We are proud to announce that eBee X, eBee Geo, eBee Ag fixed-wing drones were approved for operations over people by Transport Canada, as defined by the regulatory body’s standard 922.06 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) safety assurance designation.
The designation is part of Transport Canada’s self-declaration process, which provides a path for drone manufacturers to self-declare the operational safety of their drones, provided the aircraft meets a series of strict requirements.
To operate safely over people is an important milestone for the eBee X series, and the news will no doubt please drone pilots and operators in Canada.
Operations Over People (OOP) is also a fundamental requirement for professionals looking to expand their mapping capabilities with Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) mapping missions, of which the eBee X is capable of flying.
The eBee X series —the most popular fixed-wing drone in US —, satisfy the requirements outlined by Transport Canada, making it legal for drone operators to fly and operate the drones safely over people.
“The eBee name is synonymous with efficient fixed-wing drones, but it’s quickly becoming synonymous with safety, too,” said Michael O’Sullivan, Chief Commercial Officer of AgEagle. “Whether you’re using it to corridor map an oil pipeline or surveying a mine site or for precision agriculture, the eBee X was designed to deliver accurate results while adhering to the strictest safety standards.”
The eBee X series received Transport Canada’s safety designation by meeting the following criteria:
Protections against Injury to Persons on the Ground
Warning and Alerts
AgEagle is pleased to receive its latest designation from Transport Canada and will continue its position at the vanguard of the fixed-wing drone industry with end-to-end drone solutions that meet the exacting requirements of drone operators.
For more information, or to learn how eBee drones can help you map faster and more efficiently, please visit www.ageagle.com or contact our official Canadian distribution partner, CartoCanada.
The following are terms often used in relation to UAVs, UAV operation and the industries they operate in, specifically mining, construction and agriculture.
Above Elevation Data (AED): unique to AgEagle’s eMotion flight planning software, AED altitudes are relative to the currently active elevation data model and is defined as the altitude approximately above the ground.
Above Ground Level (AGL): the altitude of a drone’s flight height.
Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL): the altitude relative to a standard mean sea level geoid.
Above the Takeoff Altitude (ATO): the altitude relative to the place a drone started its motor just before takeoff.
Background Map: a visual 2D map of a region featuring landforms, roads, etc., onto which additional data is layered, also referred to as a base map.
Base Map: (see Background Map)
Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS): an operating method whereby an unmanned aircraft is flown beyond the visual line of sight of the operator.
Ceiling height: the maximum adjustable vertical height that the drone can fly to within the allowable working area.
Check Point: a surveyed point on the ground used to verify the accuracy of photogrammetric outputs. These includes DSMs, point clouds, 3D mesh, orthomosaics and DTMs.
Contour Map: a topographic map that delineates surface elevation using contour lines.
Drone: an unmanned aircraft that can navigate autonomously, without human control or beyond line of sight.
Digital Elevation Model (DEM): a 3D display in form of a raster grid that features the bare earth, removing all natural and artificial features.
Digital Surface Model (DSM): a 3D display of an area that includes the tops of buildings, trees and other ground-based objects.
Digital Terrain Model (DTM): a 3D display of vector data that features natural terrain and regularly spaced points.
Expanded Polypropylene (EPP): a highly versatile and shock-absorbent type of foam.
Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS): an operating method in which the drone operator relies on remote observers to continuously keep the drone within visual line of sight.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): a branch of the department of transportation in a United States-based government organization that focuses on aviation regulations. The FAA is responsible for the United States and its surrounding international waters.
Flight Log: a record of a single flight. Traditionally, this would be written by a pilot. In the case of eBee drones, this is a digital record that is generated automatically.
Geotag: an electronic tag (grouping) of geographic information (coordinates) that is assigned to media such as photographs and videos via the process of geotagging. In the case of eBee drones, this process is handled automatically via the eMotion flight-planning software).
GeoTIFF: a public domain metadata standard that allows georeferencing information to be embedded within a TIFF image file.
Geographic Information System (GIS): a system that lets users visualise, question, analyse and interpret data to understand spatial relationships, patters and trends.
Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS): a satellite navigation system with global coverage, such as GPS, GLONASS and the European Union’s Galileo system.
Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS): refers to Russia’s version of GPS, another navigation system with global coverage and similar precision.
Global Positioning System (GPS): refers to the United States NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, a space-based navigation system that provides location and time information anywhere on or near the Earth.
Ground Control Point (GCP): a location or object on the ground that has precisely known coordinates. Used to improve the precision of DSMs created by photogrammetric analysis of a series of images.
Ground Control Station (GCS): a ground-based control center, such as a laptop computer, that allows for human control of UAV flights.
Ground Sampling Distance (GSD): the distance between two consecutive pixel centres measured on the ground, also referred to as ground resolution. A GSD of 5 cm means one pixel in the image represents 5 linear centimetres on the ground.
Ground Resolution: (see Ground Sampling Distance)
Image Overlap: an intersection of imagery. The more image overlap, the better the output. It helps the software process images and create a clearer, more detailed map.
Index Calculator: a generated index map/grid where the color of each pixel is computed using a formula that combines different bands of the reflectance map.
Index Map: a map that represents specific values for vegetation or soil, such as greenness or soil moisture.
Inertial Measurement Unit: (IMU): an electronic device used to manoeuver aircraft, which detects changes in acceleration and rotation. Comprised of sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and sometimes magnetometers.
Infrared imagery: the output of images based on heat energy of the infrared spectrum.
Keyhole Markup Language (KML): an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualisation within internet-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers.
Keypoint: an identifiable point in an image. The process of photogrammetry involves the matching of common keypoints on two or more images.
Kinetic Energy: the energy an object possesses due to its motion.
LiDAR: a remote-sensing technology that measures distances by illuminating a target laser and analysing the reflected light.
Light-emitting Diode (LED): a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current is passed through it.
Magnetometer: a geophysical instrument that measures the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field. Used to alongside sensors such as gyrometers and accelerometers to determine an aircraft’s altitude (it’s orientation relative to the Earth’s horizon).
Meta Data/Metadata: a set of data that describes other data. In the case of a photo, metadata might include where an image was captured (i.e. its geographic coordinate), who captured it, the camera used and more.
Multispectral imagery: the output of images that measure wavelengths through light, which then comes together in multiple layers of wavelengths to create geographically accurate mosaics.
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI): one of the most commonly used vegetation indices in precision agriculture. NDVI provides information regarding the chlorophyll content in plants.
Orthomosaic: a large image comprised of adjoining orthorectified images that have been digitally reconstructed. A common mapping drone output (often in GeoTIFF format).
Orthophoto: an aerial image where the effect of the central projection has been removed (orthorectified) according to the DTM and the orientation of the image. Refers to a single image from a satellite, aircraft or drone.
Parallax: the effect caused by an object’s apparent location viewed from two different lines of sight.
Payload: a component or product carried by a drone to fulfil a specific mission. In the case of aerial imaging drones, the payload is the camera.
Photogrammetry: the science of recording, measuring and interpreting photographs through data retrieved about physical objects and the environment.
Pitch: an aircraft’s rotation when the nose moves up or down about a transverse axis. For fixed-wing aircrafts such as the eBee, this axis runs from wing to wing.
Pitot Tube: the instrument on an aircraft that measures air pressure in order to calculate airspeed.
Point Cloud: a set of data points in a 3D coordinate system. These points are typically defined by X, Y and Z coordinates and additional information such as intensity, RGB value or class.
Post-processing kinematic (PPK): a kinematic technique that corrects geotag locations after the drone data has been captured and uploaded; an alternative technique to RTK.
Radio link: the quality of the wireless connection between the drone and the ground control station. Each radio unit consists of a transceiver and a directive antenna, typically operating at microwave frequencies in the range of 6-23 GHz.
Raster Data: in its simplest form, a raster consists of a matrix of cells (or pixels) organised into rows and columns (or a grid) where each cell contains a value representing information, such as RGB value, altitude or temperature.
Rasters: drone-captured digital photographs.
