TECH TALK
TECH TALK TECH TALK By Cha Ratnatunga
The Drone Dimension
A drone is the most recent vehicle that originates from military applications , hence the term Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) or Remote Piloted Aircraft ( RPA ). Drone technology has opened up a plethora of applications ranging from law enforcement , agriculture , wildlife tracking , industrial inspection and videography / photography .
So what is a drone ? The basic components are a frame , camera , motors and propellers . There is also a remote controlling device for piloting the vehicle .
The most common use of a drone is to do some sort of aerial photography . For landscape videography and photography , this opens up a new dimension in the Australian outback photography .
Areas like Flinders Ranges ( SA ), Carnarvon Gorge ( QLD ), Kings Canyon ( NT ), Ulhuru and Kata Tjuta ( NT ) are awesome sites just to name a few . The capability of taking videography and photography from above delivers an appreciation of the vastness of these areas .
Operating a Drone and its features
One of the prime skills in operating a drone is managing the flight . This is done with some sort of controller . Some controllers have a built-in screen to show the movement and position of the drone in relation to the controller ( for line of sight ). Higher end controllers are used with goggles for First Person View ( FPV ) over longer flying distances . There are some drone maneuvering terms that are of relevance ;
Roll – Axis from front to back . Rotation along this axis would result in a barrel roll .
Pitch – Axis from left to right . Rotation along this axis would result in climbing or diving with a full circle being a loop-the-loop .
Yaw – Axis going from top to bottom . Rotation along this axis would result in left to right movement .
Gimball
This is a special mount on a drone designed for a camera . A gimball keeps the camera stable when the drone is in motion and improves the quality of video footage .
Remote controller
A drone can be supplied with a controller to fly it . These are known as Ready-To-Fly ( RTF ). Other types of drones can be controlled by using a smart phone . These are known as Bind-To-Fly ( BNF ).
FPV ( First Person View )
Drones with FPV capability can synchronise the camera to feed into a set of goggles . The user can view what the drone is recording in flight
Return Home
A capability of the drone to return to the start point and land . Some are intelligent to monitor the battery capacity and engage the “ Return Home ” mode when the battery reaches a specific level .