have no peripheral vision, so it’s advisable to try it initially in a very open area and with a buddy to keep a direct line of sight to the drone. This is a cheap way of trying out ‘drone VR’ but remember you will have some degree of lag or latency and, of course, you have no direct line of sight to the drone. In contrast, traditional FPV goggles often run on an analogue video transmission system and, although often relatively low resolution, they have very little latency so are ideal for high-speed drone racing. There are also a number of other augmented reality glasses out there that can take an HDMI feed as input, so you could plug them into your remote controller or your tablet (assuming either of them has an HDMI out). These are generally cheaper than the Moverio, but obviously rely on you having an additional tablet or phone through which you can interact with your drone app. The Moverio is an all-in one solution. Overall, the experience was very interesting and showed the way things may be going in the future. For our first few flights we found it quite hard to get our head around seeing the drone’s eye view in front of our eyes and watching the drone through the glasses. Perhaps having other options, such as a clear line of sight to the drone through the glasses and data around the edges, or maybe the video window smaller in one corner, might work better – but that might just be a personal preference. There is certainly room for improvement with the integration between DJI Go and the Moverio, and hopefully this can be achieved with firmware upgrades over the coming months. Usability would also be improved if the display brightness could be increased to better suit certain conditions. However, we should still give Epson top marks for boldly striding into a rapidly evolving field. There is definitely a lot of potential for drones and AR, and maybe one day we’ll all be flying in an augmented world!

A Virtual

Alternate Reality

It’s worth noting that other options are available for those interested in this type of technology. For instance, for a more virtual reality experience you can put your smartphone in some cheap and easily available VR googles, connected to your remote and running an app such as 70

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26-28 MAY 2017 ExCeL - LONDON

MCMCOMICCON

All photos by Matthew Dutton

A Virtual

Trackimo GPS/GSM Locator Reviewer: MATTHEW DUTTON

REVIEW

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• Price: From €119.99 (£102.50) • subscription: First year included, then €49.95/year or €4.95/month • Dimensions: 47 x 40 x 17mm • weight: 28g • Website: www.trackimo.eu (.com in the USA)

I

n recent times the world has seen an influx of drone sales to people across the globe, from professionals to hobbyists and beginners alike, but occasionally the joy of unmanned flight can be abruptly ended when your prized possession decides to fly away into the sunset for reasons unknown (or known… as it’s often through pilot error and not following pre-flight checks!). It is widely claimed from numerous sources (we could quote forums, clubs and public notices) that approximately 65% of drone users who lose their aircraft never recover them – Trackimo itself states that “30% of drone owners lost their drone never to be found”. That is a huge number of possibly rather expensive drones just abandoned somewhere out in the open and exposed to the elements – so having something to improve your chances of finding a downed craft and being reunited with you pride and joy has to be a good idea, right? One such option to help with this (and the most feasible) is to mount a GPS unit on your aircraft. There are some cheap options out there which will do the job, but remember you get what you pay for, and you may end up with a unit that’ll give you false readings. It’s always wise to spend a little more and choose a unit that has a live tracking option.

Other GPS Options Trax (www.traxfamily.com) Price: £168 with a 12 month subscription This unit allows you to create tracking schedules, add geofencing limits and set up your speed alerts. Pocket Finder (www.pocketfinder.com) Price: £129 Very portable and durable with rubberised housing. Although targeted at being a personal GPS unit, it would be fully conversant with a UAV user. It will live-track your movements, send SOS noises so when you get close you can hear it and also offers geofencing.

Flytrex (www.flytrex.com) The Trackimo GPS unit is the perfect example to help safeguard your UAV. The unit is small and lightweight and fits into most 3D-printed cradles you can knock up yourself or purchase off eBay. Or you can, of course, play it old school and simply secure it to the drone with the included magnetic or Velcro adhesives. Once you’ve registered yourself as a user via the Trackimo website, you just need to activate the unit and you’re ready to go. The GPS will be linked to you and ready to supply you with a GPS reading with a satellite network back-up. You can live track the unit on the website or via the app to give you real-time tracking with intervals ranging from 1-120 minutes, enabling you to fine-tune your relayed information. It will also give you notifications by text and/ or email informing you when it’s on the move, or if it has stopped. If it stops for a long period of time the Trackimo will go into sleep mode to preserve the battery life, which can last up to 48 hours on the 1 minute tracking mode, and up to 2 weeks on the 120 minute setting, which is much more than most other trackers. Of course, you can still get a signal from the Trackimo in sleep mode, so if the unthinkable happens, it will still give you a pinpoint location of its last known whereabouts. The package comes with a waterproof rubberised case, along with a battery and USB charger. The device itself supports both iOS and Android platforms and has a tailored app for each, in which you can keep tabs on the GPS history, routes and motion notifications. You can also fine-tune it to give you more or less information depending on your usage application, as you can use this for a variety of things (as well as non-drone related uses such as following your luggage on holiday or your kids in the park). Using it on the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, for example, you would ideally want to

Price: £120 A drone-oriented GPS device, with mission tracking, flight achievements and real-time location updates.