Real-Time Kinematic (RTK): a technique used to enhance the precision of position data derived from satellite-based positioning systems, which relies on a single reference station or interpolated virtual station to provide real-time corrections.
Red Green Blue (RGB): the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, from approximately 400 nm to 700 nm.
Reflectance Map: a display that provides scene radiance as a function of surface orientation.
Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS): describes a configurable set of remotely piloted aircraft elements.
Remote Sensing: the process of obtaining information about a physical element or surface from a distance, i.e. via UAV.
Revolutions Per Minute (RPM): describes the rotation speed of a motor or other machine.
Roll: an aircraft’s rotation about a longitudinal axis, running from nose to tail.
Small Unmanned Aerial System (SUAS): the industry standard term for “drone”.
Temporary flight restriction (TFR): a non-permanent restricted area for air travel determined by the FAA.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV): an aircraft operated with no pilot on board plus its associated elements.
Vector Data: a representation of the world using points (e.g. featuring x, y, z coordinates), lines and polygons. Useful for storing data that has discrete boundaries such as country borders and parcels of land.
Virtual Reference Station (VRS): networks that use real-time kinematic (RTK) solutions to provide high-accuracy RTK Global Navigation Satellite Systems.
Waypoint: a series of defined coordinates that identify a specific point in space.
Working area: a dedicated area where the base station and the drone’s operating space are located.
3D Mesh: a type of digital recreation system, often used with Building Information Management (BIM), that overlays 3D point clouds with reference points in X, Y and Z axes to create a more fully form representation of an area and/or objects.
At Measure, commitment to drone safety has been a defining characteristic of our business since our inception in 2014, two years before Part 107 was even enacted.
The industry has come a long way in the last five years, and so have we. In honor of National Drone Safety Awareness Week, we wanted to share a few things about drone safety that we’ve learned over the last five years.
The FAA’s Part 107 certificate covers FAA standards and regulations for sUAS operations and lays the foundation for safe flight operations. However, that should only be the beginning of safety training for drone operators.Every pilot who goes through Measure’s rigorous drone pilot training has been trained on additional best practices such as:
Further, pilots in Measure’s training program receive flight training with the specific hardware and software that they will be using on the job, reducing the risk of technology-related errors. Pilots also receive hands-on training with real-world applications.
“With a proper training program, your pilots can be trusted to execute a drone flight safely, efficiently, and professionally, and to securely collect quality data for processing and analysis,” says Measure’s VP of Drone Operations, Andy Justicia.
Learn more about commercial drone pilot training in our whitepaper.
When pilots enter a work site, their primary concern is protecting client assets and drone equipment. There are many common hazards they can prepare for, and some unexpected ones they cannot.
Weather is the most common obstacle to a safe and successful drone mission. Although weather should be checked frequently prior to a mission to ensure conditions are conducive to flight, sometimes conditions are unavoidable, such as when our pilots were shooting during Hurricane Harvey and a wind gust launched our drone a mile down the road, barely clearing a tree line.
There are other hazards that are less predictable, like encounters with wildlife. Our pilots have navigated cow and horse invasions and wild coyote attacks on drone equipment! No matter the situation, pilots must take caution to protect themselves and their equipment from animal intrusions while maintaining respect for the spaces they are working in that are sometimes off the beaten path.
A drone is only as safe as the software operating it; that’s why we’ve built Measure Ground Control with safety best practices in mind.
We’ve partnered with AirMap, an FAA UAS Service Supplier (USS), to provide access to the LAANC authorization process via the mobile device being used for the flight. To prevent DJI drones from locking in restricted airspace, we’ve integrated with DJI GeoUnlock so that users who have LAANC authorization can unlock DJI drones instantly without leaving the flight app.
To reduce mistakes and human error, we’ve created built-in checklists that pilots can access directly within Ground Control. Many customer organizations mandate the use of checklists for safety, regulatory, and compliance purposes.
The software used to operate the drone should operate with flight safety and FAA compliance in mind. Ground Control was built to make it easier on companies scaling their drone operations to track and monitor activity and to support safe and legal drone activity.
