multirotor for agroforests in Lao PDR

L

laitys_forests

Member
keen to talk to all people or organisations That know about the use of these neat machines to advise or be partners. initially looking at aerial photography and lidar. I have things to do such as not becoming png (persona non grata) but we are the oldest foreign company in Laos and work closely with the army. need technical advice for our first purchase. needs to be a small investment to start with....
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Aye Up Laitys Forests. Welcome to MRF.

There are lots of guys on here that could advise / help you out. If you want to detail a bit more about your requirements I am sure you will get all the help you need.

Dave
 


L

laitys_forests

Member
Thanks for the Welcome Sir.

I am really new to this. I am wondering if you could give me a link which outlines the main components in a set and what would be good to buy for basic introductory set up for less than 1000 dollars (that has GPS, and maybe camera functions). I have people in the office that have the LIDAR equipment but it is huge, so any ideas on small LIDAR units would be good in the future. I am keen to buy something from the net in the next couple of weeks and will be in the NY, Washington and Boston in Jan. So would be keen for suggestions on packages (or what to look for) and who i could meet. I know the university of Pennsylvania is good at this and hope to meet them.. Not sure if you have seen the following program?
http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2012/s3582815.htm

How much does a machine like this cost? What are the major things in it? It looks absolutely awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvTj6dlQ9fo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Look forward to sharing stories soon,

Richard
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Hi Richard. Just read the article in ecos magazine.

DJI F550 with Naza / GPS would be a good place to start.

I dont know of any LIDAR equipment small enough to be carried by a MR for the time required to gather the information. But I may be wrong.

Dave
 
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Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Mactadpole said:
Here is a good example article for those interested in the use of MR's for biological/forestry work:
[h=1]
Development of a UAV-LiDAR System with Application to Forest Inventory[/h]I too am trying to get into this line of work but have been experiencing funding difficulties for what I want to do. But it will happen.

I definitely would suggest getting something small to learn to fly with and get a simulator to practice flying also.
Click to expand...

Aye Up MT...Hows you doing.. thought you had dropped off the radar!. Great you can contribute here. Have you looked at what Richard is doing?

Dave
 

Mactadpole

Mactadpole

Member
Hey Dave,

I've mostly been lurking here lately. About all I have time for these days. Finally finished the phd in August and started a new job at the university in september. Still working a federal field job too dealing with endangered species and post wildfire recovery efforts. All that and a 2 year old boy = no time to fly. Oh yah, also just closed on a fixer-up house on Friday! I digress.

I am in the midst of grant writing to hopefully secure funding for a full-blown project. My intent is to conduct waypoint missions over tropical forest plots that have already been mapped at ground level. I would like to employ point cloud technology as an alternative to LIDAR. To my knowledge there is no LIDAR equipment small/light enough for an MR. I also plan to use multispectral cameras in an attempt to identify different species of flora in the upper canopy level.

I have managed to get to the point where I have successfully flown waypoint missions and had a couple trips where I have flown in tropical forest using canopy towers and small self-rigged platforms in emergent trees as take-off and landing sites. Unfortunately, I have not had enough time or money to conduct a trip where all I do is fly some waypoint missions to gather imagery and then tryout the point cloud stuff.

Richard, If your company is looking for someone to help out or wants to sponsor a project I am open to talking about it. There is no doubt MR's have a place in this line of work.

Happy New Year!

Shawn
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Aye Shawn.. Great to here news like this. Good Luck on every aspect of your post and many congrats on the phd. If Richard checks again then hopefully you guys can catch up and hopefully get something going together. Shawn have you read the article Richard is a contributor in? I know its Australia but its still relevant.

AND ABIG HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU, your new house and ??? the two year old.... oh and by the way her indoors!
Dave
 

Mactadpole

Mactadpole

Member
Richard,

As far as what I would get to start is a bit of personal preference. I have flown most of the major flight controllers except DJI stuff. Because MK has served me the best and has ALL the features I want and need that is what I have stuck with. Yes it has a steep learning curve, is very complex, and reports of some hardware quality control issues. I have had a few issues with MK BL hardware BUT I have never had one fall out of the sky or fly away like other FC's I have flown. I also really like all the telemetry available for MK beyond their ground control station. I am most impressed with the Graupner MX-20 telemetry system with the smart box add-on.

Some questions you should ask yourself before taking the plunge:

1. Are you mechanically, technically, and electrically inclined? You or someone you know is going to have to be able to work on the thing at some point.
2. Do you have a good bit of time to invest in learning to fly?
3. Will you have the $$$ to invest in the future for doing what you want to do?

If it were me I would start with the Aero-SIM RC program, an inexpensive transmitter that will work with Aero-SIM and most MR FC's you want to get. And then you have to decide whether you go with something like a blade mqx, MK basic quad, or one of the DJI Naza based quad kits to learn to really fly on. If it were me I would do the MK because it is easily upgraded to a full navigation capable copter with the addition of the navi board and gps. If you get the MK kit the build is well documented and there is a lot of help available on this forum. Others may recommend the DJI system and can provide you with better details about it. If you are serious about doing this then you should plan on spending more like $2k unless you just get something like the blade mqx, although this won't allow you to start learning an FC system that can grow with you.