Spy Tec STI_GL300 (www.spytecinc.com) Price: £70 plus £18/month subscription One of the more expensive units to use (though it was reduced to £42 at the time of writing) but it’ll give you Google Maps realtime tracking, data logging and instant user-defined alerts. You can pick one up via Amazon. see every last detail in the info settings and would set up Trackimo to relay the stats back to you as you’re flying. You can purchase the Trackimo for a reasonable price (the €119.99 Euro figure actually converts down as low as £89 on the website) with a full 12-month subscription to your live cellular tracking. Once you’ve used up the 12 months, you’ll need to renew the subscription at a cost of around £5 per month (or £45 for another full year, through to £210 for a one-off lifetime subscription), but it could prove a very cheap alternative to losing your UAV just once in that period. It could also make a huge difference in safeguarding your equipment, even if does work out to be purely for your own peace of mind.

The Selling Points Live tracker / Live flight channel / Dedicated app / Flight logger / GPS and cellular coverage / Choice of subscriptions / Worldwide service / SOS button and alerts / Instant notifications for speed, movement and stopping and starting of a journey / Compact and versatile

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Frozen Salt Lake Akastó, Hungary Photo by Csaba Daróczi / www.daroczicsaba.hu Supplied by Dronestagram

Photography on the Fly

All Photos by Naughty Cat Media

See the

Light

Having previously covered the essentials for framing your shots, professional photographer Mark Baker Now turns his aerial at tentions to the balancing act of exposure…

O

ver the last couple of issues we’ve covered the process of rotating and cropping your aerial shots to make the most of your drone and its camera. This was followed by an overview on aspect ratios and how they affect your final output and understanding of which formats work best in different circumstances. Now we’re ready to go further into the editing techniques which can help you retouch an image which needs a little attention, and turn a good shot into a great photo. Aerial photography throws up quite a few recurring problems and knowing how to overcome them will help develop your confidence to shoot in all types of conditions. Editing software can be quite intimidating if you haven’t used it a great deal in the past. Unfortunately when you are starting out you are likely to encounter a lot of snobbery from online ‘experts’ who forget that they were in your position once. Don’t be disheartened: keep it simple and have fun experimenting! We’ve said it before but you really don’t need to rush out and spend big money on editing suites. There are plenty of free and easy to use apps available which are perfectly capable of impressive results. Once again we will be using Snapseed to illustrate some of the adjustments you are likely to need when fine-tuning your images. If you haven’t downloaded it (it’s free from most app stores) now would be a great time to do so. Although we are concentrating on fine-tuning images in this article, we will be going into more depth on some of its other features in later issues. If it’s not your cup of tea don’t worry, all of the concepts we are going to look at are common to a whole raft of other apps. If you need any ideas take a look at our round-up in Issue 18 for a few other options.

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Photography on the Fly

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“It might not be perfect but the ‘Auto Exposure’ option is usually a good starting point when using a small-format drone camera” Tune In

Most editing apps have exactly the same functions in their basic ‘Adjustments’ menu, even if they name them slightly differently. Often they will adopt the same layout, so we will be looking at them in a fairly typical order. Some are more useful than others when it comes to aerial imaging, but it’s always handy to have an idea of what they do and when you might need to use them. It’s worth bearing in mind that our examples have been deliberately exaggerated for illustrative effect in this magazine. We’ve tried to highlight a few situations where each variable can improve an image, as well as the dangers of pushing them too far. In reality most final edits that you produce will use a combination of minor tweaks to several different sliders. To that end we will also look at combining effects and adjustments to achieve something more subtle. For now we will be concentrating on ‘Global’ adjustments; those which are applied across the whole image. We will get to ‘Selective’ adjustments 78

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(changes to specific parts of a shot) further down the line, but we’ve included a quick overview in the ‘Get Selective’ boxout. This is an area where free apps have really started to catch up to their paid counterparts over the last couple of years. Many now have intelligent blending options, allowing you to swipe your screen and ‘colour in’ the parts where you want to make changes. Before we get that far, though, it’s worth dealing in whole-image editing to get a better idea of how to recognise potential problems.