Since our inception, we built the foundation for our aerial operations on military-grade best practices and professional aviation standards. These standards have led to an impeccable safety record with zero reportable incidents in over five years of operation.
This strong safety record has kept us in good standing with the FAA and opened doors for business opportunities and research and development. The FAA serves the drone industry by setting and maintaining standards for UAS operators that protect the efficacy and integrity of the industry and allow for future development of unmanned technology. When permission is needed for operations outside of current regulations, we’ve worked positively with the FAA over the past several years to obtain many waivers for operations such as clearance to operate within Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) for high profile events such as the Super Bowl, within the DC Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), and most recently, for flights over people.
We obtained top talent to support our partnership with NUAIR. At the New York UAS Test Site in Rome, New York, we have been running operational tests with select UTM Service Suppliers to help demonstrate how an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) ecosystem would operate.
This work has the potential to permanently change the UAV industry and lead to open doors for safe BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) operations in the U.S.
We have also partnered with AiRXOS, part of GE Aviation, to provide a holistic inspection solution that overcomes the regulatory and performance complexities of advanced drone operations. This is important work that helps organizations operate complex and significant drone missions safely and effectively with full compliance.
As drone technology continues to evolve at a rapid rate and drone capabilities are becoming more advanced, it’s more important than ever to stress the importance of safety and adherence to regulations that keep our skies – and our people – safe.
Be sure to check out the many stories behind National Drone Safety Awareness Week by following #DroneWeek on social media and subscribing to the Federal Aviation Administration on YouTube and Twitter.
But just like an airplane and a helicopter, fixed-wing drones and quadcopters are two entirely different technologies with different capabilities.
For the general public, simply knowing and understanding the difference may not matter, but for anyone seriously considering adopting drone technology, it’s important to understand which type of drone is best suited to your business.
When evaluating both technologies, it’s important to understand that fixed-wing drones can fly farther and faster on a single battery charge. These two attributes alone can have a massive impact on your ability to collect data quickly and efficiently, which in turn has a direct effect on your business’ profit generation.
After all, you wouldn’t charter a helicopter to fly across a continent. The same logic holds true for fixed-wing drones and quadcopters.
To help new and existing operators adopt drone technology into their data collection process, we conducted a sample project comparing the efficacy of an eBee X fixed-wing drone versus a popular quadcopter.
The sample project was set up in a 100 ha (247 ac) mixed-use agricultural area in Assens, Switzerland, wherein the same site was mapped using both a popular professional quadcopter drone and an eBee X fixed-wing drone, with the overall goal of the project to highlight the difference in five key areas:
The eBee X was flown over the designated site twice. Each time a different eBee series photogrammetry camera was used (S.O.D.A. and S.O.D.A. 3D) in order to ensure that any inherent benefits credited to the eBee X was due to the fixed-wing drone platform and not simply the payload (camera type).
Additionally, before and during each flight, every separate activity was recorded and carefully timed, including:
While the time-on-site data is interesting in an of itself, the project details four more reasons why flying a fixed-wing drone vs a quadcopter can benefit your business. These include:
For a detailed analysis of the above, including all the timings, statistics and potential savings recorded for each drone mapping mission—which was then used to extrapolate potential benefits for larger projects—download Expand Your Horizons: 5 Reasons to Fly a Fixed-Wing Drone.
Download Guide
Now you can plan rooftop solar installations, precisely and efficiently, before ever setting foot on a roof. In a fraction of the time of manual methods, drones collect detailed imagery that accurately reflect current roof conditions. This data can be processed into orthomosaics and annotated CAD files that are easy to import and use for solar system design.
More EfficientDrones collect data 75% faster than manual methods and will drastically reduce repeat visits.
Improved SafetyUsing drones can eliminate roof climbing from your system design and planning workflow.
Increased AccuracyDrone imagery is high-resolution and captures real-time conditions, replacing outdated satellite imagery.
Better DataDrone data is processed into quality CAD drawings and measurements, reducing human error.
