Geodetics Inc.’s newest mobile mapping product, Geo-MMS, is a fully integrated lidar mapping payload for integration with unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The Geo-MMS includes an inertial navigation system (INS) coupled with a lidar sensor. Raw data from the integrated GPS, inertial measurement unit (IMU) and lidar sensors are recorded on the internal data-recording device and can be post-processed using Geodetics’ lidar tool software package to directly geo-reference the lidar point clouds with LAS-format output. Geo-MMS is available with a wide range of sensors.
Geo-MMS can be used in various applications in both military and commercial industries such as precision agriculture; mining; utilities; asset management; oil; construction and infrastructure inspections; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); sense and avoid; coastal surveillance; and situational awareness.
As a company based in the United States, Geodetics can also accommodate defense SAASM and M-code path requirements.
The afternoon festival included races and demonstrations of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In a cage topped by a 100-meter-long net, drones competed in races, going as fast as 100 kilometers per hour as drone operators guided their UAVs through a brightly colored obstacle course.
The festival had an educational goal, reports phys.org, with displays on the regulations, the drone’s various uses, and workshops on piloting them.
The festival also was an occasion for the postal service to demonstrate its delivery drone, which weighs 3.7 kilos (eight pounds) and can carry three kilos of mail over 20 kilometers (12 miles).
Behind the security gates, 150,000 attended, and 30,000 watched the live stream.
Phase One Industrial has introduced the iXU-RS aerial camera series, featuring a breakthrough central lens shutter design, according to the company. The new shutter technology is based on an innovative direct-drive concept with electronic charging that enhances exposure speed to as fast as 1/2500s, while guaranteeing half a million exposures, an unprecedented shutter life span.
The series’ flagship 100MP iXU-RS1000 camera system, with the advanced lens shutter, an exceptional capture rate of 0.6 seconds per frame and its CMOS sensor with superior light sensitivity of 50-6400 ISO, is uniquely designed to expand the efficiency of aerial imaging operations, including under deteriorating weather conditions or on days that were previously not conducive to image capture. This allows for faster flights and larger surface coverage.
For a small-bodied medium format camera, the iXU-RS1000 offers a large-format-quality experience thanks to its sensor technology and high-performance optics, which can deliver 11,608 pixels cross-track coverage. Users can gain more image coverage during a flight, while maintaining the same ground sample distance (GSD), or a lower GSD, while flying at the same height. Its small form factor supports multiple uses — as a standalone camera for photogrammetric work or as part of an array (to cover a larger swath) or as part of an oblique camera system.
Other iXU-RS series cameras include the 80MP iXU-RS180, and 60MP iXU-RS160 and 160 Achromatic systems. All iXU-RS series cameras feature accurate metric calibration, scalability to form multi-camera arrays, and easy integration with popular flight management systems and GPS/IMU receivers. There are seven available lens options, including: 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 70mm, 90mm, 110mm and 150mm. Lenses have been designed and built for aerial photography by Rodenstock and Schneider Kreuznach, and factory calibrated for infinity focus.
Easily integrated into existing or new set-ups, the cameras offer maximum connectivity with diverse systems and help operators execute and manage missions, such as: surveying, mapping, critical infrastructure inspection and many other applications with greater reliability, cost effectiveness and operational efficiency. The iXU-RS1000 is also suited to four band-imaging applications.
Topcon Positioning Group announces the release of two new mapping kits for its Sirius Pro fixed-wing unmanned aerial system (UAS). The kits are designed to produce the most accurate solutions for automated mapping of construction sites, building facades, mines, quarries, disaster areas — and more without regard to terrain.
Both systems include an enhanced MAVinci Desktop Flight Planning software upgrade.
The first new package — Sirius UAS City Mapping Kit — includes a Fuji X-M1 8 mm lens designed to better capture urban surroundings.
“It allows the image capture of vertical facades such as buildings, infrastructure and construction sites,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “The upgraded flight planning software optimizes the planning, preparation and processing to automatically produce a textured 3D model. Additionally, the kit allows the acquisition of 3D models and orthophotos when flying below 50 m altitude,” he said.
