Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/389791
EquipmentWorld.com | October 2014 27 doing the stuff for contrac- tors," he says. Not one to stand still, Tomsu is now working on launching another com- pany that combines his love of modeling with the hobby of RC helicopter fl y- ing which he began in the late 1990s. However, while much of the research behind the new venture has been done with a six-rotor UAV, or hexicopter, once the company gets off the ground Tomsu wants to use small, single-wing airplanes known as "fl ying wings" to do the actual surveying. More impor- tantly, he wants them to operate not as UAVs but as full-fl edged drones, fl y- ing autonomously along a predefi ned course. Though Tomsu's drone is a custom build, it's similar in opera- tion and design to current UAS offerings from Trimble and Topcon. However, Tomsu says his fi nalized custom build will come nowhere near those aircraft in terms of cost. Trimble's UX5 drone starts at $50,000 while Top- con's Sirius base model is $42,000 with a "Pro" model priced at $53,000. "The reason that we're going with the (fl ying wing) is they can cover a lot more ground on a single battery charge. The best I'm getting on the hexicopter right now is 12 minutes per fl ight, cover- ing about 20 acres," Tomsu says. "With the fl ying wing, we're estimating at the speeds we're getting we can probably do more than 200 acres in 30 minutes." Tomsu explained the drone surveying process begins with setting control points on the ground being surveyed. One way to set these points is to position 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets of drywall with black marks in the center at various positions around the site. "You have to have some- thing on the ground you know the exact position of that can also be seen from the aircraft," he explains. Then, you've got to tell the drone where to fl y through a GPS automation system. On his hexicopter, Tomsu uses DJI's Naza- M V2. The system allows Tomsu to set up to 16 way- points which he arranges in a back-and-forth pattern, "similar to how you'd mow your grass," he says. Tomsu says DJI's profes- sional series system allows setting up to 50 waypoints but says he hasn't done a job yet that has required that many. He notes that when he moves to the fl y- ing wing drone, he'll use a system called Pixhawk by 3DR Robotics. After mapping out the route, the drone is launched, typically fl ying between 100 and 300 feet as it captures photo after photo of the site below. After it has fl own, Tomsu says he takes a look at the photos capture to make sure the images are crisp and able to be processed into a sharp map. With photos in hand, Tomsu uses a piece of software called Pix4D which posi- tions and stitches the pictures together into a 3D point cloud or map. So far, the main chal- lenge Tomsu has had with Should I buy a drone? The issue of commercial UAS operation is a gray area. On one hand, the FAA has clarifi ed its stance several times on giving fairly clear descriptions of what it considers to be il- legal commercial use of unmanned aircraft. On the other, an NTSB judge recently ruled that the agency's current policy on model aircraft isn't "enforceable." Some folks in the industry feel strongly enough about the technology's future that they feel tinkering with it is worth the risk in order to be ahead of the curve. If you'd like to at least get acquainted with the technol- ogy, we've put together the following list of options: 1. Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 If you're looking at the cheapest way to explore the world of UAVs, the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 runs only $300. It's perfect for beginners thanks to its forgiving design and it can even be driven from a smartphone or tablet. It captures 720p HD video and can transmit that video to said smartphone or tablet while in fl ight. Available on Amazon. 2. DJI Phantom 2 For those looking for an affordable but more professional option, the DJI Phantom 2 is an extremely impres- sive device for its $1,300 price tag. A recent software update has made it a full-featured drone capable of 3.1 miles of continuous autonomous fl ight and capable of reaching up 16 predeter- mined GPS waypoints. You can see an example of the high quality video shot by the Phantom 2 on equipmentworld. com. Available on Amazon. 3. Trimble UX5 Moving up to the "strictly profes- sional" category of these devices, Trimble's UX5 fl ying wing drone starts at $50,000. The UX5 has a 16.1 megapixel camera that has a large imaging sensor and custom optics allow- ing it to capture data down to an incredible 2.4 centimeters resolution. Finally, you get the benefi t of integrated access to Trimble software and it's extremely rugged – designed to perform in all weather conditions – something many consumer UAS and custom builds can't guarantee. Available from Trimble. 4. Topcon Sirius Pro Topcon's Sirius Pro fl ying wing drone starts at $53,000 and has the benefi t of hand-launching, meaning no equipment is needed to get this bird fl ying. The design ensures simple assembly and the bundled MAVinci software allows for quick fl ight planning and upload to the aircraft itself. Once airborne, the Sirius Pro is completely autonomous and images are captured by a 16 MP Panasonic GX1 camera. Available from Topcon.