Pilots fly a multi-rotor drone in a standard grid pattern, capture detailed images looking directly down onto the roof surface, and then upload those images for processing by expert data analysts. Within days, you’ll receive accurate measurements delivered in standard file formats for input into your CAD program of choice.
“We’re able to get measurements and CAD drawings done more accurately and efficiently than ever before. With drone data, we avoid repeat visits, which saves us time and cost in the long run.” Ligin Varghese, Engineering Manager, Moxie Solar
You can use Measure’s professional, highly-trained pilots to fly the site and collect data or opt to develop an in-house team of pilots. Outsourcing gives you access to pilots who are already well-trained and experienced and who come with their own equipment, proper insurance, licenses, and any regulatory waivers required. Outsourcing will allow you to start using drone surveys more quickly and reduces the workload and operational complexity for your business.
On the other hand, in-sourcing might reduce your lead time and allow you to increase volume in the long run. On-staff pilots will likely be able to respond more quickly, which may be a better fit for businesses that require a high frequency of quick-turn roof surveys. Training existing roof surveyors to be drone pilots is also a good opportunity for employee development and retention.
If you’re interested in building your own team of expert drone pilots, Measure can help. Here are a few of the things you’ll need to get you up and running with an in-house drone program:
TrainingHands-on, application-specific training to make sure your pilots know how to follow safe flying practices and collect quality data for roof surveys.
EquipmentMeasure can recommend and procure the proper drone equipment, sensors, and accessories best suited to your specific application, pilot skills, and budget.
SoftwareMeasure Ground Control software allows you to schedule missions, track equipment, collect flight logs, and store data all in one place. It includes an integrated flight application with automated grid flight patterns, making it easy to setup roof flight plans in advance and execute them efficiently on site.
Data Processing and DeliveryOnce the data is properly collected, experienced data analysts will process your drone imagery into an RGB orthomosaic layer and CAD drafting files for upload into your CAD system. Drone technology delivers quality data for your solar roof plans including:
Files can be exported in .las, .rcp/.rcs, and other standard file formats you may require.
By using drones to collect roof survey data, you can receive detailed CAD files in a fraction of the time while eliminating the human error and hazardous man-hours involved with manual surveys.
When drones are operating around equipment and assets that cost thousands and even millions of dollars, the pilot’s professionalism and devotion to safety and compliance are crucial. With the availability of third party hiring sites for sourcing drone work, it is important that businesses can decipher between a safe, professional drone pilot and an inexperienced amateur.
To help you gauge the professionalism of your drone crew, here are 7 things you should expect from your drone pilot. Your contracted commercial drone pilot should:
These overarching operational requirements should be outlined in an Air Operations Manual, which the pilot should retain a copy of. For reference, download this Guide to the Air Operations Manual.
After meeting your pilot and being briefed on the mission, you should feel very comfortable and confident that your property and assets are in good hands. If you don’t, try giving us a shout. Our pilots have had zero reportable incidents with more than 21,000 flight hours under their belts.
Get in touch here: www.measure.com/contact.
Today, energy companies are using drones to capture data that was previously dangerous, difficult, or expensive to obtain. But what is drone data, exactly? And what’s the benefit of this new treasure trove of data?
Measure has delivered drone data to a wide range of clients across the energy industry, including more than 1GW of solar inspection data, 2.5GW of wind turbines, 400 utility poles and towers, and countless acres of thermal generation plants and construction sites.
Yes, that s a LOT of data. But let’s take a look at what that means and what it looks like in its usable form.
What is Drone Data?
Drone data typically starts out as a collection of images (usually a lot of images) that were carefully collected according to a set of specifications particular to the type of job. Those images become the key ingredient for creating something much more and what is ultimately business intelligence (or aerial intelligence in the drone industry). How do we define what makes drone data different? Drone data is:
Processed. Hundreds or even thousands of images are identified, arranged, and /or stitched together to create an organized, usable, and cohesive data set.
Measured. Drone data is often processed into data products that can be accurately geolocated and/or measured, similar to a map or computer model. Thermal imagery also enables temperature measurements.
