Chinese Police Officer uses his drone in cases

Drone Lover

Born in 1985, Wang Yuyao is a police officer in Tangshan Police Station. He has been a loyal fan of model plane since Junior High.

Zhu Yue, senior officer of Tangshan Police Station, said Wang Yuyao has used his drone to assist daily works of the police station, including investigation, security control, supervision and emergent response.

Wang was the only normal police officer invited to the National Police UAV Forum of 2015, while other 300 delegates are scientists, experts and technicians from institutes and enterprises.

On month later in October, 2015, Wang and two of his colleagues went to the First Contest of Police UAV Application on behalf of Jiangning Police Bureau. They won the second prize in landing/taking off.

He was invited again to the National Police UAV Forum of 2016, and gave a speech on the practice of UAV in small police stations.

There are now three drones in Tangshan Police Station, according to Wang. One was his DIY, the other two drones were bought by the police station. With different sizes, three drones are used for different tasks.

Finding Missing Boy

Mr. Liu called Tangshan Police station at 10 a.m., Dec 27^th, 2015, saying his 9-year-old son went missing. The station sent out over 20 police officer to search the missing kid immediately.

A neighbor reported that he saw Mr. Liu’s son walked into a Mountain nearby with a male adult. Tuan Mountain, which was not tall, was covered dense trees.

The police station sent out a drone to search, and soon found a man. After investigation, the man, Wang, said he saw the young boy walked towards Qinglinyan Village. Then Police and Mr. Liu found out the ‘missing’ boy was at his friend’s home.

Useful for Various Tasks

Fire control became critical during Tomb-sweeping Festival for Tangshan Police Station. Wang said: “Drones are much more efficient in patrolling around mountains. It used to cost 60 policeman a whole day to patrol the mountains, but now the drone can finish the task in one hour.”

It is also applied to monitor flood and provide warning during flood season. Via the real-time video transmission, the police station could respond in targeted ways. The data sent back by drones would be shared to other relevant government departments for further rescue/response plans.

Drones are also used to prevent illegal logging in remote mountainous areas. Previously, it was very difficult for officers to get close to the logging scenes and capture evident pictures. With drones, it has become much easier to locate criminals take pictures as evidence, which would help Police’s arresting action.

Wang also suggested that drones could help to drop buoy to drowning person with precision, especially when the person is far away from banks.

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How are drones used for graffiti?

Drones can be used in many fields. Carlo Ratti Associati is planning to paint empty urban surfaces across the world by drones. That is, drones can also be used to draw graffiti. The studio has developed a system called ‘paint by drone’ that can draw on building surfaces, turning any blank surface into an artistic space for urban data visualization.

The drones equipped with sensors are programmed to draw content submitted digitally via an app, while a central management system regulates their operations in real time. In this way, the drones can create artistic works on the empty walls for us.

The studio plans to paint the graffiti first in Berlin and Turin in fall 2017. The collaborative graffiti projects will allow either an artist to do an initial drawing on the canvas to be colored in by users where each person can pick a favorite spot for the drone to paint.

And you can also use the mobile app to draw your own designs. It can be seen that graffiti is now catching up with the scientific development trend.

A protective net will be placed on the scaffolding’s cover so that people can use the drones to paint freely and safely.

There are still more possibilities to be unlocked for drones.

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5 Mistakes Most New Pilots Make

What’s the first thing to do when you finally have your DJI Mavic at hand?

No, not fly. It’s studying user manual.

User manual serves as the best teacher of all new pilots. Every question about the drone can be answered. For example, what should you do with these two little sticks?

But when you finally finish reading the user manual and hope for a thrilling flight, you probably are frustrated by the result of what you took.

You search the Internet and watch amazing aerial videos shot by well-known aerial photographer, but still can’t understand why such an easy move doesn’t work well in your videos.

Except those are not easy moves.