In-Decent Exposure

Usually the first (or at least close to the top) option you will come across in editing software is exposure – a term often interchangeable with brightness. It’s common with most adjustments to have a slider with the mid-point representing your original shot. Moving the exposure/ brightness towards +100 will lighten the image equally across all of the tones within it. Moving the slider back towards -100 will darken the whole image accordingly.

Photography on the Fly

In practical terms these adjustments are frequently of little benefit, apart from in a few specific situations. The most prevalent among them for aerial photographers is when you have made a mistake in your camera settings and under or overexposed a series of shots. If you are using a smartphone or tablet to control your drone camera in bright conditions it’s easy to fall into the trap of adjusting your exposure value to get a clearer image on your preview screen. If you’re unsure what exposure value you are using it is usually shown on your screen as ‘EV’, with a positive number (+0.3, +0.7 etc.) if it is overexposing and a corresponding negative number if it is underexposing. If this is the case then correcting the image in editing is fairly straightforward. If you do need to translate the EV into a +/-100 slider figure the following is a good guide:

pro tip

When you first start out try not to play around with the exposure value (EV) in your camera settings unless you have a really good reason for doing so. Using a big value really pushes your camera’s sensor to its limits and you might not always be able to recover the detail in editing. It might not be perfect but the ‘Auto Exposure’ option is usually a good starting point when using a small-format drone camera. If you are growing in confidence and want to take more control, check out the ‘Changing Histogram’ boxout for a little extra help.

5.0EV - 100 / 2.5EV - 50 / 2.0EV - 40 / 1.7EV - 34 / 1.0EV - 20 / 0.7EV - 14

In this example we’ve manually set the exposure compensation on our DJI Mavic Pro camera to -2.0EV. The result is a dark image lacking in highlights with an unrealistic blue tone in the sky.

We’ve exported the image to Snapseed and selected ‘Brightness’ from the ‘Tune Image’ menu. Moving the slider to +40 brings us much closer to a natural exposure and is a better starting point for any subsequent editing.

From the same series of images we’ve taken this shot with the Mavic’s exposure set at +2.0EV. The whole scene is ‘washed out’ and has very little definition in the darker tones.

Dropping the Brightness slider in Snapseed to -40 has helped to restore our image to something more usable. It’s not perfect but it will be a lot easier to carry out fine-tuning on than the original. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Photography on the Fly

Handle with Care

While exposure or brightness adjustments are helpful for minor tweaks (or fixing camera settings mistakes!) there are many situations where they can do more harm than good. This is true of shots which have a high ‘dynamic range’ – in that they contain very bright highlights and dark shadows in the same image. Shooting into a strong sunrise or sunset is a typical example. If you have a very bright sky and dark foreground, applying a global adjustment will fix one problem while making the other worse. This is where selective adjustments and highlight/shadow sliders come into their own. Don’t worry – we will be covering both in more detail in future issues! The three shots on this page highlight the shortcomings of applying global adjustments to aerial images. In the original (right) we’ve captured a nice enough sunset but the bright sun has ‘burnt-out’ the top right corner. In contrast the lower right corner is dark and murky with very few of the green tones you would expect from the tree canopy. Increasing the brightness in the image below brings better detail and colour back to the treeline, but at the expense of the sky which is now almost completely flat and white. In the bottom image we’ve decreased the brightness which has reduced the burnout in the sky but rendered the foreground almost completely black.

In these circumstances adjustments to highlights/shadows or selective editing such as a ‘dodge and burn’ brush will usually yield better results. Don’t feel bad if you have a lot of images which end up looking like this. It’s a limitation of cameras in general – they can only expose for one part of the scene in a single shot.

Changing Histogram A histogram is a great tool for understanding what is really going on in your camera’s ‘brain’. It is also a good measure when you are editing to see what your adjustments are doing to the output image. In this screenshot you can see the Snapseed histogram as the white graph in the lower left corner. Most DJI and Yuneec drones (and others) will have an option to display a live histogram on your preview device when you are flying. In general terms a well exposed image will have something resembling a smooth mountain towards the centre of the histogram. If there is a pronounced spike towards the right-hand edge this represents an overexposed image (as in our example here). If the image is underexposed you would see the mountain lumped up towards the left-hand side. Remember, what you are seeing on your phone or tablet is a preview image from a live video feed, and it won’t always be a faithful representation of what the camera is capturing. Enable the histogram and only make small adjustments after to the EV (3:2) settings in your camera. You should be able to see the effects in real time: a positive EV change will push the ‘mountain’ to the right, and negative EV values will do the opposite. Aim to get your mountain in the centre of the histogram and give yourself the best chance of fixing highlights and shadows in editing.

