DJI FLIR search and rescue drone

[norseman]

 

 

[BlackRockBigfoot]

34 minutes ago, norseman said:

 

 

Probably pretty pricey… but, it will get cheaper every year 

[NorthWind]

Whoa.

 

 

[Catmandoo]

Pre-order now for $14K. Don't know about batteries or the special controller.

Very impressive drone.  Ever notice that drone reviews are done on bright sunny, windless days?

[SasquatchPA]

This looks pretty cool. I am betting this weighs enough that a license is required. I should get my license.

[NorthWind]

One of my biggest gripes with drones (aside from the pricetag) is the noise. The noise just sticks out like a claxon in a meditation class. Not a natural sound, it definitely screams "Man is near!" But with this, you can be high enough (it seems) to negate that to a degree, and still be able to see. But if you lose it in a hundred and fifty foot Douglas fir or on the side of an inaccessible mountain, you're in a world of woe. Yeah, no drones for me. The only way I can see using one for my area is to scan riverbanks and mud flats for prints, not caring about the noise. Would save me a lot of time and boot sole molecules. This drone is cool as all get out though.

[SWWASAS]

I agree on the noise issue with multirotor drones.      A way around it is to have drones with a fixed wing configuration that can use slow spinning large propellers that do not make much sound.    In the Vietnam war, the CIA converted a civilian glider with a large slow turning propeller.     They claim that it was nearly silent at low altitudes.       The added advantage of the wing is that much less energy and battery drain is required to keep them in the air.    The wing provides the lift.    Most likely flight times 3 or 4 times that of a multirotor could be achieved.     A compromise would be to have a quad rotor system capable of vertical takeoff and landing that transitions to one or two large slow turning props for foward thrust with the multirotor system shut down for horizontal flight.     But and this is a big but,   other than scouting lets say you are lucky enough to image a BF.    What then,   other than you know the area where one is?    By the time you got there it would be gone.     The one time I think I saw a BF from my airplane,   the thing went around the back side of trees to hide, and I did not get a second look.   I other than it was cinnamon brown and walking on two legs,   I cannot be sure it was not a human that for some reason was hiding from me.     Then again an airplane flying by at 500 AGL is not exactly quiet either.    

[NorthWind]

I think I'll wait for this ion propulsion drone. SILENT!

 

 

[Catmandoo]

^^^ The never ending race for high tech gizmos continues. It will be difficult to source the dilithium crystals  to fly these types.

 

What is old, is new again. Lighter than air ships are being looked at........again. The Zeppelin was amazing but its efficiency was slowly aced out by the DC-3 for air travel back in the day.

A proposal to power the Zeppelin was to use Kirsten-Boeing cycloidal rotors. It would have been able to manuever like a helicopter. IIRC, engines by Mercedez Benz were used for propeller thrusters.

The Kirsten cyclodal thruster is 100 years old. The physical envelope is large and complicated.  The concept has evolved.  Time to get small:

 

https://www.sunplower.de/technology

 

Interesting proposal for small drone flight. 

[Explorer]

For those interested in using drones for BF research, I recommend that you listen to this podcast interview of Robert (Rob) Evans by Cliff Barackman.

 

I found it interesting and learned a few things about what BFRO was and is doing with drones.

 

I did not know who Rob Evans was before I listened to this interview.   He is one of the folks who operated and supported the drones used during the Finding Bigfoot TV show and has been a long time supporter of BFRO and its drone research program.

 

He worked for Microsoft for 22 years and while he lived in WA he conducted his own private BF research.  He is now retired  from MS, lives in Florida, and has his own drone company to support wildlife research.

 

https://bigfoot-and-beyond-with-cliff-and-bobo.simplecast.com/episodes/ep-167-rob-evans-drone-squatching-0mk9sVHF

 

While not drone related, he mentioned at ~ 35 min, that while providing software support to Universities that where doing wildlife research with a network of game cameras (software that he developed privately for identifying the type of wildlife captured by the camera using AI), that the universities had captured photographs of BF taken during animal monitoring research.  However, these universities where not willing to share these photographs to avoid controversy and ridicule.  I find it strange that wildlife biologists would hide photographic evidence, unless the photos were ambiguous and blobsquatches that had no evidentiary value.

 

He provided some guidance for folks who want to enter into the drone research.

His recommendations for Drones are as follows:

 

Low Range:  < $2,000

Parrot Bebop

Yuneec H520

 

Nonetheless, Rob does not recommend the low price drones because they are too low end on performance and thermal imager is low resolution.

Instead, he recommends that research teams pool their funds and go for the mid range.