The second new package — the Sirius UAS High Resolution Mapping Kit — comes with a Fuji X-M1 27-millimeter lens. “This package allows the collection of images at the highest possible resolution for applications such as construction site monitoring, survey and mapping topography,” Rihner said. “It allows operators to obtain higher resolution images at the same altitude as compared with a standard lens.”
Sharper Shape has submitted a waiver application to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requesting approval to perform beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights.
In coordination with the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and SkySkopes, a drone service provider in North Dakota, the waiver would allow members of the EEI-Sharper Shape partnership to demonstrate and develop commercial long-distance flights for electric company asset inspections.
In addition to submitting one of the first waiver requests, Sharper Shape and SkySkopes are working with Xcel Energy, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Minnkota Power Cooperative, Houston Engineering, Northern Plains Railroad, University of North Dakota and the Edison Electric Institute to conduct test flights.
BVLOS flights are able to travel 10–20 miles, compared to roughly 1,500 feet (one-third of a mile) under visual-line-of-sight regulations.
The test flights will leverage Sharper Shape’s new Sharper A6 drone and Sharperscope 5.0 payload. The Sharper A6 drone is optimized for BVLOS asset inspections, using four redundant cellular networks to make it virtually impossible for the drone to lose communication with ground-control operators, the company said.
The Sharper A6 from Sharper Shape.
Sharper Shape leverages the LTE commercial multi-billion-dollar networks, while other vendors use point-to-point (P2P), which cannot communicate beyond line of sight, or satellite connection, which suffers from high costs and invariable latency which increases the response time and impedes a pilot’s ability to make quick adjustments during the flight.
The A6 drone can collect a comprehensive variety of useful data (including information from its high-definition cameras, infrared sensors, corona detector, lidar sensor, etc.), and is to this day the only platform capable of doing so in a single flight. The sensors have been carefully selected and integrated into the Sharperscope 5.0, a system that Sharper Shape has engineered specifically for electric company BVLOS inspections and which syncs directly to the Sharper Shape cloud.
In conjunction with submitting the waiver application, SkySkopes and Sharper Shape kicked off a string of test flights including:
The first flight using the new Sharper A6 drone via a line-of-sight demonstration to inspect the Xcel Energy Bison Substation
A final flight with a fleet of drones to celebrate the day’s events.
“These test flights have contributed to a monumental day for the U.S. drone industry,” said SkySkopes President and CEO Matt Dunlevy. “We look forward to continuing to pioneer new developments for drone flights in the U.S. alongside Sharper Shape.”
Sharper Shape, EEI and SkySkopes are optimistic to test BVLOS flights in the U.S. by the end of the year.
Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and AT&T will test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) on commercial 4G LTE networks.
The trials will analyze how UAS can operate safely and more securely on commercial 4G LTE and networks of the future, including 5G. The research will look at elements that would impact future drone operations.
CTIA Super Mobility 2016 attendees can catch a video demonstration at Qualcomm’s booth in the 5G Zone. Matt Grob will showcase the benefits of LTE-based drone operation during his keynote at 9 a.m. PDT on Sept. 8.
The team will look at coverage, signal strength and mobility across network cells and how they function in flight. The goal of the trials and ongoing research is to help enable future drone operations, such as beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), as regulations evolve to permit them.
The trials will begin later this month at Qualcomm Technologies’ San Diego Campus, with testing to take place at its FAA-authorized UAS Flight Center and test environment. The center contains real-world conditions including commercial, residential, uninhabited areas and FAA controlled airspace. The facility permits testing of the use of commercial cellular networks for drones without affecting AT&T’s everyday network operations.
In April, Qualcomm Technologies’ San Diego Campus received an FAA certificate of authorization to perform outdoor testing of drones.
The ability to fly beyond an operator’s visual range could enable successful delivery, remote inspection and exploration. Wireless technology can bring many advantages to drones such as ubiquitous coverage, high-speed mobile support, robust security, high reliability and quality of service (QoS), Qualcomm said in a press release.