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Photography on the Fly

The Dark Side

There are some times when manipulating brightness in editing can lead to new creative avenues. While increasing brightness usually leads to a washed out or ‘bleached’ look, sliding back into negative adjustments can give you some dark and moody results. Don’t be afraid to explore your dark side – images don’t always have to be clean and bright to be interesting! Turning down brightness levels and combining them with some sharpening is a great way to pick out some of the details which get lost in a lighter image. This can be really effective in producing abstract shots like the top-down image below. Converting an image to black and white and decreasing exposure is a great way of creating some moody monochrome shots, as can be seen in the second photo.

Get Selective If you want to start exploring selective adjustments and control points from the comfort of your phone or tablet, Snapseed is a great place to start. It offers a simple brush tool to allow you to ‘paint in’ changes to exposure, saturation and colour temperature. It also has a more refined tool – the ‘Selective’ adjustment – which allows you to concentrate small changes in a particular area and blend them in more naturally.

The brush tool is great for quick adjustments to large areas of an image which need attention.

Individual control points help you to target specific parts of a shot and blend the adjustments more consistently.

Next Issue:

In our next tutorial we’ll be looking at the settings that can really make your image pop! Contrast, saturation and vibrance adjustments can deliver truly stunning colours and really bring your creative photography to life... Mark Baker is a professional aerial photographer and cinematographer. To see more of his work, or to drop him a line if you any questions, check out his website www.naughtycatmedia.co.uk.

Combine precision with speed and zoom in and out of an image frequently. This is especially important when using a small screen to fine-tune structures with hard edges.

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This issue’s amazing aerial showcase shots were taken by pro photographer Csaba Daróczi. You can see more of his work at www.daroczicsaba.hu and on his Dronestagram profile page, www.dronestragr.am/author/dari, as well as many more great photos and videos on the main website: www.dronestagr.am.

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Buyer’s guide

our comprehensive guide to some of the leading drones around. choose your budget, check the specs and see what catches your eye!

Skeye Hexa Drone

Category: Toy, Indoor, Compact Street Price: £39.92 Camera: None Weight: 30g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 130mm Battery Type: Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 50m Best Feature: Great for beginners

Syma 4 Channel 2.4Ghz Quadcopter with Camera Category: Indoor, Outdoor Street Price: £45 Camera: Front-facing, 0.3MP Weight: 590g Diagonal motor spacing: 300mm Battery type: Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz RF / 500m Best feature: Lightweight prop guards

DJI Flamewheel F450 / F550

Category: Specialist Street Price: £70.00 Camera: Optional Weight: 250g Diagonal motor spacing: 1045mm Battery type: 6S Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz RF / 2,000m Best feature: Optical zoom cameras

Parrot Mambo

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Fun Street Price: £99 Camera: 3MP / 60fps Weight: 63g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 180mm Battery Type: 550mAh Li-Po Control / Range: iOS or Android / 20m Best Feature: Ideal for office hi-jinks!

£150 under

UDI U818A FPV

Category: Camera drone Street price: £130 Size: 250mm Weight: 140g Best Feature: Live-view in App

Revell Multicopter Hexatron

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Compact Street Price: £130 Camera: Front-facing, 0.3MP Weight: 70g Diagonal motor spacing: 114mm Battery type: Li-po Control / Range: 2.4GHz RF / 50m Best feature: Giant 4.3-inch screen on the controller

Category: Outdoor Street Price: £100.00 Camera: Optional FPV version Weight: 1200g Diagonal motor spacing: 114mm Battery type: Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 100m Best feature: It’s just monstrously big

Revell Control GPS Pulse Quadcopter Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Fun Flyer Street Price: £109.00 Camera: 720p, 2MP Weight: 152g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 185mm Battery Type: 610mAh, 7.4v Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 50m Best Feature: Great stability for its size

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Bionic Bird

Category: Ornithopter Street Price: €129 (£116) Camera: None Weight: 9.2g Wingspan: 330mm Battery Type: 55mAh Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 100m Best Feature: Fly like a bird!

Hubsan X4 H107D FPV Quadcopter

Revell Control VR Shot

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Fun Flyer Street Price: £99.00 Camera: 720p, 2MP Weight: 100g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 280mm Battery Type: 500mAh, 3.7v Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 50m Best Feature: Good introduction to FPV flying

Skeye Nano 2 FPV

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera Street Price: £109 Camera: 2MP / 60fps Weight: 17g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 40mm Battery Type: 150mAh Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 50m Best Feature: Tiny ‘selfie’ drone

DRONE MAGAZINE

Top 5

Budget Drones 1 Hubsan X4 2 Parrot Rolling Spider 3 Syma X5SC-1 4 UDI U818A FPV 5 Blade Glimpse FPV

Blade Inductrix FPV

Category: Racer Street Price: £85.99 (£164 for Ready-to-Fly version) Camera: Integrated FPV Weight: 24g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 83mm Battery Type: 200mAh Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 100m Best Feature: Perfect for newcomers

Essential Accessories The things that no drone owner should go without

Propel Star Wars Collection

A really good bag From around £100 There’s a lot of fiddly electronics in the heart of your aircraft and, while they might look pretty strong, every last gram will be exorcised in the design process to lengthen flight times. Not only that, but if you’re after beautiful photographs, you’ll probably be travelling away from the beaten track, so look for comfort and convenience in a bag, too. Check out Lowepro’s Droneguard series, or specialist creations like the InsPak.