Analyzed. With drone data, you can derive insights like classifying the severity of damage on a wind turbine blade, the degree of degradation of insulators, and whether solar panel damage is at the string, module, or sub-module level.
Tracked. Collecting data over time can show everything from progress on a construction site to the rate of increasing severity of turbine blade defects or the amount of material usage in a stockpile.
Compared. Owners of multiple energy assets can learn a lot by comparing data sets across their own sites, with other similar data sets, or against plans. Are turbines from a particular manufacturer performing better or worse than others? Does my solar plant under construction match the site plan?
Drone data is also driving advancements in artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. Very large sets of aggregated drone data will allow us to, for example, better predict when your Class 3 wind turbine blade damage will progress to a Class 4. Instead of scheduling inspections and maintenance according to a common schedule, you’ll be able to optimize based on a more detailed set of site and environmental conditions. Drone data will not only give you insights on your energy and infrastructure assets today, but also provide a look into the future.
Ultimately, drone data is used to create a drone data product. The relevant data product will depend on your particular use case. The variety of data products reflects the wide range of possible use cases.
So, how does this data benefit your business?
Energy company AES estimates that their drone program saves 30,000 hazardous man-hours each year. That’s time not spent climbing poles, using bucket trucks, traversing difficult terrain, or exposed to extreme temperatures. Measure’s analysis of several solar inspections showed a 97% improvement in inspection time efficiency. Drones collect data faster than manual methods, while reducing risks to workers.
Screen shot of an interactive web map for a solar inspection. View comparison of real results across four solar farms: Download Solar Case Study.
To test the accuracy of Measure’s drone inspection data, we conducted an experiment. We took the results of a solar inspection by drone and sent out manual inspection crews to run the same inspection on the same plants. The results the crews came back with from the manual inspection mirrored the results from the drone data with 99 percent accuracy, but the manual inspection took two days for each site compared to two hours with the drone.
In Wind and Transmission & Distribution (T&D) applications, drones can capture close-up, detailed imagery of potential defects that enable maintenance personnel to really see what’s going on – is the apparent damage at the surface level, or is it structural? Drones can also capture tower, pole, and turbine images from most any angle, which is often not possible with other inspection methods. In solar applications, drones spot sub-module defects that manual inspections typically miss. These improvements help asset managers make better decisions about needed repairs, thus optimizing their maintenance budgets and minimizing downtime.
Screen shots of an interactive web portal for a wind inspection. For more data output examples, download the full paper.
Unlike manual inspection data which generally sits inside an inspector’s head or lives in a spreadsheet somewhere, drone data can be manipulated and analyzed from different angles. For example, with a single drone mission, you can get a clear understanding of the shading conditions of a solar site at any time of the year. During construction, you can overlay actual construction progress imagery with site plans to gauge whether construction is proceeding according to specifications.
For the amount of data that is processed with a typical inspection (e.g. 300 images or 3GB per wind turbine), reading and consuming the information is surprisingly easy.
“The reports are pretty consolidated,” states Nick McKee, Solar Operations Manager at AES. “I have a PDF snapshot and a digital snapshot that I can move around and customize depending on what I want to look at.”
Data can even be delivered through a smart phone app, allowing field maintenance personnel to proceed directly to the location of identified defects.
What many find to be the most valuable part of drone data is that it is documented and lives forever. This allows energy plants to perform year-over-year analysis and gives operations the ability to reference prior inspection data to make smart decisions about future work. Asset managers can even compare the health of equipment across multiple sites. Documentation is especially relevant where employee turnover is prevalent. In developing industries such as Wind and Solar, the employee who performed the inspection in years prior may not still be with the company by the next time an inspection is required. With drone data, you don’t have to reference a person, only a database, to know what the last inspection picked up.
A career as a Drone Pilot can be very rewarding for the right person.
It involves a lot of travel, sometimes to beautiful places; our pilots have traveled to Chile, Hawaii, Iceland, and many more just in the last year. It allows you to do something many people love doing in their own personal time; fly drones and learn a new technology that is developing at a rapid pace. It can be spontaneous; some jobs require immediate attention, such as when our pilots responded to Hurricane Harvey and had to get flights out of DC in less than 4 hours.