My 2¢!

Shawn
 

Mactadpole

Mactadpole

Member
Droider said:
Aye Shawn.. Great to here news like this. Good Luck on every aspect of your post and many congrats on the phd. If Richard checks again then hopefully you guys can catch up and hopefully get something going together. Shawn have you read the article Richard is a contributor in? I know its Australia but its still relevant.

AND ABIG HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU, your new house and ??? the two year old.... oh and by the way her indoors!
Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks, Dave!

I just read the article. Richard, did you contribute to this article? I searched for your name but nothing came up. Curious if you were involved.

It's the articles like that one which keep me skeptical about whether what I want to do can become reality or not. Right now keeping it below 400' is easy and nothing is being done commercially so I don't worry. It's the regulations that may come that worry me. I know a lot of people want to do it commercially and it would be nice to be able to do this as a consultant. We shall see...

Shawn
 

L

laitys_forests

Member
Afternoon All (Mactadpole, Shawn, Droider and Dave especially).

Thanks for all 2 cents worth. You are giving me a very good introduction into this exciting world. I am going to have to take some time to get my head around the terminology etc. I will try by meeting some people in NE USA in a couple of weeks. Otherwise I see the guys from the Uni's in Aus and can find an excuse to meet them.

First - I did not write an article on this - i am more into environmental monitoring on the ground using Landscape Function Analysis - but MR could be used for this too!
The Paper I saw from Tasmania looked interesting (particularly as I do some urban forestry work with my dad in Canberra) but like mentioned above, it shows that we might not be ready for LIDAR.

I am mechanically inclined - can re wire a car -so hope i can understand these little machines. I will get one for a hobby first.

Let me catch up on this MR world with a cheap one, explain it to my bosses then see if we can get people in as consultants. I am also working on a Project with ANU (ACIAR) that is looking at inventory of teak in Northern Laos, so have already flagged it with the coordinator to get this in 2nd phase.

Cheers for now. Thanks for good responses and food for thought.

Richard

PS. If you know anyone in Boston, NY or Washington that could catch up for a coffee or even let me see a flight I would appreciate it.
 

Droider

Droider

Drone Enthusiast
Ok Richard good luck if you wat any advice on a hobby grade build shout up there are loads on here. There is some videos on my youtube channel 'thedroider' that may help you off with say a 450 size quad.

Bartman and RTryder are up there and a whole bunch of others. RTryder has been at this longer than most. Drop him a PM

Good luck

Dave
 

Mactadpole

Mactadpole

Member
Hey Richard, If you can wire a car then i think you can easily learn to put a MR copter together!

Best of luck

Shawn
 

Multirotorcraft UK

Multirotorcraft UK

Member
Hi Laitys

I am in contact with a UK company that is producing small lightweight LiDAR solution that can be lifted with a mid sized multi. I will be able to give you more details in the new year if this is of interest.

All the best and have a great new year

regards

Andrew

www.multirotorcraft.co.uk

laitys_forests said:
keen to talk to all people or organisations That know about the use of these neat machines to advise or be partners. initially looking at aerial photography and lidar. I have things to do such as not becoming png (persona non grata) but we are the oldest foreign company in Laos and work closely with the army. need technical advice for our first purchase. needs to be a small investment to start with....
Click to expand...
 

L

laitys_forests

Member
Deciding on MK or DJI..

We will see Shawn - it was a 1962 datsun (with a mid nineties engine)... I hope I can get a lot more use out of a MR then a hotted up car. I am very happy with my new hobby already!

So back to your informative message - you think 2k - I imagine this would be with everything? I have seen that with the DJI it would be around 1K, but no receptor etc. I am not phased with DJI or MK - but I do want something that I can build on (for me, like a car that has interdependent rear suspension is the basic for a decent rally car, but you can improve it with shocks/springs). I want something I can build, maybe without the best components first.

So can I will ask some stupid questions and some one can help me I am sure:
- Is there a package with everything I would need to put it in the sky to a pre-programmed GPS route to get it take video/still shots then put it onto the computer?
- What are the key components you would expect for 1.5-2K? If you have time - list the major things needed for the ultimate introductory base package.
- When I see these MR everyone has their own controls (remote part), does this come with the packages?
- Should I get a camera especially for it, or adapt it to use mine (even a smartphone?)
- What are the computer programs like to plan trips, process info? Are they google earth like, or complicate GIS type programs?
- What is it called when the machine can see it self and know not to go into a tree or something (is that the laser reader)?

I will keep in touch with people who assist and look after them if you are in Laos/PNG/Australia when I am.


Thanks in advance for any time you have.

Cheers,

Richard
 
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L

laitys_forests

Member
Dear Andrew,

This is very much in my interest! I will now begin internal promotion so we can test it in the coming years. We haev used FINNMAP here in Laos, but it is very expensive to use light aircraft and we never get all the bits we want!

Cheers for now,

Richard
 

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