Field Activity #3- Conducting operations with multi-rotor UAS

    In field activity number two and three we carried out mission planning both in the computer lab and in the field. We did this as a whole class and not in our groups of three to four members. In field activity number four we carried out a mission plan in the field while also having a multi-rotor UAS fly the mission to capture pictures from our mission plan. This was the first time we actually put a UAS in the air on a mission and had it fly to the mission plan. This was great experience for future labs as well as learning how to carry missions out with our groups.
     For all of our flying that we have conducted so far we have been flying around the Bollinger soccer fields. This area has no obstructions with plenty of buffer space around if the UAS goes astray. The platform we used was the Matrix on 9/23/15. The wind was calm with altostratus clouds in the sky. This was setup for perfect flying conditions for our missions. Since we are flying on public soccer fields, we always have to be aware of pedestrians in the area. Everytime we have been at the fields there has been soccer practices going on. We need to make sure we stay plenty far away so we don't put anyone in harms way. This helps when we have a large sized class. More eyes is always better when flying.

    When we started this field activity we were broken into our groups of three or four. This allowed for us to have a pilot, spotter, and person on the communication center. We began by having all three of us sitting down and plotting out our mission in the field. We chose a small area over one of the soccer fields that we wanted to fly along with covering a building on the edge of our mission area. Since our mission was close to being a square we did not have to adjust the angle on the mission to make sense say if our AOI was a rectangle. We chose the speed we wanted the Matrix to fly at along with how many pictures and height. We used two cannon cameras as well that were mounted on the bottom of the Matrix that would allow for us to take pictures every three seconds. This would make sure we have plenty of pictures of the AOI along with plenty of overlap.

    We had our height set at 60 feet high. This seemed to work well with the cannon cameras that we used. Since the mission was flown in autopilot, we knew that the entire AOI was going to be covered. This was the first time that we flew with autopilot. I was amazed at the accuracy that the Matrix flew the mission with. I was able to be the spotter with my group along with watching an experienced pilot take off, loiter, and flip it into auto. One of the most important steps is while in loiter, you communicate with the comms center to make sure that everything checks out. You don't want to flip it into auto while in loiter if all of a sudden you drop a bunch of your satellites. This could cause for a problem with the mission or could send your UAS all over the place. The Matrix platform we used was perfect size for the mission that we flew along with the conditions. It didn't have to expend much energy when making turns in our mission because we didn't have barely any wind while in the air. This allowed for our pictures to come out with great quality.
    I was also able to view how the communication center worked while watching another group in our class perform the duties. I have before worked the communication center, but found out that by watching another group that I was able to plan ahead for the next task as I was trying to help to see if they missed any steps. One step that I found that can make or break your mission is that you need to read your waypoints more then once in mission planner. This will allow for your UAS to get the right waypoints rather then sending it astray.
    In conclusion it was great experience to plan our own mission in our groups along with putting a UAS in the air to fly our mission. This was the first time that we have put the two together in our groups. It is essential to go over every part of your mission in fine detail. This will allow for your missions to be carried out smoothly. The more detailed you are before you put your UAS in the air the less likely you will have problems with the mission in the air. We also learned about loitering and the autopilot functions on our TX controllers. The more we use the controllers the more I have a better understanding with where each function is and when it is proper to have it in auto, loiter, or standard controls. The more experience we get with mission planning the more I begin to understand how to relate this to a real world job. The autopilot function is a great tool to use when carrying out plenty of missions over a large area, while the standard flying function would need to be used when there are obstacles in the area or you need to fly in a detailed area say in-between houses or buildings at a lower elevation.

