Engineering the Future of Drones for Commercial Use

Once just a small community of drone-hobbyists, drones have become a worldwide phenomenon. When FAA regulations changed in 2016, it paved the way for UAV software technology improvements and dramatic changes to the drone industry in the coming years.

FAA Loosens Regulations on Drone Use

In June 2016, the FAA released new guidelines allowing the expansion of drones for commercial use. The new guidelines included:

•  Pilots must be at least 16 years old
• Pilots must hold a remote pilot airman certificate issued by the FAA
• Operation is only allowed during daylight or twilight with the appropriate lighting
• Drones must stay in visual line of sight of the pilot
• Drones cannot go beyond a maximum ground speed of 100 mph and an altitude of 400 feet

These rules are in place for UAV surveillance, survey, real estate photography, research, site inspections, and more. As technology improves and regulations are revised, other uses such as drone delivery may continue to expand the industry.

Engineering Drones for Commercial Use

Only recently have drones for commercial use reached the mainstream market, but universities have been engineering and building drones for decades. For many years, engineering students at universities have studied advanced control algorithms used to keep drones flying level and straight.

Engineers are continually working on drones and related technology including innovative UAV software, automation, and sensors. In addition, researchers are developing navigation systems that don’t need to rely on GPS satellites. This means drones could navigate underground, in deep canyons, or inside buildings where GPS signals are inaccessible. These technology advances could significantly expand the usefulness of drones.

Research groups are also working on ways to detect gas leaks from oil pipelines by using drones. This is a significant task given the millions of miles of pipelines across the country. By attaching methane-sniffing sensors on drones, it would make it easier for drones to fly the pipeline routes, register the location and volume of a leak, and signal repair and cleanup crews.

Expansion of Agriculture and Environmental Work

Drones for commercial use have largely expanded in agricultural and environmental work. Perhaps the most significant factor is how easy it is for drones to collect data.

Thermal cameras on drones allow researchers to learn more about water consumption rates on several varieties of crops. Data collected by the drones are so detailed that companies can gain better estimates of crop yield. Farmers can know precisely how big their harvest will be and how much money they’ll make. This allows them to make better budget decisions and forecasting for their business.

Drones are also useful for aerial UAV surveillance and survey mapping. In the past, researchers were limited to walking and taking pictures of areas which could disrupt wildlife. Drones can collect data more frequently and accurately while doing a better job of mapping and analyzing environmental information. This enables environmental workers to prepare local communities in advance of possible environmental disasters such as erosion or flooding.

At Insitu, we specialize in drones for commercial use and UAV software technologies. Contact us to learn more about our programs. 

Civilian Drones Increasing: Understanding Drone Use and Regulations

Soon you’ll see more drones hovering over you in the sky. It’s estimated that nearly two million consumer drones (unmanned aerial vehicles) will be sold this year around the world. By 2020, the world drone market could top $127 billion, according to PwC.

While drones have been used by the military for many years, civilian and commercial sales have risen, and so have safety concerns amongst regulators and law enforcement agencies. Their main concerns are about potential drone crashes into stadiums or collisions with airplanes.

In 2016, the government allowed new rules making it easier for companies to use drones for commercial purposes such as aerial survey, verifying insurance claims, and boosting agricultural crop yields. This has also led to new industries for aerial survey consulting and drone consulting.

What Are Drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)?

Drones, or UAVs, are similar to what airplane hobbyists have used for decades, but are a much more advanced version. They come in helicopter and airplane options and are typically piloted from the ground by a human with a radio controller. Some varieties are capable of autonomous flight based on programmed coordinates.

What Can Drones Be Used For?

Many hobbyists buy drones for the entertainment and challenge of flying an object in the sky. One of the more popular reasons is capturing high-quality photographs and video from an aerial vantage point.

Since the government made it easier to use drones for commercial purposes, companies can use drones for several tasks including aerial survey consulting, drone consulting, aerial photography, emergency response, etc. Regulations currently do not allow package delivery, something Amazon and Google are eager to get approved.