“The trial with a carrier with the reach and technology of AT&T is a significant step in the development of connectivity technologies for small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), including optimization of LTE networks and advancement of 5G technology for drones,” said Matt Grob, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Qualcomm Technologies. “Not only do we aim to analyze wide-scalable LTE optimization for safe, legal commercial SUAS use cases with beyond line-of-sight connectivity, but the results can help inform positive developments in drone regulations and 5G specifications as they pertain to wide-scale deployment of numerous drone use cases.”
“Many of the anticipated benefits of drones, including delivery, inspections and search and rescue will require a highly secure and reliable connection,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, IoT Solutions, AT&T. “With a focus on both regulatory and commercial needs, LTE connectivity has the potential to deliver optimal flight plans, transmit flight clearances, track drone location and adjust flight routes in near real-time. Solving for the connectivity challenges of complex flight operations is an essential first step to enabling how drones will work in the future.”
The UAS trials will be based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight drone development platform, which is designed to offer superior control and navigation capabilities. Already in use in some commercially available drones, the platform offers high fidelity sensor processing, precise localization, autonomous visual navigation and 4K videography all in an integrated, light-weight model suitable for consumers and enterprises.
Lockheed Martin and the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) successfully demonstrated their UAV optimization technologies using aerial command and control (C2) of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The demonstration marks a successful milestone in the joint WUT-Lockheed Martin advanced applied research program on optimization of diverse fleets of aircraft, and concepts associated with manned-unmanned command and control of airborne platform systems.
“These technologies have tremendous commercial and military potential as the world moves toward greater and greater use of unmanned aerial systems,” said Prof. Janusz Narkiewicz, head of WUT’s Department of Automation and Aeronautical Systems. “Understanding how different assets can interoperate, communicate and serve common objectives with maximum efficiency is a challenging task in the growing field of UAV technologies.”
Through the use of advanced mathematic calculations and a systems-of-systems approach, the technology bolsters mission efficiency by adapting the fleet’s commanded flight paths, speeds, division of duties and sensor performance. Modeling all the constraints of the task at hand, the students calculate the “best answer,” usually beating either the human best guess or simpler approaches by 10 to 20 percent.
The goal of the team’s latest project was to advance previous optimization work by incorporating airborne C2, improving user interfaces, and testing new methods for related subroutines. With a vision of ultimately developing fast dynamically adaptive approaches to live management of a UAV fleet, this work is an important contribution to the concept of manned-unmanned teaming, where manned assets operate seamlessly with surrogate UAVs, often controlling many at a time against specific tasks.
The technology demonstrates that, with the right tools, an operator may adapt to changing scenarios, calculate new solutions, and deploy those new, optimized solutions to the fleet of commanded aircraft, whether for civil or military purposes, a Lockheed Martin news release said.
The recent demonstration can be equated to a search-and-rescue task, where every minute shaved off of a search pattern could be the difference between life and death.
In another example, if UAVs were to be used to deliver small packages to consumers, the 10 to 20 percent performance improvement could be the competitive edge that keeps an operation in business ahead of the competition.
The program builds on the strong industrial and academic partnership between Poland and Lockheed Martin aimed at motivating young Polish engineers to address tomorrow’s defense and industrial needs. WUT and Lockheed Martin are seeking new Polish partners to further advance Polish research and development capabilities on manned-unmanned airborne platform system integration.
THISR modular kits provide the tools needed to capture the first-person view on the battlefield. (Photo: Bruce Donaldson, THISR team leader, Red Hen Systems)
The Tactical Handheld Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (THISR) by Red Hen Systems is an advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) asset providing a real-time solution to operators and mission teams.
The modular kits provide the tools needed to capture the first-person view on the battlefield. The THISR is a custom integration of cameras, a laser rangefinder, GPS unit and software linked through Red Hen System’s VMS-333 mapping system.
THISR is the integration of three core collection technologies:
Random Access Full Motion Video (RAFMV) with mapping integration
360° immersive rendering
light UAV/UAS
Together, all three technologies provide critical information to the operator for use in planning superior missions, enhancing situational awareness and protecting forces, the company said.
