Jim Crume P.L.S., M.S., CFedS, RP’s Post

Yesterday evening I was exploring Jemison's flight envelope. This is the boundary that defines safe operating conditions for an aircraft. It is important for safety, but also for the design of higher level control algorithms running on the companion PC. I was doing a high-speed autonomous mission using spline waypoints, to create large sweeping turns that link smoothly into high acceleration, tight turns. This course is intended to test Jemison's current tune and control loops. My last lap I pushed the waypoint navigation speed to 14 m/s or 31.3 mph! In future tests I will push beyond this!l. I am collecting In-flight data on over 30 different parameter, including but not limited to velocity, Air-frame vibrations, PID rates, position, current and GPS/Compass error. #testing #tuning #UAV #drone #engineering #development #arupilot #python

For my network interested in Physics, Mathematics and Unmanned Traffic Management...some weekday musings: "Flying High with Eigenvalues: The Math Behind Airspace Harmony" What do Interstellar, eigenvalues, and unmanned traffic have in common? They all tackle the challenge of balancing chaos and order..whether it’s love across dimensions or unmanned traffic management (UTM) in a busy airspace. Eigenvalues are fascinating...they uncover stability in complex systems. In UTM, where drones, air taxis, and traditional aircraft share the same sky, this concept could re-define airspace optimisation. Imagine using eigenvalues to predict flight patterns, assess airspace stability, or dynamically adjust routes. It’s like the precision of La La Land’s choreography, turning what could be a Top Gun-style frenzy into a seamless ballet. With tools like JARUS SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment), we already evaluate risks and structure drone operations. But by integrating mathematical insights: We could forecast congestion and reroute dynamically, ensuring safety. Model disruptions in airspace to preemptively manage risks. Create smarter, real-time airspace allocation systems that adapt like clockwork. It’s not just theory—it’s a step toward skies that are safer, smarter, and more synchronised. After all, as Dr. Brand in Interstellar says, “The answers were always up there.” Would love to hear your thoughts: How can math and creativity help us design the future of airspace? #PhysicsInAction #MathInAviation #EigenvaluesExplained #TheMathBehindTheSky #UnmannedTrafficManagement #AirspaceInnovation #DroneTechnology #AviationOptimization #FutureOfFlight #STEMThoughts #InnovationInAction #TechTuesday #CreativeTechSolutions #InterstellarMoments #TopGunTechnology #ThoughtLeadership #AviationInsights #LinkedInCommunity

‘A visual navigation system can provide a workaround by giving the INS high accuracy position updates at regular intervals, which it can use to recalibrate its location. But the high resolution cameras used in these systems generate huge amounts of data, and this has to be compared against a massive database of satellite imagery using computationally expensive algorithms. Fitting these kinds of computational resources on a small and power-constrained vehicle like a drone is typically not feasible. NILEQ’s system significantly reduces the resources required for visual navigation by using a neuromorphic camera.’

The results one can derive from a DJI Mavic 3 Multispectral RTK drone which has the following spectral bands: ------------------------------------ Green (G): 560 ± 16 nm Red (R): 650 ± 16 nm Red Edge (RE): 730 ± 16 nm Near Infrared (NIR): 860 ± 26 nm RGB: This is a combination of red, green, and blue light, similar to what the human eye sees. These spectral bands are captured by four 5MP multispectral cameras and one 20MP RGB camera. This combination of cameras and spectral bands enables the drone to capture detailed data for various applications, including precision agriculture, environmental monitoring, and land surveying. The image below exemplifies the above drone flown over a farm in Kildare, Ireland. University College Dublin, UCD School of Geography

The navigation landscape is shifting. In conflict zones, GPS jamming and spoofing has been so disruptive to drone technologies that it’s accelerated an entire industry to rally forward, develop and deploy.    We sat down with Defense One to chat about where traditional mapping falls short in dynamic environments like these. We discussed our emerging Pinpoint3D solution, a visual-based positioning tool that improves the positional accuracy of the drone and the accuracy of the imagery it's collecting. Even when signals are compromised.   Our Chief Product Officer Peter Wilczynski likens the software to old-school referential navigation systems, “more like what happened when you were in a ship and you were looking at the stars.”   Full article linked in the comments.

🌳 Inspired Flight utilized YellowScan's advanced LiDAR systems, onboard an IF1200A drone, in a recent environmental monitoring study >> https://hubs.la/Q02LW5lR0 The company leveraged the YellowScan Mapper and Mapper+ LiDAR systems to determine the number of shrubs present at a specific site. "The VX-20, Mapper and Mapper+ were all integrated seamlessly using both YellowScan mounting hardware or Gremsy Quick Connect mounts and tested in the field with great results. YellowScan has been a great integration for the Inspired Flight vehicles." - Casey Viera, Inspired Flight Operations Fleet Manager. Inspired Flight Technologies Inc., YellowScan, Gremsy #lidar #surveying #technology #environment

Explore the transformative impact of aerial drone surveys on the commercial and industrial surveying industry. Learn how this innovative technology boosts efficiency, safety, and accuracy. Dive into our latest blog for comprehensive insights and...

Now is the ideal moment to schedule your LiDAR capture project! As summer unfolds, we're fully utilizing the remaining months of the flying season—a prime opportunity to integrate LiDAR technology into your projects. LiDAR sensors excel in penetrating dense tree canopies, effectively capturing the ground topography of targeted sites, even amidst lush leaves and foliage. Additionally, we offer the capability to concurrently acquire aerial photography or near-infrared imagery. This supplementary data enriches your LiDAR results, facilitating a deeper, more thorough analysis and providing richer insights for your projects. Do you have a project in mind? Cooper Aerial Surveys Co. got you covered. #lidar #airbornelidar #phaseone #teledyne #galaxyprime #survey #mapping

🧐 How do you inspect the UNREACHABLE? Confined spaces and inaccessible areas are no longer a challenge with Flyability's revolutionary Elios 3 and its Surveying Payload. 🚁 Combining agility with advanced LiDAR technology, this game-changing drone redefines precision and safety in inspections. With the Surveying Payload, Elios 3 takes your operations to the next level: 🔹 Create highly accurate 3D models of confined spaces. 🔹 Gather real-time actionable data even from the most challenging environments. 🔹 Ensure safer, more efficient inspections without risking human lives. From industrial inspections to asset management, the Elios 3 with Surveying Payload empowers you to map, analyze, and make data-driven decisions like never before. 💡 Ready to transform your inspections and explore what’s possible? 🔗 Click to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dA2VeAsA #flyability #elios3 #surveyingpayload #lidartechnology #confinedspaceInspection #3dmapping #dronetech #industrialsafety #innovationininspection

For almost 4 years, I’ve been working extensively on many LiDAR systems, but recently, I got curious about radar technology and how to process radar data. I found an exciting dataset from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AUV Lab that has a marine radar and a LiDAR and decided to experiment with clustering and tracking and it worked quite good honestly with minimal effort! The main challenge I’ve noticed is that radar data tends to be much noisier than LiDAR but it provides a much higher range of detection. Anyway, it’s been an insightful learning experience nonetheless. Check out the demo in the video below 🎥 and explore the dataset yourself here: https://lnkd.in/d2vC6xEi #Marine #Radar #LiDAR #Tracking #MIT #ROS