CIEEM Autumn Conference Workshop

Transcription

1 CIEEM Autumn Conference Workshop Getting to grips with the use of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs) in Ecological Practice Nottingham 2016 Cameron S Crook MCIEEM Cameron S Crook & Associates

2 Introduction SUAVs in Ecological Practice

3 What use are SUAVs for Ecological Practice? Vegetation Mapping (High Resolution Orthophotography) General Aerial Photography 360 Degree Panoramas Building Inspection (Bat work) Tree Inspection Specialist work (Infrared; NDVI; DNA sampling?)

4 Vegetation Mapping A high resolution orhtophotograph of an extensive area of moorland overlain onto standard resolution aerial photo

5 General Aerial Photography A development site in central Lancashire during initial site clearance works

6 360 Panoramas A flat rendition of a 360 degree Panorama (sky photoshopped in!)

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8 Tree Inspection Close inspection of a tree cavity for bats!

9 Infrared (NDVI) Photography Aerial survey of farmland to check for active plant growth

10 Water Sampling edna perhaps?

11 What types of SUAV are available? Some examples

12 Types of SUAV available SUAVs fall into three main categories Quadcopter (eg Phantom 4) Multi-rotor (eg DJI S1000) Fixed Wing (eg AgEagle Rapid)

13 Types of SUAV DJI Phantom 4 (Quadcopter)

14 Types of SUAV Multi-rotor - DJI S1000 (Octocopter)

15 Types of SUAV Fixed Wing Drone - AgEagle Rapid

16 SUAVs Most Suited to Ecological Practice Some Specifications For general works, moderately small quadcopter with high resolution camera (eg DJI Phantom or Inspire) For internal work or building inspection, collision sensors essential (eg Phantom 4 or Matrice 100) Need to be compatible with main software providers (eg Pix4d; MapsMadeEasy etc) Moderately priced (?)

17 SUAVs less suited to Large multi-rotors Heavy Ecological Practice Hard to transport Shorter flight time Expensive Designed mainly carry large cameras for professional film production

18 SUAVs less suited to Ecological Practice Small consumer drones (eg Parrot range) Low resolution cameras (if any) mainly used for snapshots and dronies Not usually compatible with mapping software Designed mainly for racing and/or fun!

19 SUAVs less suited to Ecological Practice Fixed wing Agricultural Drones (eg AgEagle) Much less versatile than quadcopter Designed for surveying large open areas of farmland Inability to hover! Limited software compatibility

20 What you need to operate an SUAV (professionally) Training Insurance Permission from the CAA (PfAW; PfCO)

21 What you need to operate an SUAV (professionally) Training Provided by CAA Approved Training Schools Three main elements: Ground school (normally 2-3 days) Flight test Preparation of Operations Manual Guided application for PfCO (Permission for Commercial Operations - replaces PfAW)

22 What you need to operate an SUAV (professionally) Insurance Legal requirement for professional work Needs to cover: Public Liability Damage to or loss of SUAV Damage to or loss of equipment

23 What you need to operate an SUAV (professionally) Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) Issued by the Civil Aviation Authority after completion of (approved) training and submission of Operations Manual Required for ALL commercial work, even if not specifically paid for using it! Using an SUAV as an aid or tool still counts as Commercial Work

24 What else do you need? Software Apps Safety Equipment Peripherals

25 What else do you need? Software Aerial Mapping Packages MapsMadeEasy Pix4D SUAV Management and Flight Logging (CAA Requirement) Healthy Drones Drone Log Graphics Software (Photo editing; Photo-stitching; 3D compositing) PTGui Photoshop

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27 What else do you need? Apps (for Tablet or Smartphone) SUAV Operation Apps Map Pilot (MapsMadeEasy) Drone Deploy Capture P2V (Pix4D) Litchi Weather Forecast Apps UAV Forecast Weather Online BBC Weather

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31 What else do you need? Safety Equipment Fire extinguisher Needs to be capable of dealing with LiPo fire Safety notices & cordon equipment May need to cordon off a work area Hi-vis jacket Useful to know who the pilot and staff are in public places

32 What else do you need? Peripherals Dual Cameras (eg FPV plus Hi Res Image Capture) NDVI Camera (eg MAPIR) FLIR Camera (eg Zenmuse XT Drone Thermal Camera) Propellor Guards Guidance System

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34 My other drone is a Matrice 100 A customisable modular drone by DJI

35 What s in the box? A typical selection of equipment for Ecological Survey

36 Know the Rules and Follow Them! Principle Legislation in the UK - Civil Aviation Authority Air Navigation Order (CAP393) - especially Articles 166 &167 Unmanned Aircraft System Operations in UK Airspace - Guidance (CAP722) Generally 50m from any person, building or vehicle not under your control (30m during take off and landing) 150m from a congested area Maximum height 120m (above local ground level) Maximum distance (line of sight) 500m Permission from the landowner for take off and land (but not to fly over!) Avoid Controlled Airspace

37 Any Questions? General Discussion and Software Demonstration