darnelldrones

[darnelldrones]

Solar Farm Inspections with Modular Drone Dock in Japan

Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, AfterFit is an electric power company specializing in green electricity generation, transmission, and sale. Since inception, they have been on the mission to accelerate the shift to renewable energy. Although increasing the number of renewable energy power plants is difficult due to the land constraints, they’ve been scouring Japan’s landscape using satellite data, automated drones, and AI tech to find the most viable locations for renewable energy production. 

With the in-house expertise to handle everything from power plant development to power supply, maintenance, and asset management, they are well-equipped to offer comprehensive solutions and provide decarbonized energy without incurring the conventional cost increases. In addition to 25 domestic bases, they have recently expanded into Vietnam and Indonesia. 

The Hurdles AfterFit had to Overcome

The challenges in Japan are two-fold:

Workforce Scarcity & Capital Intensive:

The rise in Japan’s elderly population has had a significant impact on the availability of personnel across all industries. AfterFIT, for example, is experiencing a shortage of chief electrical engineers for power plant maintenance and management as it expands to a new location.

They need not only labor-saving measures to accommodate an ageing population, but they also need to invest heavily in round-trip transportation of staff members to and from the site. They also needed to ensure that two technicians are available within two hours of a mishap. Furthermore, with the end of the feed-in tariff (FIT) for photovoltaic power generation in March 2010, additional cost reductions are critical.

  Copper wire Thefts:

Thefts have become a common occurrence in Japanese power plants in recent years, with several thefts reported each year at the same power plant, resulting in significant losses.

Copper wire theft is a distinct problem that not only increases the immediate cost of the replacement but also reduces the amount of electricity generated because the time required to complete the repair or replacement increases. This necessitates countermeasures to keep them from happening.

Drones for Solar Farm Inspection: How it all started

In response to these challenges, AfterFIT began using drones in an effort to “solve green power difficulties with technology”. With over 50 qualified pilots spread across 20 sites across the country, AfterFIT has been using drones for conducting surveys required for solar power plant inspection, construction, and design. An in-house application software for autonomous navigation has also been developed to enhance productivity through AI analysis of acquired photos.

Drones helped them in reducing the time required to inspect a MW from 3 hours to less than 10 minutes.

The process became more efficient, saving time and resources, but the labour shortage remained.

Solution: Modular DiaB systems to the rescue! 

As a solution to the labour shortage, companies in Japan have developed and used a dedicated drone for power plant maintenance and inspection, the system, including the charging port, costed around 10 million yen, posing a cost-effectiveness barrier to practical use.

However, AfterFIT was one of the first renewable energy companies to put a modular automated drone docking station into practical use at the power plant (1,924KW) in Ashino, Nasu Town, Tochigi Prefecture.

Without any operator or assistance on-site, AfterFit was able to conduct a level 3 (non-visual, no assistant) solar panel inspection. By utilising commercially available off-the-shelf drones manufactured by DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer, and a compatible Drone Nest by Heisha, AfterFIT was able to reduce the cost of equipment and operations by more than half.

With FlytNow Auto software, they were able to carry out all operations remotely from the Tokyo headquarters, which was about 200 kilometres away from Ashino. The intelligent & reliable precision landing module provided by the software ensured the drone landed on the docking station, every single time.

The drones could fly autonomously along a predetermined route, inspect solar panels, and live stream infrared video feed and images back to the command centre. Each inspection takes about 20 minutes, and charging takes about 60 minutes. Its applications also include security monitoring systems, in which the drone can fly to a suspected anomaly and provide sufficient warnings to both management and any potential intruder. In addition, AfterFIT created an AI-based system in-house to generate power plant anomaly reports.

Following the completion of the demonstration experiment at the company-managed power plant, AfterFIT intends to expand its drone station operations to a non-company-managed power plant.

Added Perks!

In addition to the labour & cost saving, the deployment of a fully automated drone docking stations has the benefit of boosting flight frequency, which saves money in the long run.

While previously, solar power plants were only inspected four times a year; drone nests have, however, made it possible to inspect more frequently. Weather events, such as typhoons or severe rain, might generate irregularities in energy production that can be discovered more quickly and efficiently. AfterFIT has been able to deliver lower-cost maintenance services of higher quality by offering these advantages to the company’s whole customer base.