Below are the top 5 mistakes that beginners mostly make:

TOP5

Fail to fly consistently

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Mostly happen when: following moving objects

Consequence：Lose the target or make the entire video go waste

Reason： Don’t have a sense of how much force should be made to control the sticks

Solution:

1 Use your thumbs along with your pointing fingers to control the sticks, instead of using thumbs alone

2 Use ActiveTrack to follow your target

Using thumbs alone to control sticks can be difficult for beginners

Use two fingers for accurate control

With DJI ActiveTrack, why bother manual control?

TOP4

Fail to know the limit of gimbal pitch

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Mostly happens when： Flying over a target and adjust the camera from forwards to downwards

Consequence：Shaking footages

Reason:Not familiar enough to simultaneously control the flight and camera pitch

Solutions：

1 Use your thumbs and index fingers to control the joysticks, the middle fingers roll the dials gently.

2 Please pay attention to the roll instruction line on the left side of the video feedback or the shutter button, gradually stop rolling the dial when the movement of the roll axis is closed to the limit.

When camera pitch is about to reach the ceiling, the white dot above turns red.

TOP3

Fail to make a decent circling

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Mostly happens when：manually circles around a target

Consequence：footage is ruined by bumpy flight

Reason：Cannot coordinate the left stick with the right one

Solutions：

1 Practice makes perfect. And remember, never push the sticks too hard.

2 Use Circle mode in DJI Go.

That’s how bumpy videos are recorded

Push the left stick gently when turning the drone

DJI GO Circle Mode

TOP2

No entering & exiting frame

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Mostly happens when：Shooting moving target

Consequence：No entering and exiting frames in the video

Reason：Lack of awareness

A good video should have a beginning and ending to let viewers know where it begins and ends

Solutions：Be aware

Entering & exiting frame

TOP1

This is the TOP 1 mistake that almost every beginners will make, which is:

A sudden turning during flight

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Mostly happens when：Anytime could happen

Consequence：ruins the perfect long shot

Reason：unknown

Solutions：keep your hand away from the left stick during flight

Just flight forward. It doesn’t hurt.

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“A Worldwide “Industrial Revolution in the Sky” Ushered in by Drones

The drones have been acting as the eyes and ears of army. In recent years, with various advantages such as small size, cheap price and easy operation, drones are not only used in army now, but also in traditional aerial photography, logistics, industrial exploration and agricultural management as well as some other new fields.

Photo from the Internet

Earlier in July 2016, the Britain cops used a drone in finding the escaped lynx. According to Daily Mail, Devon and Cornwall Police are set to launch the first 24-hour drone unit in the UK. They’ll be used to help officers with investigations, by searching for missing people and taking photographs of crime scenes, for instance. Have you ever been caught in a situation where you failed to find the commodity in a supermarket? A drone may solve this problem. According to Fortune, a large-scale supermarket is going to get drone patent for in-store delivery. The idea is to free customers from having to walk across its super-sized emporiums to find what they want and from having to wait while employees return from far-away storerooms. If you order a cup of coffee in the supermarket, the drone will also delivery it for you.

With drones, the office workers no longer have to worry about their pets at home. An American business machine company plans to use drone as the “nurse” and “trainer” for pets. This drone will be equipped with a microphone to detect pets’ cry or bark and a temperature sensor to detect whether the pets have a fever. The drone can also track the pets’ activity area to confirm whether the pets have entered restricted area. While playing with the pet, the drone can also give “verbal praise” or drop a piece of food as a reward. When the drone detects that the pets need to answer a call of nature, it will work cooperatively with other intelligent smart home equipment to let the pets go out.

As the application fields extend, drones’ intelligent operation capacity has been improved. It is said that the Russian drone pilots may soon get a revolutionary virtual reality helmet to pilot unmanned aircraft and get an HD view of terrain and enemy targets. In 2016, a Norwegian laboratory showed their idiodynamic drone that they have been developing. With just a blink of your eyes, the drone can turn the pilot’s brainwave into flight signals.

In rencent years, the drone industry is growing fast in the world. People’s recognition and demand for drones are increasing. With more and more powerful functions, the drones will definitely usher in a worldwide “industrial revolution in the sky”.