The kits offer near-real-time dissemination and surveillance, and can be integrated with other technologies.
The THISR options.
Mapping system. The VMS-333 encodes multiple geo-referenced sensor metadata records into a single data stream and combines this metadata with photographic and video imagery. Data multiplexing capabilities are available for two different mission types–nadir and oblique ground observation missions.
The nadir mission provides an automated process to create a seamless orthogonal geo-referenced photographic mosaic of the entire flight path that can be used to produce 3D terrain models of the ground below.
The oblique mission provides the functionality to take at-will photographs of ground-based areas of interest from a handheld SLR camera, and geo-reference these photographs with the location of the ground target using coupled laser range finder technology.
FAA clarifies changes before small drone rule takes effect
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new small drone rule — formally known as Part 107 — is effective on Monday, Aug. 29. The FAA has released information to help drone users understand the new requirements.
Below is information on Part 107’s effect on Section 333 waivers, along with how to obtain a Part 107 waiver.
Section 333 vs. Part 107: What works for you?
The biggest question is whether you are better off flying under the provisions of Part 107, or should continue using your existing exemption? The video below explains what happens to your Section 333 exemption grant or petition for exemption.
Your exemption is valid until it expires — usually two years after it was issued. Even after Part 107 becomes effective, you may choose to fly following the conditions and limitations in your exemption.
However, if you want to operate under the new Part 107 regulations, you’ll have to obtain a remote pilot certificate and follow all of the rule’s operating provisions. You must apply for a waiver if some parts of your operation don’t meet the rule’s requirements.
If you already have a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) under your Section 333 exemption, you can continue to fly under the COA limitations until it expires. If you don’t already have a COA, you probably won’t need one when the new drone rules go into effect.
However, if you want to fly in controlled airspace, you will need permission from FAA air traffic control. Details about obtaining that permission will be online at www.faa.gov/uas when the small drone rule is effective on Aug. 29.
If you applied for a Section 333 exemption but haven’t received it yet, you should have received a letter from the FAA with specific information about the status of your petition. Generally, if your petition is pending and falls within the provisions of the rule, you should follow the steps outlined in the rule.
Whether you choose to fly under your exemption or under the new small drone rule is your choice, depending on how you want to operate your aircraft. You’ll have to compare the conditions and limitations in your exemption to the operating requirements in the rule to determine which one best addresses your needs.
Applying for a waiver under the new drone rules
Part 107 allows for some expanded operations based on technology mitigations if you can make the safety case for a waiver of some provisions. Operators can apply for waivers to operate at night, beyond line of sight, above 400 feet and other specific types of operation.
Here’s what you need to know about the waiver process:
Under Part 107, you may request a waiver of certain provisions starting Aug. 29 if your operations don’t quite fit under the rule’s provisions. On Aug. 29, the FAA will have an online portal you can use to request waivers of applicable Part 107 regulations at www.faa.gov/uas.
The FAA won’t grant waivers automatically, and processing your waiver request may take time. The exact length of time will depend on the volume of requests the agency receives and the complexity of the waiver application. You should submit your waiver requests to the FAA as early as possible, at least 90 days before you plan to fly.
If you have a Section 333 exemption grant, and we previously said you could operate under Part 107 with a waiver, you will receive a letter notifying you that we have granted you a 0waiver or that we need additional information for you to make your safety case. (See above section.)
Information on the regulations potentially eligible for a waiver is here. Below is a short video on the waiver process.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new small drone rule — formally known as Part 107 — is effective on Monday, Aug. 29. The FAA has released information to help drone users understand the new requirements.
Below is information on Part 107’s effect on Section 333 waivers, along with how to obtain a Part 107 waiver.
Section 333 vs. Part 107: What works for you?
The biggest question is whether you are better off flying under the provisions of Part 107, or should continue using your existing exemption? The video below explains what happens to your Section 333 exemption grant or petition for exemption.
Your exemption is valid until it expires — usually two years after it was issued. Even after Part 107 becomes effective, you may choose to fly following the conditions and limitations in your exemption.