Drone Docking Stations are Here to Stay!

With such incredible benefits in the renewable sector, DiaB systems are unmistakably on their way to taking the world by storm. Watch this video by Yuji Kuwamizu as he walks us through at NestGen’22 Keynote:

We, too, are excited to see how the integration of automation and drones will make processes, productivity, and production more efficient, faster, and larger as it pervades practically every industry!

The post Solar Farm Inspections with Modular Drone Dock in Japan appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/solar-farm-inspections/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=solar-farm-inspections

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2022/03/29/solar-farm-inspections-with-modular-drone-dock-in-japan/

[darnelldrones]

Supercharging Industrial Sites with Drone-in-a-Box Systems: The DSP Viewpoint

The most recent technology breakthroughs in the commercial drone industry have propelled it to an entirely new level. Previously, a drone’s entire flying cycle had to be continuously piloted and monitored. Fortunately, we have entered an era where drones can complete their predefined missions from start to finish while the operator is away. And drone-in-a-box systems have played a pivotal role in making this happen. These systems eliminate the need for human intervention by allowing the drone batteries to be charged/swapped autonomously, saving time, effort, and money.

Until now, the industry had been familiar with “Closed DiaB Systems,” wherein a single company built everything. They invest in each segment, from building the drone to the box to the software to selling the system directly to end-users, making it expensive to produce and consume. To address this issue, FlytBase advocates for an “Open DiaB Movement” wherein hardware manufacturers, software providers, and DSPs collaborate in their areas of expertise to build and sell a modular system that reduces costs and improves efficiency.

The Panel

The “Open Diab Movement” concept was reinforced during a panel discussion held during the NestGen’22 summit, where ground warriors advancing this technology and deploying it in many industries – the DSPs – shared their vision. Among the experts present were:

Tariq Nasraldeen, Founder & Chief Aviator at Firnas Aero in Saudi Arabia

Yuji Kuwamizu, a UAV specialist at AfterFIT, Japan,

Mohamad Shawky, Founder & CEO of Geodrones Aerial Services and,

Elia Ray Salem, Project Manager at DroneBase, Italy.

Industries likely to see rapid adoption of DiaB systems

The conversation started with one of the most frequently asked questions: “Which industries would see the earliest or most rapid adoption of drone-in-a-box systems?”. The four experts cover several industries that would profit from full autonomous system deployments in their respective regions.

Drones for Oil & Gas Inspection

In the UAE region, Mohamed discusses how drone docks have made inspection and surveillance of oil rigs and pipelines that span kilometres easier and safer for personnel. Monitoring leaks or gas emissions, detecting spills and detecting corrosion in offshore rigs, solar panels, and remote facilities have become convenient in topographically and climatically challenging areas such as Dubai. The DiaB systems are weather and heat-resistant. An internal cooling system allows for much easier aerial mapping and surveying than was possible a few years ago when drones were not autonomous.

Drones for Security

Tariq adds to the conversation by discussing how autonomous drones have transformed security operations. Previously, large facilities had to be physically patrolled despite inclement weather, which made the procedure unreliable, inaccurate, and often even unproductive. Adding AI and object recognition technologies has made patrolling much easier – everything is now detectable, from a license plate to a wrongly parked car. The ability to attach payloads like thermal cameras or sensors to drones has further rendered the manual process obsolete.

Drones for Renewable Energy

Yuji brings a unique perspective to the discussion. According to him, in Japan, standard surveying approaches are highly ineffective since most solar panels are installed on mountainous terrain. With the integration of off-the-shelf drones, DiaB systems, and advanced AI, AfterFIT Japan can now conduct remote photo imaging, anomaly, and soil inspections in less than 10 minutes, at a significantly lower cost. Yuji emphasizes the benefit of autonomy, stating that operations are not hampered by external factors such as inclement weather, resulting in increased productivity.

Obstacles hindering full utilization of DiaB systems

Despite increasing awareness of drones, their capabilities, and advancements, Elia states there are very few drone companies in Italy, and DroneBase has to build market awareness through significant investments and continual promotion. Last year, they held live demonstrations at the NATO military airport to raise awareness (the testing ground for manned and unmanned systems). With several high-profile individuals from the military and other relevant industries in attendance, they attempted to highlight the benefits to aid regulatory bodies in their decision-making process.