 

Mid Range: $6,500 to $10,000 depending on accessories and extra batteries purchased

DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advance  (has 640 x 512 px thermal camera)

 

High Range: $20 to $30 K

DJI Matrice 300 RTK

This is the one he owns.

 

At the end of the show, Cliff says that he does not use drones and mentions some of the negatives.

- it is very stressful (safety issues and the required attention to controls, drone location, and situational awareness)

- it is complex (you need FAA drone pilot license).  Although some folks might get by with a non-commercial permit if their intent is just recreational and then just have to take the UAS Safety Test and register their drone.  But any YouTube video posted that is using drones and is generating revenue is considered non-recreational (and thus commercial) and needs the FAA drone pilot license.  (I could be wrong on this, but that was my interpretation after reading the FAA guidelines in https://www.faa.gov/uas/recreational_flyers )

- it is expensive and you need insurance (if you lose the unit or if you hurt people with it)

 

I lean towards Cliff's position on avoiding more technology in the field.  I rather investigate the night close to camp with a thermal imager.

But, I fully understand that this technology offers great opportunities to wildlife capture.

Maybe best to wait for less noisy, longer battery life, and cheaper units in 5 years.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2023 by Explorer

[wiiawiwb]

Using a thermal imager at night helps us in our attempt to level the playing field.  I think adding a drone into the equation changes that dynamic a bit.  I have a sasquatching friend who is masterful at things mechanical. I was with him during the day when he had a momentary lapse and his drone disappeared. We scoured the forest at the last known address and it couldn't find it even with three people searching.

 

I'd hate to invest a substantial amount of money into something that could get lost. I understand that sophisticated drones have anti-collision software that is designed to avoid a problem. Even considering that, I'm not going to sink a large sum of money on a wing and a prayer (so to speak) when operator error could deep six my investment.

 

The licensing process along with the cost and noise made it something I'll defer to some point in the future. In the meantime, a hand-held thermal is an amazing tool. I find myself scouring the treeline even during the day as inside a thick forest can be eternally dark.

 

 

[SWWASAS]

On 2/2/2023 at 3:54 AM, wiiawiwb said:

Using a thermal imager at night helps us in our attempt to level the playing field.  I think adding a drone into the equation changes that dynamic a bit.  I have a sasquatching friend who is masterful at things mechanical. I was with him during the day when he had a momentary lapse and his drone disappeared. We scoured the forest at the last known address and it couldn't find it even with three people searching.

 

I'd hate to invest a substantial amount of money into something that could get lost. I understand that sophisticated drones have anti-collision software that is designed to avoid a problem. Even considering that, I'm not going to sink a large sum of money on a wing and a prayer (so to speak) when operator error could deep six my investment.

 

The licensing process along with the cost and noise made it something I'll defer to some point in the future. In the meantime, a hand-held thermal is an amazing tool. I find myself scouring the treeline even during the day as inside a thick forest can be eternally dark.

 

 

I am registered,  tested and licensed as a UAV hobbiest.   Mostly because I started flying RC models again.     If you avoid any sort of money making, I see no reason to get licensed commercially, unless you want to sell your services.     I do intend to develop some sort of powered glider with camera.   I have some large gliders nearly complete to fly.   I just need to modify them to carry cameras.     The quadcopter drone systems are very noisy and I think BF would hide from them.   The RC glider can operate nearly silently or silently using slope soaring methods and would have many times the flight duration of a quad drone because of the wings carrying the weight of the vehicle.       I feel that typle of drone has some chance of imaging a BF in an active area.      One would have to captapult launch and do some sort of net recovery in a forested area.     Lost model detectors are commercially available and would help should one go down.    But getting a drone out of a 130 + tall Doug Fir would not be an easy task.     Who knows perhaps someone will get lucky and get some imaging.    

[BC witness]

You've got me thinking, SWWASAS. I have several 2 meter E-gliders, and just recently got a GoPro for Christmas. Handlaunching from a logging road and landing back on it would work. The E-motor climbs them out very quickly, and makes much less noise than a quad drone, and once you're aloft and gliding with the motor off, duration is as long as the wind and your skill allows. I'll see if I can modify one of the gliders to safely carry the GoPro mounted where it gets a good view.

Edited February 7, 2023 by BC witness

[wiiawiwb]

7 hours ago, BC witness said:

E-gliders

 

 Never knew they existed and are commercially available. Thanks for sharing and let us know how  it works out.

[hiflier]

7 hours ago, wiiawiwb said:

 

 Never knew they existed and are commercially available. Thanks for sharing and let us know how  it works out.

 

I can't help myself as being one who always ends up asking myself and others questions. My first one is always: And then what? And then follow that with...and then what? And so on and so on.