Sense and Avoid Sensor Selection: Activity 3.4 and 3.5 UAS Sensor Placement

UAS Sensor Placement

Introducing Sprite

The world's most portable and rugged unmanned aerial vehicle. Whether you’re an active outdoor enthusiast, a serious professional photographer or a commercial operator who just needs to get a job done, Sprite™ is as portable and rugged as you are.

· Enclosed, compact, rugged and water-resistant airframe

· Well-proven, fully autonomous autopilot with GPS and inflight telemetry

· Wide range of sophisticated autonomous flight modes including waypoint navigation and “follow me”

· 1080P high-definition video with 2-axis stabilized gimbal

· Push-button interface lets you leave your tablet computer or RC radio at home

· Range of up to 4 miles (more than 6km), depending on mission, equipment and environment (First-Person-View) ready

Sprite™ is a sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicle. Fly autonomously under the guidance of its powerful autopilot, or manually using a conventional flight controller or Android mobile device.

Without requiring any further development, Sprite™ supports all the features of the latest Tower™, Droid Planner™ and Mission Planner™ flight control software, available for free for Android and the PC. These applications are open source platforms that have been in service for years by thousands of operators around the world. Features include:

Create flights by simply drawing paths or dropping in waypoints from your Android tablet or smartphone.

Orbit objects or points of interest all while keeping Sprite's HD camera tightly trained on the target.

Thoroughly map a target area with the Survey function;

· The 3PV "Follow Me" feature sets and centers Sprite's camera on a user while following their movement

· You can even control Sprite™ real-time with your tablet or smartphone!

Sprite's simple push-button interface also allows for autonomous operation without an external controller. Perfect for wet or rugged adventures where a conventional transmitter, tablet computer or smartphone are just not practical, Sprite™ can execute preloaded autonomous missions with a simple press of a button and a hand launch.

Using the push button interface or a telemetry link, Sprite™ can be ready for launch in seconds then deployed into a hover from your hand. Once airborne, it's free to start an autonomous mission, follow you or switch into any one of its available flight modes.

Designed for Anywhere

Sprite's retracting blades fold along the body when not in flight to form a tight, damage resistant package that won't catch or snag as it's stuffed into a backpack.

No Landing Zone? No problem

Sprite™ doesn't care if it's flying over a field of boulders, a shrub-laced desert or a soggy marsh. Landing is simple, regardless of what's below it. At a safe altitude, a brake stops the rotors in less than 0.5 second. This allows the blades to fold into their retracted position as the Sprite topples harmlessly to the ground. For once, a bush is an attractive landing spot!

Sprite™ is a sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicle. Fly autonomously under the guidance of its powerful autopilot, or manually using a conventional flight controller or Android mobile device.

· Create flights by simply drawing paths or dropping in waypoints from your Android tablet or smartphone

· Orbit objects or points of interest all while keeping Sprite's HD camera tightly trained on the target

· Thoroughly map a target area with the Survey function

· The 3PV "Follow Me" feature sets and centers Sprite's camera on a user while following their movement

Why I chose this UAV.

I chose this UAV because it is so different from existing UAV’s. I like the easy of setup and the ease of changing out payloads for whatever type of photography the user is contracted for. The best feature I like is the mapping and navigation software. You can basically just draw a circle around a target with your finger on a cell phone or tablet and the UAV will fly those waypoints while the operator can concentrate on capturing the images. This UAV is definitely the best for real-estate photography and 360’ video making of a house for sale.

Real-estate photography

Sprite's modular design makes it easy to change payloads to suit each mission. Each module is stackable and quickly interchangeable. Optional components, accessories and parts will begin to be available for purchase on our website a few weeks before Sprite™ begins shipping in late 2015. Some of the things we're working on include:

· GoPro™ compatible 2-axis stabilized gimbal (pitch and roll) NOW STANDARD!

· Close-proximity obstacle-avoidance technology for operations in confined areas

· High-intensity LED light band for visibility and night operations

Sprite™ is ideal for outdoor adventurers, professional photographers, and a wide range of special missions in rugged, harsh. (Tech Weekly, 2015).

Operational Limitations

• Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs. (25 kg).

• Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the visual observer.

• At all times, the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS for those people to can see the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.

• Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly participating in the operation, not under a covered structure, and not inside a covered stationary vehicle.

• Daylight-only operations, or civil twilight (30 minutes before official sunrise to 30 minutes after official sunset, local time) with appropriate anti-collision lighting.