An aspiring drone entrepreneur? Don’t miss out on industry experts’ advice!

Each with a wealth of knowledge and lessons learned, the panellists shared their insights with aspiring drone entrepreneurs. Mohammed stated that today’s entrepreneurs must spend time and effort constantly self-reflecting and addressing the demands and concerns of their customers. It will, in his opinion, help entrepreneurs fine-tune and hone their services.

Speaking of customer demands, Tariq says that it all comes down to the client’s requirements at the end of the day, which entrepreneurs should not lose sight of. He also believes that instead of catering to everyone’s needs, aspiring entrepreneurs should try to specialize in different industry segments. Every segment necessitates a different set of expertise and skills, and one should strive to make their area of expertise a differentiating factor as well.

He recalls a conversation he had with a client years ago in which the client said, “I don’t care what drones you’re using, autonomous, non-autonomous or whatever, I just need my data to be accurate and timely.“

Should one be scared of Drone Autonomy? We think not!

The panel concludes by addressing the concerns that arise during the initial phase of any modern technology. With drones and artificial intelligence coming in, there is concern about the loss of employment. The panel, however, disagrees with that viewpoint; Mohammed affirms that “DiaB will not cut jobs, but instead create more jobs.“

He explains how, even if drones become fully autonomous, the industry will still require human involvement in mission planning, management, and monitoring drone flying cycles. Furthermore, we are a fair distance away from the day when regulatory bodies approve the flight of drones without a pilot, whether autonomous or not. There are several checks and balances that must be considered. Even reductions in certain job profiles will be offset by an increase in the creation of new job profiles and technological advancements.

To summarize, while long-distance travel, unfavourable working conditions, and repetitive flights would no longer be part of a pilot’s workflow, drone autonomy could lead to more fulfilling careers for pilots in areas such as R&D, data analytics, and people/human-centric operations that require not only relevant knowledge and experience but also human characteristics such as empathy and general perception.

The post Supercharging Industrial Sites with Drone-in-a-Box Systems: The DSP Viewpoint appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/industries-adopting-drone-docks/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=industries-adopting-drone-docks

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2022/03/15/supercharging-industrial-sites-with-drone-in-a-box-systems-the-dsp-viewpoint/

[darnelldrones]

8 Best DJI-Compatible Drone Docking Stations To Consider for Autonomy

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed several operational challenges in performing manual drone flights for numerous use cases such as inspections and progress monitoring. Consequently, employing automation technology has become more of a necessity than a nice-to-have. However, the monolithic nature and prohibitive cost of incumbent drone docking station systems for autonomous drone operations have lowered the adoption of such solutions. Hence, several companies are working towards modularizing the DiaB stack, thereby significantly reducing the cost and increasing the adoption of these systems.

These companies are building docking stations that support automated charging, cooling, and landing for popular, off-the-shelf drones such as the DJI Mavic, Matrice, and Phantom series.

Such systems can enable users to easily deploy fully automated drones (of their choice) for a wide range of applications, such as automated aerial security, asset monitoring, and public safety, at a fraction of the cost of current DiaB (Drone-in-a-Box) systems.

In this article, we highlight the salient features of some of the best turnkey DJI-compatible docking stations in the market that you can leverage based on your geography, business model, and use case. Apart from common features such as cloud connectivity, remote control & telemetry, auto-charging, and interactive GUI, each dock brings a unique set of capabilities to the market, which we have attempted to highlight. It is worth noting that most of these drone nests can be further customized on request or by installing addons.

Hextronics Global Advanced (USA)

The Hextronics Global Advanced supports a rugged, waterproof design that is ideal for a wide range of indoor/outdoor environments and can operate in a temperature range of -20 to +50 °C (-4 to +122 °F). Although the most recent model weighs up to 45 kg (~100 lbs), a clear differentiator of this docking station is its IP66-level enclosure and highly efficient in-house charging feature, where a robotic gantry autonomous performs battery swapping for the drone. Further, the base unit can hold up to 6 additional batteries and keeps them fully charged while the drone is away on routine missions. And despite its small and lightweight design, The Global Advanced does not compromise on any key feature, offering a groundbreaking downtime of just 1.5 min. It is compatible with the DJI Mavic 2 series of drones and its landing pad is installed with LED lights to enable night landing.