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DJI Merge Power and Smart Features to Give the Gift of Flight to All

If you’ve never experienced flying a drone then taking the first steps to selecting which drone to purchase and flying for the very first time may seem a little daunting.  There are several different manufacturers out there offering different types of drones for different uses. These uses include racing, video and photography or simply for the fun of flying and it’s important to select the drone that best matches your needs.

One of the world’s largest drone manufacturers, with seven out of every ten consumer drones in the sky, is DJI.  DJI have a range of drones in their line-up ranging from the easy-to-fly straight of the box Phantom range to the more prosumer interchangeable lens Inspire series and onto the professional Matrice series used for films and industrial inspections.

The latest addition to the Phantom series, the Phantom 4 Advanced Credit:DJI

The latest addition to the Inspire series, the Inspire 2 Credit: DJI

The latest addition to the Matrice series, the M210 Credit:DJI

DJI also shook up the market with the Mavic Pro, a drone that folds up to just the size of a small water bottle and weighs less than 750g.  You may think that in order to achieve a drone of this size some of the smart features included in other DJI drones needed to be discarded but this is not the case.  The DJI Mavic Pro not only includes the same intelligent features as other DJI drones but goes even further and enhances them. Its compact size hides a high degree of complexity that makes it one of DJI’s most sophisticated flying cameras ever.

“We merged power and smart features making it easy for everyone to fly and create beautiful images,” explained a DJI spokesperson.  “The toughest challenge for us was finding the sweet spots between form and function.”

With 24 high-performance computing cores, five vision sensors to help avoid bumps and scrapes, and a 4K camera stabilized by a 3-axis mechanical gimbal, the Mavic Pro helps to turn the sky into your very own canvas ready for you to create your own masterpiece easily and without worry.

The DJI Mavic Pro fits in the palm of your hand Credit: The Verge

The DJI Mavic Pro is the perfect example of what the DJI CEO Frank Wang strived for when first setting up the company just over ten years ago. His aim was to make it easy for anyone to pick-up a radio control and fly without the frustrations and difficulty associated with keeping radio controlled helicopters in the air.

They say that a picture tells a thousand words and thanks to DJI innovations simplifying flight and aerial imaging for all, there are an almost infinite number of words to be told.

 

 

 

 

 

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Drones: An Evolving New Tool for Realtors

Drones are transforming a variety of industries, from delivery services through to inspecting solar panels and everything in between. One pioneering sector that long ago embraced drone technology is real estate. Back in 2012, when drones were still in their infancy, realty commentators like Anita Cooper broadened the industry for the new breed of airborne robots by writing educational articles in trade magazines and websites. With the passage of time, drones have now become a crutial part of the realty business landscape.

Ernie Miller of Cecil County, for example, has been an avid cinematographer since childhood. He has integrated that passion into his realty day job by capturing shots of properties with a drone. To do so legally in the USA, realtors must have an appropriate exemption or pass the Part 107 exam from the FAA.

Ernie uses a Phantom 4 aircraft manufactured by the drone industry leader, DJI. The Phantom 4 has a 4K camera, can travel up to 4.3 miles from the operator and has a front-facing obstacle sensing system. The camera can capture butter-smooth, fluid shots which is a crucial feature for real estate footage.

Miller explains the virtues of using drones, particularly in rural areas, “it is ideal when you have a large property or a farm,” he explains. “It’s also great for waterfront properties. Shooting from the air gives you a good angle of the property from the water. You are able to get the dock and the home in the background. Getting a shot from a boat, you don’t get the scope of the property like you do shooting from a drone.”

Hud Benson, is another local realtor who utilizes drones. He began his drone journey using the DJI Phantom 2 Vision in 2014.

The legacy drone models used by both Miller and Benson have been superseded by far more capable aircraft, recently launched by DJI. Notably, the Phantom 4 Professional has a 1-inch 20MP CMOS sensor able to capture 4K-resolution at 60fps. The aircraft boasts a network of forward, rear, side and downward sensors for obstacle avoidance.

The brand new Phantom 4 Advanced released by DJI in April 2017 features an identical camera sensor to the Phantom 4 Professional, but does not have the rear and side obstacle avoidance sensors.