Field Activity #2- Mission Planning/ Pre-flight

    As we continue to move forward with this class we are getting closer to the fun part, flying the actual planes! Although we have all been putting time in on the flight simulator's, and may think that we can just take a plane out and fly it right now, there are a few things we need to do before actual take off. Before every flight we have a pre-flight check list. This check list is designed to allow us to check every single piece of the plane to allow it to fly safely and do the things we want it to do. Along with the pre-flight check list, we also have what's called mission planning. When dealing with mission planning we can upload a flight path from the mission planning server on our computer to allow for our plane to fly exact missions that we so plan. These missions that we upload to our UAS will have the UAS flying on autopilot. If there is a time when we need to take over for safety measures, we can do so.
    The mission planning server looks a lot like ArcMap with a satellite imagery overlay. You can reference the area you are going to be flying along with the surrounding area to devise a good mission plan that gives you adequate area to take off and land as well. There are purple dots on the screen to mark no fly zones. It is advised to stay well away from this area, you don't want to be contacted by the FFA for flying to close to a no fly zone. In the mission planning controls we are able to map an area we want the UAS to fly. We can have all sorts of patterns, boxes, squares, circles, random lines, etc. Now when dealing with an area that we want to have photographed in our mission, we can set how many pictures/ second, the angle of the pattern depending on wind, the grid and overlay of our pictures, down to the exact camera that we are going to be using. It is critical to have a good mission plan in store when you want to go out and fly. By doing this you can assure that you are going to be safe along with ethical when you are flying.
    After we have made our mission planning inside on the computer, we are ready to go outside and do our pre-flight checks. There are many different items on the UAS and computer that we need to go over so we have created a check list to ensure that we don't miss any steps that allows for us to have a safe and successful flight. This has now turned into a three person job with a pilot, spotter, and computer monitor. The first step is hooking up your communications from the computer to the modem. The modem allows for the computer to send the mission to the UAS allowing it to fly the mission we so desire. Typically the modem is attached to a wonder stick. A wonder stick allows for the modem to be raised into the air allowing for a better connection with the UAS. The first section of the check list now deals with flight prepping.

    We want to record the date, time, platform, and weather. When collecting the weather information we want to record the temperature, but most importantly the wind and wind direction. This will tell us wether it is safe to fly or not. The next ten steps of the flight prep have to deal with looking on the UAS. We want to make sure all the connections from electrical, frame, motor, props, batteries, and antennae are all tightly secure and have no damages. It is smart to use a small screwdriver to just go over all of these areas to make sure nothing is lose or wobbling. We want to inspect the props for cracks. Even a minor crack could cause for a failure in a prop which would make it dangerous to fly incase of a crash. When balancing the battery, we want to pick the UAS with or finger tips allowing for it to balance evenly. If the UAS is not balanced evenly, it can cause for it to fly out of control or for it to not be safe. It is important to have your battery balanced in the middle of your UAS. After completing all of these checks on the UAS you can now turn your TX transmitter on, while making sure your throttle joy stick is in the off position. 

    The next steps deal with powering up your UAS and mission plan. When you have completed a step on the check list we put an "x" through it. 

We want to double check that we have the modem properly connected to the computer. Typically when connecting your modem to the computer you want to use the blue ports on the side of your computer not the white ones. The blue ports are typically faster and allow for a better connection. We now can connect our UAS to the base station. We want to see how much battery is on our computer as well. Imagine flying your UAS on a mission then your computer dies, this could lead to a bad ending to your mission. The next step is very important. We need to check the battery voltage on our UAS. If the voltage is below a 12 we need to use a different battery. We also need to check the voltage on our TX transmitters. We also want this as close to maximum as possible, again imagine flying then your controls cut out because you forgot to check your TX battery. This would cause it to be very hard to land your UAS. When checking for satellites, you can find this in the lower left hand corner in red in your mission plan on your computer. A great number of satellites to have is over, while it is advised to not fly with less then six satellites. We now want to upload our mission to our UAS while making sure the mission area is secure. You don't want to be flying over a playground taking pictures while an elementary school is outside playing. This comes back to flying ethics and being safe. If you are questioning yourself if it's safe to fly, more then likely it is not. 

    Now that we have gone through all of the pre-flight check list it is time to start the takeoff sequence. It can't be stressed enough that when you are the pilot you concentrate on following the UAS in the sky along with the spotter. You need to watch for obstructions that could get in the way, or a shift in wind direction, and even pedestrians on the ground. While the pilot and spotter are concentrated with the flying aspect of the UAS the communications person needs to stay focused on the computer and mission plan. They need to watch to see if the satellites stay connected, follow the path of the UAS on the computer screen, and checking to make sure the mission plan is being carried out. At any time the communications realizes there is a problem with the plan they need to tell the pilot and spotter allowing for the mission to be aborted. 