IDIPLOYER MP2.1 (UK)

Coming in at only ~30 kg (~66 lbs), the super-light IDIPLOYER MP2.1 is built with a rigid aluminium frame and contains no moving parts such as centering bars or robotic arms for landing or charging the drone. Engineered with insulations that conform to IP65 standards, the station is installed with thermostatic heating and peltic cooling systems for extreme temperature regulation. A contact-charging-based docking station centered around a simple and durable design, the MP2.1 is the ideal choice for large-scale deployments of DJI Mavic 2 fleets. The chassis is fitted with long-range antennas and LED lights for better connectivity and real-time visual alerts, respectively. The station can be secured to any surface such as rooftops or vehicles and contains electromagnetic locks to prevent theft. Furthermore, the rear access panel comes with cam locks, although users have the freedom to add security/locking systems of their choice, including a custom installation of external CCTV cameras.

Heisha D80 (PRoC)

Heisha Tech offers enhanced security and durability with its sturdy designs. Their models are heat-resistant, corrosion-proof, and rainproof monsters with an International Protection (IP) rating greater than 54. Owing to its high reliability and cost-efficiency, Heisha’s docks feature a contact-based charging system; other useful add-ons such as solar panels, weather stations with digital sensors, surveillance cameras, extended range antennas, and loudspeakers are also provided with the dock bundle.

The D80 Drone Dock is highly customizable owing to its modular design: the unit consists of 3 main modules, viz. control, charging, and cooling, and an all-aluminum alloy canopy that has been tested for rigidity. So if you’re a custom drone developer and your hangars have docking and battery-swapping capabilities, you only need a control unit, which is a component that Heisha provides separately. What’s more: the D80 redefines drone agnosticism in the DiaB space, as it is compatible with almost every commercial drone available today, including the DJI Mavic 2 and Mavic Mini series, Phantom 4 RTK, Autel EVO II, Yuneec Typhoon, and Parrot ANAFI. It weighs a decent 45 kg and can withstand temperatures between -20 and +50 °C (-4 and +122 °F). To learn more about Heisha D80 and other Heisha’s drone charging pads, visit https://www.heishatech.com/d80-drone-charging-dock/

Skycharge Skyport DP5 (Germany)

The Skyport drone hangar is built exclusively for the outdoors, featuring a solid stainless-steel body and anti-crushing design to tolerate physical extremities. It is a heavy-duty dock that primarily supports the DJI Mavic 2 series and Parrot ANAFI drones but can charge any commercial drone with an 11-50V battery using its proprietary conductive-charging pad, the Bolognini S1. The Bolognini S1 is a fast and lossless contact-charging platform that does not require major drone modifications. With an IP65 and CE-certified system, the Skyport DP5 is a reliable and heavy-duty docking station. It offers a 500W zero-loss contact-charging platform with no mechanical moving parts – reducing the required frequency of maintenance and servicing. It also houses an HVAC system to regulate internal temperatures and an electromechanical anti-theft system. To learn more about Skycharge Skyport DP5, visit https://skycharge.de/skyport-drone-hangar

FoxIT Response (South Africa)

The FoxIT Response is a hefty, weatherproof docking station engineered for harsh climates. With its heating, ventilation, and conditioning (HVAC) unit and anti-theft system, it proves to be one of the most environmentally versatile DiaB solutions. It supports the DJI Mavic series and can house any custom drone with similar dimensions. To support a variety of drone models, it offers a retrofit conductive-charging system with a water-resistant pogo pad and bars for drone centering. This charging technology does not necessitate complex drone modifications; a typical charge cycle lasts for about 45 minutes. The Response allows for advanced security with encryption and Airband radio connectivity for remote locations. Opting for additional security enhancements can better its object-detection capabilities to prevent loss and theft. To learn more about Foxit Drone in a Box system, visit https://foxit.co.za/

HIVE Droneport (Russia)