With both models you get the option to have DJI’s remote controller with an integrated high-brightness display.

The advantage of using a drone for real estate is that the full overview of a property can be captured – cheaply. The only alternative would be using an expensive helicopter or airplane. Luxury properties, in particular, benefit from the characteristic cinematic long sweeping shot that can be achieved with a drone.

“I have used my drone to shoot farms that are for sale,” Benson comments, “it is also a nice tool for doing an elevation photo of a home in a case where the neighborhood is an asset and you want to show where that home is in relationship to the other homes and the surroundings.”

Very generously, Benson also frames an aerial shot of a property and gifts that to the realty customer after they transition into their new home.

As evidenced by both Miller and Benson, realtors have much to gain from incorporating drones into their workflow. Utilizing drones in the realty sector will only become more popular as this astounding technology continues to evolve.

 

 

 

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NAB 2017 – Must See Attractions

This year at NAB Show in the Las Vegas convention center, the 1 million square feet of floor space will have specialized segments called pavilions or attractions, each focused on a specific industry or location. There are 27 different pavilions announced and with such a large floor plan it may be difficult to know where to concentrate your efforts. Here are what we consider the top most exciting attractions.

(screenshot from NABSHOW website)

Aerial Robotics and Drone Pavilion

“Find the industry’s leading experts ready to take you through all the aspects of employing aerial technology and couple that with dynamic exhibitor demonstrations built to give you an up-close and personal look at the latest technologies in action.”

Here we’ll see the latest in drone tech and a number of really exciting sessions like the Aerial Cinematography Techniques Field Workshop. This is a hands-on training course in which new pilots will be flying with professionals to learn standard practices and more. Drones: The Future is up in the Air focuses on regulations, rules, and the volatile nature of public and governmental perception of drones.

Undoubtedly there will be announcements of new drone tech. Recently DJI has been releasing announcements of new products left and right, so we’re excited to see what they have to show us at their booth in the Central Hall of the convention center.

Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavilion

“Get your hands on the latest augmented and virtual reality equipment and software. The AR VR Pavilion features the leading content producers and tech companies building the future and changing the way we consume information.”

This pavilion has too many sessions to count with topics ranging from the technology that is driving it to the content that is being created for it. NAB will be a great opportunity for us to see how the industry chooses to progress.

(photo from http://ift.tt/2qyfddq)

Facebook Live Video Solutions Pavilion

“Facebook has identified a set of tools and platforms that help publishers optimize their Facebook Live broadcasts. At the 2017 NAB Show, a selection of vendors will be on-hand to demo these tools and platforms, which can help take your Facebook Live productions to the next level.”

Such interesting sessions will be A New Era of Live Entertainment Streaming and The Future of Live Streaming will tackle ideas addressing the future of live streaming. The session Broadcasting Live on the Go: How to Livecast from Mobile Devices will also include a lesson on live streaming from DJI GO, the app used in conjunction with their smartphone stabilizer. The technology has finally caught up to consumer needs. Content creators are jumping on this medium and this pavilion will tackle what the future will look like.

 

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News from DJI: Drones Save Lives

Unmanned aerial vehicles have become increasingly popular in the last several years amongst hobbyists. Taking photographs of beautiful sunsets, capturing cinematic videos of sweeping landscapes or racing aircraft competitively against friends have all become aerial shot staples.

However, drones have far more capabilities than just capturing artistic shots and racing.

One unsung, less publicized aspect of drones is their contribution to humanitarian endeavors; the simple ability of drones to save lives. This phenomenon has piqued little significant public interest until now.

The global leader in the manufacturing of drones, DJI, has released verified data concerning incidents where drones have come to the rescue.

The company has compiled cases where DJI aircraft and the aircraft of competing manufacturers have played a significant role in saving lives. Inevitably, far more cases have occurred on a daily basis across the globe but have gone largely unreported.

In one incident in China, a DJI Phantom lowered supplies to distressed people who were standing aloft a mountain of flood-water debris.

Admittedly, with recent advances in technology, there are now more elaborately engineered drones that can be customized for such tasks.