The most important item when dealing with the takeoff is that the area is secure and clear of spectators. You don't want to be taxing down the runway when a person is walking down the same runway. This could lead to damages to the person and your UAS. You want to make sure all spectators are clear. You want your TX transmitter throttle all the way back. You can now flip the switch on your platform allowing for it to arm. When you do this you typically will hear beeping which tells you the platform is armed. You can now deactivate your kill switch. Once you arm your TX you are in control and ready to lift your UAS off the ground. Since we were using a multicopter for this, we want to raise it off the ground and have it loiter or hover in position. When your UAS is loitering you want to talk to the communications post. You want to check again for your satellite signals, weather, and waypoints on your mission. Once your communications checked out you are ready to bring your UAS up to the designated height and switch it to autopilot. Once you flip the switch to auto, your UAS will take off and fly the mission that you uploaded. MAke sure the pilot and spotter have eyes on the UAS while the communication post continues to talk and double check the satellites while the mission is being carried out. Once the mission is complete and you are ready to bring the UAS down, again check the area for spectators. You don't want to be bringing down your UAS and someone decides to walk under it while it has spinning blades and is landing, this could turn messy. 

    Upon being on the ground you are ready for the post land check list. You want to disconnect from the base station while powering down your UAS. Once the UAS is secure and motor functions are off with the kill switch activated, you want to check again your entire platform to see if any wires, or frame connections have become loose during the mission. I would retighten everything right away, this allows for you to have a baseline when you decide to carry out another mission. You want to disconnect your battery so you can charge it and turn your TX transmitter off. You have now successfully completed your mission.

    The final steps of this check list deal with transferring your pictures to your computer and analyzing the data. We have not carried out this step yet individually, but will in future missions. This is a checklist that has been created from many missions. It is never perfect and always has room to add. By changing items on this check list or adding items, you are assuring that you are acting as safe as possible when carrying out the mission. It's always safety first. The safety of you, pedestrians and spectators around your, and the surrounding area. It doesn't matter if your UAS crashes or you have to abort a mission as long as you stay safe in the field. 

Field Activity #1 Image Gathering Fundamentals

The first field activity we conducted was geared toward teaching us the beginning steps of image gathering fundamentals and the techniques used to acquire the images. We wanted to learn how to properly use a camera sensor on an aerial platform, and how to use those images in geospatial analysis.

The first step to we did while conducting this field activity was to get our aerial platform ready. Originally we were going to use a kite to conduct the experiment, but since there was no wind we choose to use a ballon. Pictured below is the ballon we used almost at max capacity. We then put an O-ring at the bottom of the ballon and clamped it off with zip ties.

After the ballon was secured we needed to setup our cameras and the picavet rigging. The rigging was already setup from previous activities. We used two different camera's, one was a NIR camera while the other was an RBV camera. Both cameras were set to take pictures every six seconds so we would have ample overlap in pictures to produce a good end product. The cameras were positioned on the picavet rigging about two inches apart and at the Nadir angel, or with the lenses facing directly towards the ground. We then secured the picavet rigging to our line that would allow the ballon to rise with Kap-Klips. A picture of these clips is below. 

These clips were spread out about three feet apart from one another on our line. With one washer in the middle of the picavet rigging, it would allow for our cameras to slide and stay upright to take pictures. A picture of the rigging is below. In this picture you can see the clips along with a single washer. 

After everything was setup and the ballon was ready, we then raised the ballon into the air. We were looking to raise the ballon to around 100 feet high which in turn would have the cameras around 95 feet. We also brought along a hover UAS that we flew alongside the ballon as it was in the air. With the UAS in the air, it would tell us the elevation of the ballon. We also were able to take pictures directly about the ballon along with videos. One problem we encountered with the UAS was that it only had about 25-30 minutes of flying time, while it took us over an hour to walk the entire areas that we wanted to cover with the ballon. The next two pictures below will show the ballon with the picavet rigging and camera being raised into the air and the last picture you can see the UAS flying alongside the ballon. 

After completing the areas that we walked we then lowered the ballon down and had our professor take the cameras in for processing. Since it was our first field activity we didn't know how to process the pictures yet, but will learn more about that in future activities. After the field activity I felt that the group as a whole learned a lot by getting a hands on experience. There is only so much you can discuss in class before learning what to actually do out in the field. This activity we did was the very basic way of using camera sensors and an aerial platform. I can see however that with the pictures we captured that there is many different geospatial analysis that one can use, even from this basic activity. You could assess vegetation growth, areas that are strained or not, or even use it just to take cool pictures of the area. I am looking forward to learning more and using more advanced techniques to gaining aerial photographs for future activities.