Partners with Volatus Aerospace and Airscope, Droneport LLC is one of the only companies that offers a DJI M300-compatible drone dock with a battery-swapping feature. With a low downtime of just 3 min and a transmission range of over 100 km², the HIVE is a highly robust and reliable docking station suitable for a wide variety of round-the-clock applications. Its battery-swapping module features DJI’s original charging station and can hold 6 and charge 2 batteries simultaneously. This tried and tested hangar houses dedicated security and climate control modules and is certified for distribution in North America. It offers high interoperability with a variety of payloads, add-ons, and software (for image-processing, AI-based analytics, etc.). Visit https://hive.aero/en to learn more.

Airscort ST-1200 (Israel)

This customizable and cost-effective drone docking solution is compatible with the DJI Mavic 2 series. Additionally, it can house custom drones based on the Pixhawk build. The base unit weighs 40 kg and can provide both contact-charging and battery-swapping technologies (based on user requirement), with the latter boasting a downtime of under 4 min. An optional installation of StoreDot batteries is also provided with the kit. The ST-1200 is able to regulate internal temperatures through its insulations and wide array of sensors that can trigger a cooling/heating action based on ambient weather conditions. It also comes with elevated capabilities (optional) for larger, military-grade drones. To learn more about Airscrot drone docking station, visit https://ift.tt/2saoIQE

Aerobox (Israel)

The Aerobox drone dock is most suitable for small and lightweight drones and can be used for several security and inspection applications. With an inbuilt smart power generator, the Aerobox is highly energy-efficient and easy to set up. It is also resistant to dust, light, and rain; as a result, it can function in numerous environments, within a temperature range of -25 to +60 °C (-13 to +140 °F). Compatible with DJI Phantom, Mavic 2, Mavic Mini, and Mavic Air drones, this rugged docking station supports a contact-charging platform and smart air-cooling system for increased temperature control. It also contains a wide variety of sensors to relay critical information to the user. Further, several other communication options apart from 4G/5G are available as add-ons.

Software Integration for Drone Charging Stations

Docking stations with self-charging and internal climate-control systems help drone service providers with efficient fleet management and increased accessibility in a wide variety of environments. These state-of-the-art machines form the strong foundation for complete drone automation. Following are a few key features of the dock-integration software offered by the FlytBase team for a fully automated workflow between each of the docking stations featured above and the drone.

Cloud Connectivity

With autonomous docking stations connected to the cloud over 4G/5G/LTE networks using the FlytNow Edge kit, users can rest assured that sending and receiving data would be seamless across the globe. This implies that both the users and the stations are constantly “in the know” of your drones’ flights and landings, and can keep track of their missions, telemetry data, and battery levels at all times. They will also be able to pre-plan failsafe actions that are automatically triggered during emergencies or incidents.

Precision Landing

Almost no modern software solution today is complete without leveraging the advanced computer vision and AI modules. FlytNow leverages this powerful technology to land drones onto a docking station with centimetre-level accuracy. The module can be trained to land on both moving and stationary surfaces as it is built with highly accurate algorithms.

Mission Planner & Scheduler

With this feature, you’ll be able to plan and schedule complex repeatable missions for your drones with a few clicks. These waypoint-based missions execute automatically at the set date and time after sending toaster messages a few minutes before take-off.

Payload & Third-Party Software Integration

For payloads such as loudspeakers, thermal cameras, or spotlights, FlytNow offers a plethora of remote on-screen controls and visualization tools. Upon request, users can also integrate their own custom payloads with the software. Additionally, you can also connect various third-party software such as VMS, UTM, and ERP applications as per your requirements.

To learn more about how FlytNow can help you automate your drone operations or how you can get started with any of the above docking stations, contact us.

The post 8 Best DJI-Compatible Drone Docking Stations To Consider for Autonomy appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/dji-compatible-docking-stations/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dji-compatible-docking-stations

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2021/09/03/8-best-dji-compatible-drone-docking-stations-to-consider-for-autonomy/

[darnelldrones]

How FlytNow Can Help You at Every Stage of Your Journey towards Drone Autonomy

As commercial UAV hardware platforms become increasingly powerful with self-positioning, collision avoidance, and autopilot capabilities – that enhance usability – several industries are seeing widespread adoption of drone-based systems for use cases such as security, progress monitoring, emergency response, asset inspection.