However, if you want to operate under the new Part 107 regulations, you’ll have to obtain a remote pilot certificate and follow all of the rule’s operating provisions. You must apply for a waiver if some parts of your operation don’t meet the rule’s requirements.
If you already have a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) under your Section 333 exemption, you can continue to fly under the COA limitations until it expires. If you don’t already have a COA, you probably won’t need one when the new drone rules go into effect.
However, if you want to fly in controlled airspace, you will need permission from FAA air traffic control. Details about obtaining that permission will be online at www.faa.gov/uas when the small drone rule is effective on Aug. 29.
If you applied for a Section 333 exemption but haven’t received it yet, you should have received a letter from the FAA with specific information about the status of your petition. Generally, if your petition is pending and falls within the provisions of the rule, you should follow the steps outlined in the rule.
Whether you choose to fly under your exemption or under the new small drone rule is your choice, depending on how you want to operate your aircraft. You’ll have to compare the conditions and limitations in your exemption to the operating requirements in the rule to determine which one best addresses your needs.
Applying for a waiver under the new drone rules
Part 107 allows for some expanded operations based on technology mitigations if you can make the safety case for a waiver of some provisions. Operators can apply for waivers to operate at night, beyond line of sight, above 400 feet and other specific types of operation.
Here’s what you need to know about the waiver process:
Under Part 107, you may request a waiver of certain provisions starting Aug. 29 if your operations don’t quite fit under the rule’s provisions. On Aug. 29, the FAA will have an online portal you can use to request waivers of applicable Part 107 regulations at www.faa.gov/uas.
The FAA won’t grant waivers automatically, and processing your waiver request may take time. The exact length of time will depend on the volume of requests the agency receives and the complexity of the waiver application. You should submit your waiver requests to the FAA as early as possible, at least 90 days before you plan to fly.
If you have a Section 333 exemption grant, and we previously said you could operate under Part 107 with a waiver, you will receive a letter notifying you that we have granted you a 0waiver or that we need additional information for you to make your safety case. (See above section.)
Information on the regulations potentially eligible for a waiver is here. Below is a short video on the waiver process.
A new world of opportunities for drone operators will open on Aug. 29 when the new small drone rule for non-hobbyists becomes effective. To enable people to take advantage of the new rule, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has provided the following information on the required aeronautical knowledge test.
Under the new rule — also known as Part 107 — the person actually flying a drone must have a remote pilot certificate with a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) rating, or be directly supervised by someone with such a certificate.
To qualify for the certificate, you must either pass an initial aeronautical knowledge test at an FAA-approved knowledge testing center or have an existing non-student Part 61 pilot certificate. If you are qualifying under the latter provision, you must have completed a flight review in the previous 24 months and must take an FAA UAS online training course. The Transportation Security Administration will conduct a security background check of all remote pilot applications before issuing a certificate.
The report also provides suggestions for how local governments can craft their own drone ordinances to encourage innovation while also protecting their cities.
In 2015, world sales of drones hit 4.3 million. Cities are using drones in a variety of ways, including for law enforcement and firefighting, as rural ambulances, and for inspections, environmental monitoring and disaster management. Commercial uses include precision farming, aerial photography, and — in the near future — package delivery.
“This report serves as a primer on drones for local officials,” said National League of Cities (NLC) CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony. “Whether they are revolutionizing search and rescue capabilities or helping realtors show off their homes, drones are lowering the cost and increasing the reach of airborne services. As our skies are becoming more crowded, cities must be able to decide how and when they want to see drones used in their communities.”
According to NLC, city officials must tackle three spheres of drone activity: private use, public use and commercial use. “To protect communities, promote innovation and avoid preemptive regulatory action, cities should focus on the following issues when enacting a drone related ordinance: using land use and zoning powers to designate when and where drones may take off, land and operate, as well as any operational limitations or criteria; creating an ordinance that punishes operators for operating an unmanned aircraft in a manner that recklessly endangers persons or property while considering appropriate enforcement infrastructure.”
The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans. www.nlc.org
Geodetics Inc.’s newest mobile mapping product, Geo-MMS, is a fully integrated lidar mapping payload for integration with unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