ImmersionRC Vortex 285 Category: Racer Street Price: £300 Camera: Fit your FPV camera of choice Weight: 350g (no battery or camera) Diagonal motor spacing: 285mm Battery type: 3S/4S Li-Po Control / Range: RF Best feature: Foldable

Xiro Xplorer

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera Street Price: From £315 Camera: 1080p, 30fps Weight: 410g (inc. battery) Diagonal Motor Spacing: 225mm Battery Type: 3S Li-Po, 1300mAh Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 500m Best Feature: Great price

The Beast 280 MK2 Racing Drone

Portable Toolkit From around £10 Keeping screws tight is a great way to make sure parts don’t fall off mid-air (which, incidentally, is very bad!). Make sure you’ve got a set of screwdrivers for hex, hex-socket and small Phillips sizes, as well as good-quality pliers. You’ll also find tweezers useful for when cables retreat inside plastic casing.

Category: Racer Street Price: £350 Camera: Sony 700TVL Weight: 30g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 280mm Battery Type: Li-Po Control / Range: Optional Best Feature: Very, very fast

From around £15 If you’re flying regularly, a small investment in a wind-speed reader will help you make sure you don’t take off when the wind might carry your craft away.

Xiro Xplorer Mini

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera Street Price: £429 / €499 Camera: 1080p, 13MP Weight: 431g (inc. battery) Diagonal motor spacing: 310mm Battery type: 1650mAh, 3S Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 100m Best feature: Portable AND powerful

Ehang Ghostdrone 2.0 Aerial

Category: Outdoor, Flying Camera Street Price: £540 Camera: 4K Sports Camera (GoPro 3, 3+ and 4 compatible) Weight: 1150g Diagonal Motor Spacing: 290mm Battery Type: 4500mAh LiPo Control / Range: Smart device required / 500m Best Feature: Fully controlled with your phone

Parrot AR.Drone 2.0

Category: Indoor, Outdoor Street Price: £350.00 Frame only Camera: Optional Weight: 890g + equipment Diagonal motor spacing: 600mm (to 900mm) Battery type: 6S Li-Po Control / Range: Optional Best feature: Swappable hull, optional GPS function

Top 5

Anemometer

Yuneec Breeze

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera Street Price: £439 Camera: 4K / 13MP Weight: 385g (inc. battery) Diagonal Motor Spacing: 196mm Battery Type: 1150mAh Li-Po Control / Range: 5GHz Wi-Fi / 100m Best Feature: Great for aerial selfies

£150-£600

Category: Fun Flyer, Air Combat, Collectible Street Price: £190 Camera: None Weight: Varied Diagonal Motor Spacing: Varied Battery Type: 800mAh Li-Po Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 100m Best Feature: Too cool to fly!

Beginner Drones 1 DJI Phantom 4 2 Parrot Bebop 2 3 Hubsan X4 4 Blade Nano QX 5 Blade Glimpse FPV

Accessory: Connex ProSight HD

Price: £499 Transmission Range: 3,000ft Transmission Delay: Less than 9msec Video Output: 720p Delivering wireless HD video at 720p and 30fps, the ProSight provides gorgeous quality, and in real time, making it great for FPV racers to whom it is geared. There is a trade-off though, with this High Quality mode upping the latency to 26msecs, while the lesser High Performance mode drops it to less than 9msecs. Regardless, both modes offer far less interference than analog systems and the Connex ProSight can really help FPV racing deliver on its potential. WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Software Accessories If you’re going to take drones seriously, then expect software to become a big part of your life, too!

QuestUAV Q-100 Datahawk Category: Pro-mapping, long-range survey

Yuneec Typhoon H Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera

Adobe Lightroom

Weight: 2kg

Street Price: £1,099

wingspan: 1160mm

Camera: CGO3+ (360°, 4K)

£6.98 per month

Battery Type: Ah Li-Po

Weight: 1965g (including battery)

Easily the most capable image cataloging and editing program to emerge in the era of ‘RAW’ image files. What makes RAW files such a leap forward is that they record as much of the dynamic range as the camera is capable of recording. This effectively means that even if something is way too dark or too light there is a decent chance of recovering it – and Lightroom is the place to do it.