However, the crucial process of frequent data collection, common to most applications of such systems today, has long been a daunting task to automate. While a significant aspect of the flight can be automated using an autopilot, a human operator is still often required to manage the drones, swap batteries, etc.

Modern Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) solutions have been designed to overcome this limitation. However, the market primarily comprises various monolithic DiaB solutions (that offer proprietary drones, boxes, and the automation software); consequently, the cost and lead time of transitioning to these systems have been prohibitively high.

We, at FlytBase, are on a mission to change this. We believe that a modular approach, consisting of a low-cost and reliable drone hardware, along with an advanced docking station, coupled with a hardware-agnostic software solution can make this technology highly accessible (available at 1/10th the cost) and lead to wide adoption of DiaB systems across industries and applications.

We have been building FlytNow to provide businesses with an all-in-one, user-friendly software to manage drones, docking stations, payloads, flights, and all of the data captured in the process, while ensuring reliability, safety, and security throughout.

This article will help you gain a better understanding of the FlytNow product for automating drone workflows and simplifying aerial operations.

The Drone Autonomy Spectrum

As quite popularly known, the term ‘autonomy’ in the drone industry has been used fluidly in different contexts with varying degrees of pilot involvement, which experts have attempted to identify and categorize.

Similar to the standards set by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for driving autonomous cars, roughly 6 levels have been defined for uncrewed aerial systems in increasing order of autonomy.

In essence, Level-0 systems would require complete pilot control and Level 5 would comprise fully autonomous UAVs that can fly themselves under all conditions, sense and navigate their environment in 3D space, and alter or replicate previous flight paths to successfully complete a mission without human intervention.

As our world moves closer to Level-5 autonomy, FlytNow, as a solution, aims to make the transition smoother for businesses at any stage – with its plethora of plans, offerings, and integrations.

FlytNow Live

In sectors such as law enforcement – where humans are systemically involved in the loop, drones serve best as first responders to proactively mitigate incidents or emergencies and provide real-time situational awareness.

However, there is often an indispensable necessity for an onsite pilot or visual observer to monitor and control the drone, owing to regulatory limitations and the unpredictable nature of the field.

For instance, if a roadway accident or fire is reported, drones must be dispatched instantly to document and livestream all the necessary data at the scene and alert nearby public of the incident.

FlytNow Live is a Level-3 cloud-based software that helps stakeholders operate, monitor, control, and manage their drone fleet remotely, providing intuitive onscreen controls and features to easily switch control between onsite and offsite operators, and record, review, and store valuable information.

Multiple safety features are baked into the design, including failsafes, DJI’s collision-avoidance module, and secure (E2E-encrypted) communication between the drone and dashboard.

Feature breakdown

Following are some useful features provided by FlytNow Live for drone teleoperations.

Drone fleet management: Add and control unlimited drones to your fleet and execute multiple flight plans simultaneously. View and monitor live telemetry and vitals from the dashboard. Take remote control of any drone at any time.

Waypoint mission planner & geofence: Plan and schedule detailed & automated linear- or grid-based waypoint missions. Set individual actions such as flight speed and altitude for each waypoint. Configure cylindrical or polygon geofences to demarcate no-fly zones.

Ultra-low-latency video streaming: View HD video feed directly from the drone on your dashboard via 4G/5G/LTE. View and record footage from multiple drone cameras simultaneously and review captured videos from the dashboard gallery.

Go-to-location & guest-link sharing: Dispatch drones to a point of interest on command. Set live annotations on the map and invite guests to view live drone footage.

Payload control & integration: Remotely control common payloads such as loudspeakers, thermal/IR cameras, spotlights, etc. via the dashboard and integrate other accessories of your choice.

Weather station integration: Integrate weather modules to monitor ambient temperature, air pressure, wind speed, humidity, and much more from the dashboard.

Third-party integrations & addon modules: Integrate UTM, VMS, ERP, and other third-party software to FlytNow with ease. Additionally, modules like SBC integration for DJI Matrice and custom drones, intruder detection, smart RTH, autonomous precision landing, and language localization can be provided upon request.

