Field Activity #7: Introduction to UAV's

This week the class was introduced to different types of UAV's carrying cameras.  The goal of this week was to introduce and familiarize the class with using different types of UAV's to capture images.  2 drones, 1 kite, and 1 rocket were used to demonstrate how they work.  Dr. Hupy and his friend Max displayed their drones to class demonstrating how they fly and capture images.  Also Dr. Hupy used his personal touch by creating devices on a kite and rocket to capture aerial images.  Below will feature images of the different types of UAV's that were used to demonstrate to the class.

Figure 1: Dr. Hupy's drone next to the remote which controlled it.  This drone had a flight time of 15 minutes, meaning it could not travel to far away from the person controlling it. 

Figure 2: This is the camera attached to drone in figure 2, it was set to take pictures every 5 seconds.  The camera was placed on a device that keeps the camera always facing down and steady. 

Figure 3: Max is preparing to fly the first drone, roto copter.  Both drones are linked to a GPS.  The copter will automatically go back to the place it took off from if anything goes wrong.  This is very important in case the copter travels to far a way or there is a malfunction in the device.

Figure 4: This is an image of Max's drone which he created.  It uses six propellers compared to figure 1 having 3.  This drone also has a flight time of 15 minutes and is linked to a GPS.  This drone seemed to be more steady compared to the drone is figure 1, maybe because of the six propellers.

After both of the roto copters were brought into the air they had to be calibrated.  The calibration took about 3 minutes and is key into getting the copter to cooperate with the remote and fly straight and steady.

Figure 5: This is an image of the kite our class used to capture images.  The lines you can see coming off the string is a camera help up by a device that keeps the camera steady in the wind.  The kite is a less expensive way of capturing aerial images, however the wind needs to be in ideal conditions to be in use. 

Figure 6: Classmate, Blake is handling the kite with care letting it capture images every five seconds.  The camera can be set at any intervals, this day it was set to take a image every five seconds.

Figure 7: Two cameras were attached to this rocket which was launched into the air by an electrical circuit.  Only one of the engines was fired which cut out the flight time.  This technique was the least successful of three because of the short flight time and failure to launch properly.  This rocket was designed by Dr. Hupy and it will continue to be edited and made more efficient.