Range: 8,000m

Diagonal Motor Spacing: 520mm

Pix4Dmapper Mesh £320 per year

£600+

Street Price: £15,995 Camera: 20MP Sony QX1

If you’re interested in landing work with quantity surveyors, or perhaps have an architectural scheme to pitch, this will allow you to turn a grid of photos into a photorealistic 3D model. In turn you can also do great things from spectacular special effects to digital volumetrics.

Best Feature: Rugged, all-weather design

DJI Inspire 2 Category: Commercial, Professional, Flying

Liftoff Liftoff isn’t the only FPV sim out there, but it’s the one the community seems to talk about the most. You can fly a virtual Vortex 250 or 285 using a Spektrum or FRSky Taranis controller (or a PS4 pad). Pricier simulators like DroneSimPro or RealFlight might make more sense if you’re looking to master more than just FPV.

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Best Feature: Mighty ST16 transmitter

Camera

DJI Inspire 1 / Pro

Street Price: £3,059

Category: Outdoor, Flying Camera

Camera: None (X4S and X5S compatible)

Street Price: £2,300 - £3,600

Weight: 3,920g (with batteries, without camera/

Camera: 360-degree rotatable, 4K / 12MP

gimbal)

Weight: 2935g

Diagonal motor spacing: 605mm

Diagonal motor spacing: 628mm

Battery type: 4280mAh Li-Po (dual system)

Battery type: 6S Li-Po

Control / Range: 2.4/5.8GHz / 4.3 miles

Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 2000m

Best feature: Top of the line technology

Best feature: Landing gear

DJI Mavic Pro

Freefly Alta 6

Category: Indoor, Outdoor, Flying Camera

Category: Professional Rig

Street Price: £1,089

Street Price: From £8,050 +VAT

Camera: 4K/1080p, 12.7MP

Camera: Compatible with RED, ARRI & more

Weight: 743g

Weight: 4.5Kg (empty – 6.8Kg max payload)

Diagonal Motor Spacing: 198mm

Diagonal Motor Spacing: 1533mm

Battery Type: 3830mAh, 3S Li- Po

Battery Type: 6S 22.2v

Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 4.3 miles (7km)

Control / Range: Freefly Synapse / Variable

Best Feature: Great tech in a portable package

based on transmitter choice Best Feature: Bottom AND top mounts

Parrot Disco Category: Fixed Wing, Flying Camera

Sensefly eBee

Street Price: £1.149.99

Category: Pro mapping/survey

Camera: 14MP, 1080p

Street Price: Approx £12,000

Weight: 750g

Camera: 18MP built in

Wingspan: 1150mm

Weight: 730g + equipment

Battery Type: 2700mAh, 3S Li-Po

Wingspan: 500mm

Control / Range: 2.4GHz / 1.2 miles (1.9km)

Battery type: Li-Po

Best Feature: Blissfully easy to fly

£14.99 on Mac or PC

Battery Type: Li-Po, 5400mAh Control / Range: 2.4GHz / up to 1 mile

Control / Range: RF / 3,000m Best feature: Launch from throw

Top 5

All-Time Greats 1 DJI Phantom Series 2 Parrot AR.Drone 3 Hubsan X4 4 Fossils Stuff Gravity 250 5 Yuneec Typhoon H

Gear up for FPV Even if you’re getting a pre-built racer, make sure you’ve got (or are getting) everything you need.

Lumenier QAV-X CHARPU Category: FPV frame

RC Controller and Receiver

It should be obvious, but you’ll need something to control your craft and communicate via the transmitter (TX), and your craft will need the means to hear it (RX). The pair will need to work together (so use the same manufacturer). The big brands are Spektrum, Turnigy and FRSky, and more expensive models offer the ability to store settings for multiple craft and possibly even to display telemetry data like battery health (assuming the aircraft can transmit it).

Street price (frame only): £90 Carbon Fibre: 4mm thick Size (motor-to-motor): 214mm Weight (frame & battery protector only): 93g Best feature: Camera mount system

ImpulseRC Alien 5” Category: FPV Frame Street price (frame only): £110 Size (motor-to-motor): 225mm Weight (frame only): 135g

Fossils Stuff FSGX 210

Best feature: Replaceable arms

Category: Ready-to-Fly FPV Street Price: £420

Tiny Whoop Category: Ready-to-Fly FPV

Size (motor-to-motor): 210mm Weight (frame only): 140g Best feature: Awesome colours

Street Price: £175 Size (motor-to-motor): 64mm

Goggles (or monitor) and Camera

FPV is defined by the ability to see that ‘first person’ view. The company Fat Shark is almost synonymous with these goggles, although alternatives can be found (some find the bigger Quanum screen-in-a-box more comfortable). Some feature built-in receivers and might be bundled with a camera and transmitter, too. FPV racers see a lot of static, so look out for a ‘nonblue screen’ monitor which won’t revert to a blank ‘no signal’ screen in tough conditions.