And although the safety of flying drones – compared to alternatives – is one of their biggest selling points in energy, construction, public safety, and other industries, one might be surprised at just how many risk factors must be assessed and managed with professionalism and wisdom when you are the operating drone pilot.
Here are a few stories from our own pilots that illustrate how they were able to effectively manage risks posed by people, equipment, and weather.
Ronney and Grant on a mission in San Diego.
Individual privacy laws are of special concern whenever drones are involved. One of the tricky parts of doing drone work is properly communicating with and making accommodations for local landowners.
Most of the time, people are accommodating. But one time, I was performing a solar inspection in a rural area and a landowner was very uncomfortable with my being beside his property with my “gadget.” He was shouting and making threats, and although it was uncomfortable, I used my military training to stay calm under pressure and maintain control of the situation.
I was able to listen to his concerns and explain to him who I was and why I was there. And we reached an agreement so that we could peacefully complete the mission that day.
Even when you follow all protocol to address privacy concerns, there are still people on the other side who can create a situation. For those few minutes, you really don’t know what the other person is going to do, and it can present a dangerous situation.
-Ronney B Miller, Senior Director of Aviation Standards, Policy & Training
Matthew suiting up for a boiler inspection.
We were getting ready to do our largest solar farm to date, which was 5x larger than our previous largest job. Everything was well-planned, all boxes were checked, and we were ready to get to work. We had planned for all risk factors, including the location being right on the U.S.-Mexico border and the high temperatures that we were certain to encounter in Southern California in September.
But when we got to the hotel and checked the equipment, there was a problem we hadn’t foreseen: one of the fixed-wing drones arrived damaged as the case had fallen apart in shipment.
There we were with a couple of weeks to tackle the biggest job we’ve ever done with one drone short, due to no fault of our own.
A quick call to headquarters and we managed to get another 6-wing shipped overnight. And although we had other challenges during that mission, we were able to adjust our sails quickly and make good judgments, and we ended up completing the mission in less time than we expected.
-Matthew Jungnitsch, Senior Drone Engineer
Grant on a recent scout for our media arm, M2 Aerials.
When you’re responding to a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey, you obviously go into it knowing the weather is going to pose risks. But you also have to factor in the trickiness of the airspace during disaster response.
As we were shooting for a major news channel, I hit the refresh button on my airspace. In only a few minutes we had gone from being in a safe fly zone to a No Fly Zone and I had to get out of their swiftly.
As I was maneuvering out, I could see there was a huge weather front coming in. I stopped the feed and was getting ready to take the drone down when a huge wind gust came by and took the drone a mile down and barely cleared a tree line. Thankfully, the drone was ok when I finally got to it half an hour later. My biggest takeaway from this: DJI drones are strong against the wind!
-Grant Lowenfeld, Media Pilot
As you can see, professionalism, the ability to remain calm under pressure, and a can-do attitude are necessary skills of a drone pilot. It’s important to decipher between experienced professionals and amateurs as there can be high dollar consequences if the job is not taken seriously.
Even when a flight plan is virtually perfect and flown by a capable operator, external factors, such as the effects of altitude, humidity and the local environment, including wildlife, can ruin a successful flight very quickly.
To help overcome these challenges, here are a variety of tips to increase your chance of success in different environments and flight scenarios.
Mapping large areas
When it comes to mapping large areas, it’s best not to put yourself through the unnecessary pain of planning numerous individual flights.
Instead, highlight the full coverage area in the drone’s flight planning software and divide this into several flight plans that can be uploaded to your drone one after the other.
If your flight-planning software has a mission resume option, such as eMotion flight-planning software, be sure to rely on that instead.
With the mission resume feature, the drone will automatically return and land when battery levels are low, giving operators the opportunity to swap out batteries. Once back in the air, it will continue its mission where it left off. This method reduces the number of images needed while providing enough overlap to process the dataset later.
High-altitude flying
Whether it’s a UAV or a more traditional manned aircraft, flying at high altitudes can be tricky.
