ArchAerial, a young company that specializes in the use of multirotors for mapping purposes, with a focus on archeological research and excavation sites, has published an interesting video on the possible uses of quadcopters in a restaurant environment , in collaboration with Swift’s Attic, a nice restaurant apparently open to innovation and new technologies, located in Austin Texas.
The original quadcopter design by ArchAerial, with folding arms. The parts have been manifactured by 3D printing – Source
In the video, the little custom made multicopters from ArchAerial are shown performing a variety of tasks such as serving at the table:
Archaerial drone serving at Swift’s Attic restaurant – Screenshot from video below
Flying First Person View or FPV has a lot of addicts in the RC models community. The basic idea is that a video camera is mounted on the nose of the model and hooked to a wireless video transmitter. The pilot can then watch the video stream, either on a screen mounted on a tripod, or with special video goggles such as the ones in the picture below.
A complete FPV setup from FatShark. The camera, attached to a video transmitter, will be mounted on the RC model, while the pilot will wear the glasses to view the video stream in real time
On December 29, 2013, the flight of an UAV drone was detected over the International Airport of Beijing at 11:00 AM. The drone, an RC model airplane equipped with video camera, was flying at 100 Km/h.
An RC model plane with camera. Kindly shared on Flickr Creative Commons by www.expeditionarguk.com – For illustration purposes only
An helicopter was sent to intercept the UAV, which tuned out to be a drone owned by a local company that was performing mapping operations of the airport. Although the operation was legal, the flight of the UAV was done without the proper authorizations and without warning the airport operators. Hence the alarm when the drone was spotted flying over the airport.
The departure of 10 civilian flights was delayed because of this accident.
The 4 man operating the drone are detained by the local police and have been charged with “endangering public security” and “seriously interrupting flight order”.
As we recently discussed, FAA is taking steps to regulate and allow private drones in the US aerial space. Federal Aviation Administration FAA have now selected 6 sites, out of 25 applicants, for the testing and development of drones and the establishment of a regulatory framework that will allow drones to fly for commercial purposes in the US sky, with a focus on safety.
CNBC issued a nice short video on the new drone economy. Clearly the drones business is just starting and we will see a great expansion of the drone economy, in particular in the civilian market. Personal drones are on the rise!
The drones – quadcopters in the available videos – are provided by the Italian/Swiss company Aerial View.
Aerial View Logo
Click on the image below for the full story and the video on the Euronews website:
The quadcopter used in Turin, Italy, for law enforcement and surveillance purposes
Here’s a statement from Omar Morando, Aerial View pilot:
“All the drones have a transmitter that sends in real time the video signal from the camera to a ground station, where there is a HD monitor that can visualise what the camera is recording. Besides you can see the same pictures with special glasses which have inside a micro-monitor. When you wear these glasses, you have the same sensation as you would watch a 42-inch monitor”
As it happens, care to details and sometimes the use of some dedicated, although simple and inexpensive devices can go a long way in protecting your expensive equipment. One piece of delicate equipment used in RC models, and in particular for FPV, are indeed video cameras, with their exposed lens.
We have been discussing the setup of the Mobius camera for FPV in a previous post. Since then, a nice new model with wide angle lens came out:
Mobius camera, wide angle version
This is even better than the original version as for FPV it is great to have an as wide field of view as possible.
The wide angle lens is however somewhat bulky and protrudes prominently from the camera body. In the event of a collision, the lens will make for a great shock absorber for your multirotor, especially if the camera if mounted on the front of the aircraft, as it usually happens. But of course you see the point here: chances of damaging the precious optical element are significant.
There comes to the rescue a great, lightweight, little custom piece of equipment designed by Bo Lorenzen (check out his Blog at FPVGuy.com) as a shock absorber / lens saver to protect the lens of the wide angle Mobius camera.
I tried it and it is a perfect fit. Once in place the piece will grip strongly to the camera. A little pressure on the two little “wings” will release grip and allow a smooth removal.