Batteries and charger

If you’re not going down the DJI route (and few people would purely for FPV flying), then charging batteries, or Lithium-ion Polymer batteries (better known as Li-Po), while still not exactly art, are a little further from science than you might hope for. A good charger and a charging/discharging regimen is important; always make sure you look after your batteries!

ImmersionRC Vortex 250 Pro Category: Ready-to-Fly FPV Street Price: £400 Size (motor-to-motor): 250mm Carbon Fibre: 4mm thick Weight (before battery, camera): 415g Best feature: The LEDs (in this RTF version)

Top 5

Flying Cameras 1 DJI Inspire 1 Pro 2 DJI Phantom 4 3 Parrot Disco 4 Yuneec Typhoon H 5 3DR Solo

FPV frames

Weight (with battery!): 24g Best feature: Impossibly small

Accessory: FrSky Taranis Q X7 Price: £108 ($150 in the US) Channels: Up to 16 Compatibility: FrSky X series, D series and V8-II series receivers The Taranis Q X7 sits between the more expensive models available from the main manufacturers and the sub-£60 entry radios. But the difference isn’t just on the price here; it’s on what you get for the money. For that £110 you get a radio with enough switches for all but the most advanced pilot and the full power of OpenTX in a radio that’s well built and widely supported by the community.

WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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REGUL AT IONS: US A If you’re planning your summer holidays and are thinking of taking on an aerial adventure in America, then you should make yourself aware of all of the relevant drone regulations before you go. So here is all of the essential information for flying in the States, recreated with permission from KnowBeforeYouFly.org. Commercial The FAA currently authorizes the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial or business purposes on a caseby-case basis. You may not fly your UAS for commercial purpose without the express permission from the FAA. You should check with the FAA for further determination as to what constitutes a commercial or business use of small UAS. What is a commercial use of UAS? Any commercial use in connection with a business, including: l Selling photos or videos taken from a UAS. l Using UAS to provide contract services, such as industrial equipment or factory inspection. l Using UAS to provide professional services, such as security or telecommunications. What are some examples of commercial uses of UAS? l Professional real estate or wedding photography. l Professional cinema photography for a film or television production. l Providing contract services for mapping or land surveys. 94

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If you want to use UAS for a commercial purpose, you have a few options. You can apply for an exemption from the FAA to operate commercially. You can use UAS with an FAA airworthiness certificate and operate pursuant to FAA rules. In both cases you would also need an FAA Certificate of Authorization (COA). For more information about how to apply for an exemption, visit https://www.faa.gov/uas/ legislative_programs/section_333.

Recreational Currently, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) may be operated for hobby and recreational purposes under specific safety guidelines as established by Congress. Small UAS flown for recreational purposes are typically known as model aircraft. Under the Special Rule for Model Aircraft, recreational UAS must be operated in accordance with several requirements, including a community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization such as the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). Operators not operating within the safety program of a community-based

organization should follow the FAA’s guidance at http://www.faa.gov/uas/publications/ model_aircraft_operators. What is recreational use of a sUAS? The recreational use of sUAS is the operation of an unmanned aircraft for personal interests and enjoyment. For example, using a sUAS to take photographs for your own personal use would be considered recreational; using the same device to take photographs or videos for compensation or sale to another individual would be considered a commercial operation. You should check with the FAA for further determination as to what constitutes commercial or other non-hobby, nonrecreational sUAS operations. What are the safety guidelines for sUAS recreational users? l Follow community-based safety guidelines, as developed by organizations such as the Academy of Model Aeronautics. l Fly no higher than 400 feet and remain below any surrounding obstacles when possible. l Keep your sUAS in eyesight at all times, and use an observer to assist if needed. l Remain well clear of and do not interfere with manned aircraft operations, and

Photos by DJI

“Do not conduct surveillance or photograph persons in areas where there is an expectation of privacy without the individual’s permission” you must see and avoid other aircraft and obstacles at all times. l Do not intentionally fly over unprotected persons or moving vehicles, and remain at least 25 feet away from individuals and vulnerable property. l Contact the airport or control tower before flying within five miles of an airport. l Do not fly in adverse weather conditions such as in high winds or reduced visibility. l Do not fly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. l Ensure the operating environment is safe and that the operator is competent and proficient in the operation of the sUAS. l Do not fly near or over sensitive infrastructure or property such as power stations, water treatment facilities, correctional facilities, heavily travelled roadways, government facilities, etc. l Check and follow all local laws and ordinances before flying over private property. l Do not conduct surveillance or photograph persons in areas where there is an expectation of privacy without the individual’s permission (see AMA’s privacy policy).