Higher elevations mean a greater risk of higher winds, which can cause your drone to work harder (specifically the battery), thus reducing flight time.
Because of this, when planning out your mission, it’s a good idea to account for the greater strain on your battery and potentially shorter flight time. Having extra, charged batteries on hand is also recommended.
As mentioned above, you can alleviate some of the hassles if your fixed-wing UAV’s flight-planning software comes with a “mission resume” feature.
It’s also important to remember that because of the lower air density at altitude, you’ll want to give your take-off throw a little more force than usual, that way you can ensure a smooth lift-off.
When flight planning, plan your mission blocks above elevation data instead of above take-off, where you can use the provided SRTM model, or import your own.
For fixed-wing flights, it’s also important to ensure your mission’s flight lines run parallel to any inclines. Not only will this help protect your drone from potential ground collisions; it also helps to ensure the consistent ground resolution of your drone’s images, which means increased accuracy throughout your dataset.
Corridor mapping
Providing a safe and cost-effective method to monitor long stretches of terrain is one of the many benefits of using a fixed-wing drone. Combine that with a “corridor” mission block type, if your UAV supports it, and the results are even better.
For example, the corridor mapping block of eMotion 3 lets you define flight parameters, such as the width of your stretch, resolution and resp.flight altitude, which help optimise flight lines and the number of pictures taken. It also ensures enough overlap between sections.
Processing this kind of dataset is straightforward, especially when using the eBee X’s RTK/PPK capability because it allows you to have your outputs in absolute accuracy without having to layout GCPs before the flight all along the stretch.
Another helpful tip is to set the take-off point close to the first waypoint to minimise your drone’s flight time prior to starting image acquisition.
For very long stretches, plan flights that “leapfrog” along the corridor—launching at one location, mapping, then landing further down the corridor, which will help ensure the UAV is ready to continue the mission after battery swaps.
Cold climates
Let’s face it, you can’t always map in warm, welcoming conditions. Cold climate flights bring about their own unique challenges, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to overcome them.
As with high-altitude flights, batteries are also affected by cold climates; their capacity can reduce as the temperature drops. That’s why it’s a good idea to pack spares. You might also consider packing camera batteries (if using a drone that does not power the camera directly).
Because the life of a lithium polymer drone battery will typically reduce by 20 percent in cold climates, it’s always a good idea to be conservative by reducing your planned flight time by five to ten minutes. To ensure optimal battery life, keep the drone batteries as warm as possible until prior to take-off.
When flying over snow, you can adjust the landing zone to make it easier to detect and land by flattening the surface and setting artificial landing markers to disrupt the ground’s uniform white surface.
Finally, use a towel to dry off your drone after landing.
Wildlife concerns
Angry birds—they don’t just exist on a phone app, which is why it’s good to remain vigilant to any potential aerial threats mother nature might throw your way.
Bird attacks happen, usually from above the drone during flight, and can cause real damage and delays to your mission. That’s why it’s always helpful to learn what type of birdlife exists around your project site. And, if possible, avoid flying close to nesting areas during breeding season.
Another tip is to always try to fly with an additional observer (in some countries, this is a legal requirement) to help avoid a first-strike from aerial threats; it’s usually this attack that does the most damage.
If working regularly in those types of areas, choose ground station software, such as AgEagle’s eMotion, that features built-in bird avoidance manoeuvers, such as “dive” and “fast climb”.
General tips
The above tips are helpful for certain flight conditions, but here are some quick general guidelines to remember when planning and flying your missions.
Do you have some flight tips of your own that you’d like to add? Be sure to share them in the comments section below!
Because of its sensitivity to the presence of flowers, the blue band present in the RedEdge-P, RedEdge-P dual and Altum-PT drone sensors is at the heart of flower counting or bloom density analysis. Flower count is notably important for fruit-tree growers since it has a direct link to yield. Flowers are the reproductive structure of flowering plants and will eventually become fruits after fecundation. Therefore, the bloom density of a tree can be an indication of how fruitful the subsequent harvest will be.