Companies interested in using drones for their business has even expanded to include the real estate industry, news organizations, farmers, emergency responders, and more.

Do Drones Pose Any Risks?

Perhaps the biggest safety concern is if drones were to collide with an aircraft and endanger passengers. In some cases, drones capturing aerial footage of wildfires has hindered airplane and helicopter pilots trying to put out the blaze. In addition, drones have crashed near crowded events such as football games and the U.S. Open. Drones may also violate privacy or could be used in crimes to smuggle drugs and weapons into prisons. To combat these concerns, some drone developers are designing software to keep people from flying their drones into restricted airspace.

In 2016, new rules governing commercial drone use were released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This allowed a broad range of industries to use drones under 55 pounds with a few restrictions:

·         Drones must be operated by a pilot who is at least 16 years old and has passed a written test.

·         Drones can only be flown below 400 feet during the day.

·         Drones cannot come within five miles of airports.

The rules did not allow delivery of packages which Google and Amazon have pushed the FAA to allow to significantly reduce their ground-based delivery. Some experts suggest it won’t be long until their goal may become a reality.

In addition, rules from 2015 require all owners of remote-controlled recreational drones to register in a national database. Drone owners must submit their name, home address, and email address to the FAA.

Certain states are passing their own regulations. At least twenty states have passed increased restrictions on consumer drones in efforts to keep them away from schools, churches, parks, and neighborhoods.

Are you interested in learning more about commercial drones for your business? At Insitu, we offer drone consulting and aerial survey consulting services to help you find the right equipment and software to suit your needs. Contact us to learn how we can help you. 

Understanding Precision, Accuracy, and Error for High Accuracy Photogrammetry Survey

Accuracy, precision, and error are words often used interchangeably and can be confusing when trying to decipher what they mean. While some applications require high precision, others require high accuracy. When it comes to high accuracy photogrammetry (HAP) survey, it’s important to understand what each of these terms mean.

The dartboard principal is often used to describe the difference between precision and accuracy. When a player is aiming to hit the bullseye, this can be thought of as the reference or real value. Each dart throw could be thought of as taking a measurement. This measurement wants to fall on the real value or bullseye. After evaluating multiple throws, you can calculate the accuracy and precision of a player.

What Is Precision?

While precision is about the spread of the data, high precision is obtained by all throws (or measurements) being grouped together in a tight cluster. Even if they miss the dartboard completely, when the darts are grouped closely together, the precision of the throw is high. Variance quantifies the precision of a measurement which is found by calculating the difference between an individual measurement from the mean of all measurements.

What Is Accuracy?

Accuracy is about positioning the throws (or measurements) according to the bullseye (or reference). The spread of the measurements may be large but are still accurate when centered on the real value. When you average a series of measurements to find their mean, you can eliminate the variance and calculate the accuracy of the throws. This happens by finding the difference between the mean value of the reference and the throws.

What Is Error?

Error is discovered by the sum of the accuracy and the variance of a single measurement. Many surveyors use the root mean squared error (RMSE) for error distribution with approximately 68.3% of samples falling within +/- the value of the RMSE. Another popular measure of error distribution is the National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA). This is similar to the RMSE except it encompasses 95.5% of the sampled points. By averaging multiple samples, the variance component of error can be eliminated to reduce the error of a measurement.

What’s More Important: Accurate or Precise Data?

So far, we know precision is about the spread of data and accuracy is the average position of the measurements from the reference point. But what is important for High AccuracyPhotogrammetry survey?

Two main types of measurement are common for HAP survey:

1.      Relative Measurements – the measurement of one point in a survey with respect to another point in a survey.

2.      Global Measurements – the measurement of a positioned measurement with respect to an external reference (i.e. British National Grid).

If you are interested in measurements with respect to an external reference, such as British National Grid, high accuracy is required. If you are merely interested in measuring a property of something relative to something else in a survey, high precision is needed. High accuracy and high precision aren’t always required and can affect the costs of a survey. Understanding the differences and which you need can help save you money.

Interested in learning more? At Insitu, we create innovative UAVs and technology solutions for HAP survey. Contact us for more information.