On 02/09/16 22:06, Dan Joseph wrote:
Hi All,
The American Red Cross GIS Team is constantly looking for new ways to
improve our workflows and learn from the OpenStreetMap and FOSS4G
communities. The vast majority of the GIS analysis and map making we
do is done using FOSS4G tools and we strive to be effective
contributors as well as consumers.
We've supported the development of Portable OSM (POSM
<https://github.com/AmericanRedCross/posm> as an affordable (can be
run on hardware costing less than $300) solution to make
OpenStreetMap, OpenMapKit, and Field Papers available for deployments
in connectivity-limited environments. POSM consolidates cloud-based
tools into a portable server that acts as a temporary local data hub
for digital mapping, surveying, and field media collection.
The next stage of development is working with the folks at Stamen to
incorporate OpenDroneMap (for processing UAV imagery) into the stack
of software available for installation on a POSM. We'd love to hear
your thoughts, concerns, use-cases, and other comments. Send us an
email or leave an issue on the POSM GitHub repository
<https://github.com/americanredcross/posm/issues>.
- Dan Joseph
Hi Dan,
I use RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) quite a lot for aerial
photography and videography, both multirotor and fixed-wing. I fly in
geographical regions for which there are orthorectified images, so I
make mostly oblique aerial photographs and aerial videos. In Google Map
there is a feature that one can see how many times his uploaded images
were viewed. So I uploaded some of them to Google Maps to see if people
are interested to view such oblique aerial images in relation to a map
location. The result is six hundred aerial images were viewed more than
seven million times already [1]. So it seems there is an interest.
I also add aerial images and aerial videos to Wikipedia and then add
wikipedia tag to the OSM map [2].
The main issue with using a multirotor (quadcopter) for aerial
photography is that its range is only 2 - 3 kilometers. It takes several
hours to drive to an object and then it takes just twenty minutes to
film it from the air. There is already technology with the long range of
40 and more kilometers, for example Dragonlink V3 [3]. For such a long
range it would be already not a quad but a fixed-wing aircraft, and
electric glider.
Instead of long driving by car an electric glider could fly directly to
an object and make aerial images and video. Glider has got only one
motor and on a quiet day it does not even need it all the time, just to
climb, and then it can glide for a while without a motor.
But to pilot a long range RPAS one would need a special Permit for the
operation of drones without direct eye contact [4]. And to obtain such a
permit there should be an internal formal training and internal
certification. A pilot of long range RPAS must know meteorology, weather
patterns, know how to make defensive maneuvers in case of a large bird
attack (not to hurt a protected bird and not to crash a RPAS), how to
react to low flying manned aircraft, and many other things.
Dragonlink V3 costs 336 USD, an electric glider with the wing span of
two or more meters capable to carry a GoPro (or better) camera costs
from 179.- USD [5]. So it is affordable and doable. With the range of
40+ km the aerial photography becomes scalable, and it has got a
potential to change mapping. However, having a background in civil
aviation [6], I am aware that for successful safe operations the formal
training and certification are essential. Civil aviation authorities of
a country should see that this is a serious organization, with a serious
approach, otherwise no one will let us into an airspace.
There is a special equipment for training readily available. For
example, popular Spektrum and Futaba radio controllers have got wireless
instructor-student link, so a student can pilot an RPAS without any
risk, as an instructor can take control any moment.
[1]
https://www.google.com/maps/contrib/101802068168905320382/photos/@46.4410425,16.1201149,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m3!8m2!3m1!1e1
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyon_Castle (same video on youtube
https://youtu.be/GsSVZfiJFnA )
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nyon-Castle-aerial-1.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi_fortress (same
video on youtube https://youtu.be/C-kQjmzlY7A )
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Akkerman-fortress-aerial-1.jpg
etc.
[3] http://dragonlinkrc.com/
[4]
https://www.bazl.admin.ch/bazl/en/home/good-to-know%20/drones-and-aircraft-models/permits-for-the-operation-of-drones-without-direct-eye-contact-o.html
[5] http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFL4750#home
[6] https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwIBJzM0u50qOXZ5bnFEZi1hTGM
Best regards,
Oleksiy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_(given_name) )
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