For example, the recently released M200 from DJI is a multi-purpose platform that could be potentially customized for humanitarian purposes.

The M200 models are water resistant with an IP43 rating. The aircraft also has a hot-swappable dual battery system and a 35-minute flight time which helps in conducting longer flights. The aircraft’s safety features include obstacle avoidance sensors facing forward, up and down, as well as an ADS-B receiver for receiving advisory information from manned aircraft close by. Compatible cameras are the DJI XT, X4S, X5S and Z30.

With the Z30 camera the operator can zoom in for a closer inspection of a disaster area. The infrared XT camera can see heat signatures of people in search and rescue scenarios. The M210 RTK is identical to the M210 but has an additional RTK unit which ensures centimeter precision navigation.

A variety of other examples of drones playing a crucial role in saving lives include rescuers in Turkey who deployed a drone to locate a lost film crew – some members of which began to suffer from hypothermia. A pair of kayakers in South Carolina were located during nightfall by first responders using a drone equipped with thermal imaging. In Canada, a drone with an infrared camera helped first responders find people lost in snow.

It is evident with these and other examples, that drones can play a significant role in helping first responders save lives in perilous situations. As more drone aircraft are deployed in these scenarios, more impressive heroic stories like those detailed above will arise.

 

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DJI Leads the Way in New Report About Lifesaving Drones

DJI reported Lives Saved: A Survey of Drones in Action, DJI compiled a number of reported cases of lives being saved by drones. DJI, the largest consumer drone manufacturer, has maintained a consistent record of working against needless and complicated restrictions over airspace and flight regulations. Recently we’ve seen them up against a recent threat level classification by the FAA which would place many toys and consumer drones in a higher threat category than necessary. As part of the Drone Manufacturer’s Alliance, they are also up against a recent change to Canada’s drone airspace regulations that makes flying more restrictive for hobbyists.

After even a cursory glance at DJI’s report, it’s apparent that DJI aircrafts are the stars in over half of the cases (at least 10/18, though in some cases the drone used was not mentioned). So why are DJI aircrafts featured in the majority? Of course one can say DJI is keen on focusing on their own aircraft, but as described above, their motivation isn’t entirely selfish as any case where a drone was essential to someone’s safety was included in this report.

Here are a few practical reasons why DJI aircrafts across the board are used for public safety:

1) Presumably main reason of course is availability. DJI has captured so much of the market (about 70%) with their aircrafts that nearly anywhere a disaster or emergency occurs there is a DJI aircraft within a few miles.

2) DJI drones are also almost always immediately ready to fly. The batteries charge in about an hour and most pilots have charged batteries on hand. It takes most DJI aircraft less than 2 minutes to get up in the air whereas some others have significantly longer setup times.

Joshua (TX) Fire Department.

3) Range and flight time. DJI aircrafts like the Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 Pro have the longest range and flight times of any consumer or enterprise drone on the market, by far. With and off the shelf range of 5 miles and flight times pushing 30 minutes per battery, even amateur pilots can survey huge areas for maximum coverage.

4) The quality of the video feeds coming from DJI aircrafts is high enough quality for previously invisible details to be seen from afar. 1080p video is pretty much necessary when you are flying up to 400 feet in the air. The videos themselves when grabbed from the onboard SD cards are full 4k, so even tiny details can be seen.

Photo: Midway Fire Rescue

5) Thermal and zoom cameras. DJI crafts like the Matrice and Inspire lines can carry an array of cameras. The 2 most commonly featured in Search and Rescue and public safety cases are the Zenmuse XT (thermal) and Z30 (zoom). The XT offers stabilized and glitch free video whereas other aircrafts with thermal cameras send a jerky and static ridden video back to the pilot – making the already low resolution thermal image even harder to view. The Z30 is one of the only affordable high-zoom cameras available for commercial drones and can only be mounted to DJI drones.

Overall, it’s fantastic to see a company as large as DJI working for pilots. If it were left up to regulatory agencies, restrictions may be even tougher on using drones for safety. We need a major manufacturer to be a voice of reason and show how powerful a tool for public health drones can be.

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