• Must yield right of way to other aircraft.

• May use visual observer (VO) but not required.

• First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-and-avoid” requirement but can be used if requirement is satisfied in other ways.

• Maximum groundspeed of 100 mph (87 knots).

• Maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground level (AGL) or, if higher than 400 feet AGL, remain within 400 feet of a structure.

• Minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from control station.

• Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are allowed with the required ATC permission.

• Operations in Class G airspace are allowed without ATC permission.

• No person may act as a remote pilot in command or VO for more than one unmanned aircraft operation at one time.

• No operations from a moving aircraft.

• No operations from a moving vehicle unless the operation is over a sparsely populated area.

• No careless or reckless operations.

• No carriage of hazardous materials (FAA News, 2016)

UAV racing drones

So, what is all the excitement about? I have seen this mini drone racing on T.V. once or twice and it was amazing how maneuverable these drones are. Operators say that the smaller the drone the more popular the sport has become. These mini drones can fly through very small spaces, windows, cracks in walls, windows and around heavy vegetation.

There appears to be a scale now to these mini drones. It ranges from 250mm to 300mm. The size is measured from motor to motor. Today most racers are using the 300mm quadcopters and it is still considered a mini drone.

Fans may wonder how these mini drones have become so popular in such a short period of time. The development of FPV technology has rocketed the sport. Fans are mesmerized by watching these mini drone races and all the acrobatics they perform from live events to videos on YouTube. Many remote-control airplane pilots say the combination of the size, maneuverability and FPV that have merged into one have brought pilots to the sport.

So, what is the difference between these mini drone racers and normal quadcopter platforms like the DJI Phantom?

The bigger quadcopters like the phantom are much easier to fly and are built with a lot of safety features. Almost anyone can get into the sport but they must realize the biggest difference between the mini quadcopters and normal quadcopters is the speed’s that the mini drones fly at. There is good and bad with everything. Once again, the smaller the mini drone the smaller space it can fly in or through.

The mini drones carry a Go Pro camera and only requires a little additional power to keep its performance characteristics the same. If you go with a smaller size mini drone frame you will also have to go with smaller motors and smaller propellers. So, operators must be advised there will be less thrust to carry the Go Pro camera.

Fans should be aware that there will be a delay in viewing directly through the Go Pro camera. So, the operators you see on T.V. are all experts and choose the FPV system (which is based off CCTV security camera technology) will always be sending an analog video with no delay to viewers. If operators use the Go Pro as their main source of imagery there will be a small delay from what the operator see’s and what is really happening with the mini drone.

The two biggest advantages of using FPV camera over Go Pro for image viewing is;

• The FPV camera uses the battery power from the quadcopter so operators won’t run into risky situations because they forgot to charge the Go Pro camera.

• The FPV camera works very well in dim light places and with exposure adjustments. The camera’s exposure can be quickly modified to fly from dark places to well light areas.

Why I chose this mini drone racer

I chose this model of quadcopter because I saw it racing one time on T.V. and it was truly amazing. I also like the power that this mini drone has and the extra features it has over standard mini drone racers. I like it also because of the 720p video it can produce. This mini drone quadcopter is made from carbon fiber so it makes it much lighter and more maneuverable to fly the race courses.

Racer 130 UAV RTF Quadcopter Radcing Drone with FPV Camera.
The Main Features are as follows:

Light aerodynamic carbon firber true "H" shaped quad drone racing frame.
Micro HD Camera 130 degree field of view and 640 by 480 resolution.
Live video feed 720 pixel 30 frames per second.
5.8G 40 Channel video transmission technology
Supports 32G SD memory card
Powerful drone racing motors 11056 4000KV
Integrated Electronic Speed Controller
3 Dual blade racing drone propellers
State of the Art flight controller Naze 32 Rev 6
State of the Art remote control and transmitter
State of the Are Receiver iA6

Additional information
The racer 130 UAV FPV quadcopter racing drone is one of the best racing drones currently available to drone hobbyists looking to experience the full power and punch of drone racing. The racer 130 FPV drone features powerful 1105 4000KV drone racing motors with dual blade 3 inch propellers and a small compact ultra light carbon fiber x shaped quadcopter drone racing frame. The design of the racer 130 FPV drone integrates a protective design for its 700TVL CMOS 30fps HD camera with has 640 by 480 resolution as well as for its motors. It also features a 7 color adjustable LED light panel for night flights as well as state of the art flight controller the Naze32 6D and electronic speed controller (Skynex, 2017).