Wide angle mobius camera with lens protector from FPVGuy – Top viewWide angle Mobius camera with lens protector from FPVGuy – Front view
The mobius wide angle lens protector is described here and can be ordered from Shapeways. It is made with a 3D printer from the original Bo Lorenzen design.
Received a couple of days ago the SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe from Safeflight Chopters. It is a quadcopter frame designed mostly with security in mind. Here’s a picture of the mounted Safeflight quadcopter from the website:
SFC4410 Safelight Quadcopter
and some action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgxGYE6gloc
I had noted this frame a while ago, made a post on it, and placed an order. Since I live in a heavily populated area, the idea to be able to fly a quad in a city park, without worries about the propellers cutting something they should not, is very attractive and worth a test.
In this model the propellers are entirely caged in a plastic structure, with a strong nylon net above and below each propeller.
After flying the mini h quad for a while, the structure looks quite big, it can be virtually fitted in a square with approximately 67 cm edges. Each of the 4 plastic circles has a 26,5 cm internal diameter and 33 cm external diameter.
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe
The frame feels extremely lightweight. It is made of molded light plastic, similar to the one that you can often find inside consumer items boxes, to shape the inside of the box so as to fit the various components of the product. This plastic is however strategically reinforced in key places, like the motor mount for instance
Close up of the motor mount
and the upper and lower frame components that are reinforced with carbon bars.
The lower and upper “plates” are reinforced internally with carbon bars
Very lightweight overall. How will it hold crashes? We might well check this out soon 🙂
The purpose of this post is to share some very first shots of components during the unboxing. Build details and more photos will be posted while construction advances.
The contents of the Safeflight box are well wrapped for shipping.
Starting to see what’s inside…
All the contents are packed in a common big transparent plastic bag
Detail of the motor mount
Close up of the motor mount
Detail of the motor mount
Body components of the safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe
Body components of the safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe
One of the components is reinforced internally with bars
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe mounting accessories
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe mounting accessories
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe propellers protections
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe propellers protections
Made in the USA!
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe, this replacement part comes with pre mounted zip ties for securing the motor mount, which is already in place in the non replacement body parts
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe, this replacement part comes with pre mounted zip ties for securing the motor mount, which is already in place in the non replacement body parts
The bars on the motor mount have a grove that will perfectly fit the zip tie, for precision mounting
Detail of the motor mount bars secured to the body
Detail of the motor mount bars secured to the body
Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe
Safeflight logo on the Safeflight SFC4410-1 Quad H Airframe box
As reported in this Nikkeibp story, Japanese firm Secom has released an innovative security camera, able to get close to the target and shoot pictures and videos to be used for information and evidence in security investigations. It is actually a medium sized (80cm diameter) quadcopter with an unusual shape that offers way more flexibility and maneuverability than a fixed camera, even with PTZ control. This one will track the target anywhere even in a huge area.
Surveillance quadcopter by Secom japanese security firmSecom surveillance drone, rear side
When a non authorized person or vehicle enters the secured area, the quadcopter will get close and gather evidence about the intrusion by taking pictures and video. The drone can take pictures of a car license plate for example.
A licence plate picture taken by Secom’s security quadcopterSecom’s quadcopter is equipped with a camera and two leds, and can determine the color of a vehicle even et night
Here we go with another exciting nine minutes video by Arendatorovnet. The quad appears to be a TBS discovery pro with apparently standard DJI equipment (ESC, motors, arms).
A video transmitter with a linearly polarized antenna is visible on the front of the quad, whose brand and frequency remains to be identified/disclosed. A we have already discussed here, the tech specifications of the video equipment are a puzzle as the pilot appears to be flying long distances and down roads under loads of electrical cables without loss of the video link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roYxWfv663I
The video promotes the copter.mobi link for aerial video service. The link actually points to the Arendatorovnet youtube channel, click to check out.
A quest toward the perfect quadcopter or multirotor for aerial video and personal flying freedom and a permanent survey on the latest quadcopter news and multirotor news
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