enforcement agencies and public colleges and universities – can receive a COA for public UAS aircraft operations. l Public aircraft operations must be conducted for a governmental function. l COAs are most commonly issued to public (government) entities, but are also required for civil (private) operations. l The FAA thoroughly evaluates each COA application to determine the safety of the proposal. l COAs are issued for a specific period of time, usually two years, and include special provisions unique to each proposal, such as a defined block of airspace and time of day sUAS can be used. How can I apply for a COA? l Visit the FAA website for information on how

to apply for a COA online.

l Since 2009, the FAA has taken steps to

streamline the application process by transitioning online. l The average authorization period is less than 60 days. l Expedited authorization is available in emergency and life-threatening situations. For more information about public aircraft operations refer to 49 U.S.C. §§ 40102(a)(41), 40125, and FAA Advisory Circular 00-1.1A, Public Aircraft Operations (Feb. 12, 2014).

Know Before You Fly is an educational campaign that provides prospective unmanned aircraft users with the information and guidance they need to fly safely and responsibly. For more information go to www.knowbeforeyoufly.org.

If you want to use a model aircraft for recreational purpose, we encourage you to read the AMA’s Model Aircraft Safety Code and Community-Based Guidelines.

Public Entities Public entities, which include publically funded universities, law enforcement, fire departments and other government agencies, may currently apply for a COA from the FAA in order to use sUAS in public aircraft operations. Who can obtain a COA to operate public aircraft? l Only government entities – such as federal and state government agencies, law WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK

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Types of Drones Drone: A popularised term for all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Camera Drone: A drone (usually a quadcopter) with a camera attached Radio Controlled / RC: Drones and model vehicles of all sorts that are controlled remotely Multirotor: A drone with several motors, or props Tricopter: A drone with three motors, or props Quadcopter: A drone with four motors, or props Hexacopter: A drone with six motors, or props Octocopter: A drone with eight motors, or props Nanocopter: An exceptionally small drone Ready To Fly / RTF: A drone supplied with all parts, ready to go from the box Bind ‘n’ Fly / BNF: Ready to be bound to a transmitter and flown Almost Ready To Fly / ARF: A partially built drone UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Associations and Organisations ARPAS UK: Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems BFPVRA: National association for FPV racing in the UK BMFA: British Model Flying Association CAA: Civil Aviation Authority 96

DRONE MAGAZINE

Photo by Yuneec

DRONE GLOSSARY What does it all mean? DRONE SAFE REGISTER: UK database of trained pilots and commercial UAV services FAA: Federal Aviation Administration FPVUK: A non-profit organistion for FPV flying in the UK IAA: Irish Aviation Authority

Jargon Autonomous: A preprogrammed flight mode for a drone with no live input from pilot Altitude Hold: Maintaining height in flight mode Bind: Connecting a controller to the drone so it can pick up signals Build: A completed, usually DIY, drone built from parts or a kit First person view / FPV: Viewing the drone’s flight via a camera mount to goggles or a monitor, usually for racing Line of Sight / LOS: Maintaining visual contact with your drone at all times: a legal requirement Payload: The amount a drone can lift, aside from its own weight and batteries PfCO: Permission for Commercial Operations. The certification required to fly for work in UK. Pitch: Front/back movement or tilt Return to home / RTH: A failsafe GPS option Roll: Rotation left or right without other movement Yaw: Rotation around a central point

Parts Accelerometer / ACC: Component that measures the G force/acceleration Battery Eliminator Circuit / BEC: Device to allow the battery to power multiple components Electronic Speed Controller / ESC: Conveys the signal from a controller to the motors

Props: Short for propeller, the rotating motor that the blades are fitted to Power distribution board / PDB: Divides electrical power to the circuits Receiver: Device that receives signals from the transmitter and sends them to the flight controller Transmitter: The control device that sends pilot commands to the drone’s receiver

Flight Controller: Controls the movement of the drone Gimbal: Mount that steadies the camera’s movement relative to the ground Gyroscope: Device to allow the drone to maintain its level Lithium Polymer battery / LiPo: Powerful, popular energy source for UAVs and RC aircraft

Useful links www.arpas.uk www.bfpvra.org www.bmfa.org www.caa.co.uk www.dronesaferegister.org.uk www.faa.gov www.fpvuk.org www.iaa.ie

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