A couple of UAS demos

What uas model and software are you using?

Looks good. Is that a RTK unit sticking up the the left?

Very cool. Just got my Phantom 3 on some missions this weekend and did some orthos and point clouds utilizing DroneDeploy.

Brian: you used Pix4d? Do you use ground control points?

Aircraft Specifications -
Model: 2014 SOJ T-838
Propulsion: 20,000 mAh 6s (22.2V) LiPo, T-Motor 40A ESC, T-Motor 4016-19 (x6), T-Motor 15x5 Props (x6)
Navigation: Pixhawk/PX4 IMU and Mag., ublox LEA-6H GNSS Rec./taoglas Ant./external Mag. (3DRobotics)
Camera: Sony a6000/Sony E-mount 20mm/F2.8

I used Pix4D to process the imagery. Both projects utilized ground control. Marble Valley is 20 acres and had 6 targets. Rocky Demo is about the same with 5 targets. You can see the targets if you look close enough. I have a bunch of ground checks on both projects and accuracy has been good: About as good as the RTK shots I measured them with.

I do not have airborne RTK or any kind of dual freq. GNSS on-board. I am working towards a unit that would allow me to post-process the raw data and get CM-level accuracy at the initial camera positions.

Geotagging the images properly is a PITA. Feeling a bit like Rube Goldberg here. Anyone out there have a better mouse trap?

I'm glad you guys like the videos. Thanks for watching!

-Brian

You also have a camera on the top, for flight control?

What is on the post to the left, you said that you didn't run RTK...is it just the navigational GPS?

And, how hard was it to get the FAA exemption?

The camera on top is a GoPro. It's just for eye candy. I could put a video transmitter on it and use FPV to fly it but while the aircraft is acquiring mapping data, it's flying on autopilot. If I were doing inspections, I would be utilizing the video feed to navigate up close to whatever I was inspecting.

The post on the left is a L1 GNSS rec./ant. and compass (magnetometer). It is used for navigation only. The flight logs (with the L1 derived position of the aircraft) are used to geotag the images with an initial camera position. Camera clock and GNSS clock must be synced. PITA!

The exemption was not difficult to get, just took forever. When I petitioned for mine, it was a lot harder to get. I went with an attorney that knew his stuff. I also had a commercial aviation consultant prepare the manuals that I need to accompany the petition, as the aircraft where built by me and as the "manufacturer" I needed to prepare them. Most people preparing 333 petitions were still kind of unsure what would "fly" with the FAA and what wouldn't. Now most have it down and you don't have the FAA coming back denying them or requesting more info. A lot has changed in the last year, but it's still going to take about 6 months to process.

I highly recommend ERDAS Imagine for georeferencing, very robust remote sensing software.

For GPS RTK, check Piksi.

Cheers,
GeomÌÁgico