Drones Use in Forestry: Regulations, Applications, Considerations

Transcription

1 Drones Use in Forestry: Regulations, Applications, Considerations

2 Regulations

3 What is a Drone? Small unmanned aircraft system aka UAV, UAS, suas. Weight is greater than 0.5 lbs. and less than 55 lbs. including payloads. Usually carries an onboard camera, sensors, or other payloads. Regulated by the FAA.

4 Illegally Model or Hobby Commercially Governmental Use

5 Hobby vs. Commercial It's all about your intent. If anyone benefits from the flights, then the FAA considers the operation commercial. Note - No $ has to change hands.

6 Commercial Use Part 107

7 Overview of Part 107 Rules Eligibility Requirements Minimum 16 years old Read, write, speak English Pass aeronautical knowledge test Pass TSA background check Obtain Remote Pilot Certificate Pass recurrent test every 24 months Conduct preflight inspections

8 Aeronautical Knowledge Test 60 Question Multiple Choice Test $150 Fee Estimated hours prep time. Must score 70 or better. Online Tutorials o Drone Pilot Ground School o UAV Coach o UAV Ground School

9 Aeronautical Knowledge Test Topics

10 Aeronautical Knowledge Test Topics

11 Aeronautical Knowledge Test Topics Aviation Sectional Charts

12 Certification Requirements 700 testing centers in US. After passing the exam, must go to the FAA IACRA site and complete the registration process. Temporary Certificate Issued/Followed by hard copy several weeks later. Certificate to be kept onsite during operations.

13 Part 107 Requirements Fly below 400 feet AGL Fly below 100 mph (87 knots) Fly during daylight hours No flights of multiple UAV s Cannot carry hazardous materials Yield ROW to all other aircraft Fly in controlled airspace ONLY with prior ATC approval. Maintain Visual Line of Sight VLOS

14 Hardware

15 Fixed Wing Simpler structure Faster Longer flights More expensive Mostly autonomous Aerial mapping Takeoff/Landing more difficult

16 Rotary Wing Relatively inexpensive Easy to operate Compatible with ios & Android tablets Widely used, well supported Flexible payloads/sensors

17 Hybrid Vertical takeoff and landing Fixed Wing Longer flights Ideal for Mapping Manual and Autonomous Small Takeoff/Landing Area

18 Inspections

19 Inspections Drone with Camera Controller w/ Smart Device Flying App

20 Inspections Live camera view while in flight Capture video/pictures

21 Bug Spots

22 Diseases

23 Storm Damage

24 Harvest/BMP Compliance

25 Harvesting

26 SMZs

27 Stand Density

28 Regeneration

29 Planting

30 Drainage/Beaver Issues

31 Controlled Burn/Wildfire

32 Controlled Burn Evaluation

33 Site Prep Evaluation

34 Mapping

35 Mapping Workflow Upload Shapefile (Drone Deploy) or Digitize polygon AOI Check for Restrictions using AirMap Upload Mission to UAV Autonomously fly mission Download data from UAV Process data in desktop software or cloud service provider Create 2D Mosaics GIS for digitizing acres Create 3D Point Clouds Tree heights & Counts

36 Drone Deploy

37 Processing Options PC-Based Software: o Agisoft - $3500 good for forestland o Pix4D - $8700 great for stockpile volumes o Drone2Map - $1500/yr easy integration in ArcGIS Must have a PC with good processing power More Expensive Purchase outright or lease Processing can take considerable time

38 Processing Options Cloud-Based Services: o Drone Deploy Pro - $999/year or $100/month o Maps Made Easy Per map charge Upload data to cloud Service processes data and sends notification Download only what need Easy workflow Enterprise option for user and data management

39 High-Res Mosaics

40 3D Point Clouds

41 Log Deck Volumes

42 Stockpile Volumes

43 Stand Id

44 Survival/Tree Count

45 Other Considerations

46 Hardware Choose drone to meet your use needs. Consumer vs Professional More rugged, higher winds, payloads You may need a tablet or smart device Be sure your drone can utilize 3rd party apps Additional batteries Do you need additional sensors?

47 Payloads RGB Near-Infrared - NDVI Color-Infrared Leaf off photos Thermal Heat loss, search and rescue Multi-Spectral MicaSense Lidar High res, low altitude

48 NDVI Stress Map Requires NIR Sensor

49 Thermal

50 MicaSense RedEdge-M RGB Chlorophyll Map NDVI NDRE Weeds 1 OSAVI NIR CIR DSM Weeds 2

51 Operational Considerations Use additional personnel as spotters Make Checklists Fail-safes in software apps Minimize public contact Minimize your risks Be safe and be professional Use common sense Insurance VeriFly per mission policy

52 Questions