FlytNow Auto

The majority of use cases that involve drones today – asset inspection, site security, and progress monitoring – comprise frequent and repetitive operations. Standard, off-the-shelf drones such as the DJI Mavic series have long been used to perform these operations; however, there exist certain disadvantages in piloting and operating them.

One of the most significant problems is battery life; such drones are lightweight by design and cannot afford to have big, chunky batteries supporting hours of flight time, let alone powering a wide variety of payload components.

Additionally, several operational inefficiencies occur in travelling to and from points of interest to collect and transfer the required data within a short period of time to the relevant stakeholders. Hence, the transition to Level-4 drone autonomy would be practicable only with the existence of a secure endpoint: an automatic docking, cooling, and housing station to which your run-of-the-mill drone can return when it requires refueling or simply when it is not in use.

Enter docking stations—a smart, metallic box with the ability to autonomously charge, cool, and remotely communicate with drones. These boxes provide interfaces to open/close the drone bay, report weather data, and start/stop battery charging and/or swap the batteries.

FlytNow Auto has been designed to help automate DiaB systems. It provides an integrated user-experience and various workflows that control not just the drone, but also the docking station to make them work in unison. A range of failsafes, rule-engine, and user-configurable settings are available to help ensure that the entire operation is safe and reliable.

All the features of FlytNow Live are, of course, included, which help in controlling and monitoring the entire DiaB system from a remote location.

FlytNow Auto supports a wide range of drones and docking stations. This ensures that you are able to configure and customize your DiaB deployment based on your requirements and budget.

Feature breakdown

In addition to all the features of FlytNow Live, the following are the main modules offered by FlytNow Auto:

Remote drone & dock control and telemetry: Control your drones and docking stations remotely using onscreen controls, keyboard & mouse, or USB joysticks. View live telemetry and vitals from the dashboard.

DiaB fleet management: Add and connect unlimited drones and docking stations by establishing secure remote connections for each DiaB unit.

Autonomous precision landing: An advanced computer-vision-based module that helps your drones precisely land autonomously onto the docking stations.

Failsafes: Configure actions to be triggered during low/critical battery or internet, GPS, FlytNow, or RC link loss. Available actions include land, hover, and RTH.

For more information on the specific features offered in different FlytNow Live & FlytNow Auto plans, visit our pricing page.

The post How FlytNow Can Help You at Every Stage of Your Journey towards Drone Autonomy appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drone-autonomy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=drone-autonomy

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2021/09/01/how-flytnow-can-help-you-at-every-stage-of-your-journey-towards-drone-autonomy/

[darnelldrones]

How Enterprises Can Build and Scale Enterprise Drone Applications Using FlytNow APIs

At FlytBase, we believe that the commercial drone industry is heading towards complete automation. This transition calls for seamless integration with different software & hardware. We are cognizant of this ever-growing need for scalable enterprise applications that involve drones. With this global opportunity in mind, we built the FlytCloud ecosystem that powers our FlytNow cloud-connected application.

We are proud to announce that we are extending the capabilities of FlytNow as a comprehensive backend platform for enterprise drone ops. We introduce FlytNow APIs to securely connect drones with any type of business application that supports RESTful architecture. This means that businesses can rapidly build and scale custom drone applications to manage their drone fleet.

Some benefits of using FlytNow APIs

Simple: Our APIs are simple with clearly defined endpoints to perform specific functions.

Powerful Abstractions: Our APIs provide powerful abstractions so developers do not have to deal with lower-level languages to communicate with drones.

Agnostic: Whether it is a DJI, PX4 or ArduPilot drone, FlytNow APIs are agnostic and have the necessary adapters to communicate with the hardware.

Discoverable: Our API endpoints are logically organized in extensive documentation so that even junior developers can get up to speed quickly with the capabilities.

Consistent: All our API endpoints are constructed logically so that developers can anticipate different functionalities.

Virtual Drones: As the name implies, these are simulated drones in a virtual environment. Work on simulations to test your applications faster without risking expensive hardware.

Scalability: Our cloud services are hosted on Amazon AWS, and it is adaptive making it possible to deploy resources as you grow your business.

APIs that are currently available for our enterprise users

Navigation APIs: Control drones remotely from a dashboard.

Telemetry APIs: Fetch telemetry data like speed, altitude, global position, etc. from a drone.

Payload APIs: Control & integrate various payloads with FlytNow.

Video Streaming APIs: Access live video streaming from a drone. Share this stream with your team and guests for collaboration.

Vehicle Setup APIs: Perform a series of checks on the operational capabilities of a drone.

Gimbal Control APIs: Remotely control the gimbal pitch of a drone.

Camera Zoom APIs: Change the orientation of the camera and the zoom remotely.

Command & Control APIs: Control drone operation from a unified dashboard or any other platform.

Mission Planning APIs: Set a pre-programmed mission/path for a drone.

Precision Landing APIs: Land drones precisely on a machine-generated tag.

Collision Avoidance APIs: Integrate collision sensor data with FlytNow dashboard. Define thresholds and create paths to plan your way around obstacles.

Drone-in-a-box API: Integrate with Drone-in-a-Box hardware. Command drone launches and landings remotely. Moreover, you can retrieve charging (or battery swapping) & docking station statuses.

Geofence APIs: Set a virtual boundary for drones and trigger fail safes in case of breaches.

What enterprise users can build using our Drone APIs

Drone-based security and surveillance system:

Security systems can be enhanced using drones. A custom enterprise web-app can be integrated with CCTV cameras & software (for example Milestone), motion sensors, and ground-based hardware using FlytNow APIs. Further, businesses can leverage these APIs for mission planning to automate the patrolling of drones, thereby reducing the need for redundant manpower. Automation need not be limited to just spontaneous patrolling; schedule regular security patrols using APIs for DiaB (Drone-in-a-Box). Absolute autonomy lies in eliminating human interference starting from time-defined missions where the drone takes off, performs the mission and docks back into the box to charge/swap batteries. In real-life, the system will leverage a unified dashboard as a command center and our live video streaming APIs to manage the entire operation. In the event of an intrusion, it will operate in the following way:

An intrusion alert goes off in the main dashboard. The human operator initiates a drone recon.

The system creates a mission for the drone. A drone automatically launches from a DiaB station and goes to the point of interest.

The drone begins live-streaming, and the human operator identifies the intruder from the live drone footage. The operator uses the payload APIs of FlytNow to maneuver the camera.

On completion of the mission, the drone automatically returns back to the docking station.

Drones-based medical delivery system:

Companies have been actively building & deploying drone systems that can deliver critical medical payloads to remote locations. A US-based company called Zipline is one such company that has extensive operations in the African nations of Ghana and Rwanda. They rely on a centralized system where they operate from a medical warehouse and all incoming requests for blood are fulfilled via drone delivery. The highlights of the system are that the drones can fly autonomously from the warehouse to the delivery point, drop the payload, and return back to the base. Following are some APIs of FlytNow can be used to build a similar system:

Mission Planning APIs: To set the route of a drone to the delivery location.

Navigation APIs: To take control of a delivery drone remotely in case of an emergency.

Vehicle Setup APIs: To run a diagnostic of a drone before sending it off to a mission.

Video Streaming APIs: To remotely monitor a delivery mission through a video feed.

Geofence APIs: To restrict the area of operation of the drones.

Command & Control APIs: To track the drones in real time on a map.

Collision Avoidance APIs: To make the drone intelligent enough to fly around obstacles.

Payload API: To control the release of the payload.

Drone-based emergency response system:

Leveraging the FlytNow APIs, a response system can be built that is fully autonomous and integrated with a Computer Aided Dispatch system like 911. In the event of an emergency, an operator using such a system can dispatch a drone to survey the situation. On receiving the command, a drone will launch and fly to the location autonomously and begin acquiring data using its onboard camera. The operator can share the live feed of the drone with the first responders who can plan a better response.

The APIs used in this case would be similar to the delivery system mentioned above, with a focus on BVLOS capabilities and live-stream of data.

Summary

In this blog, we introduced the APIs of the FlytNow platform and the benefits of using them. In a nutshell, FlytNow is built for developers building applications to manage enterprise drone operations with BVLOS capabilities. Our extensive and reliable set of APIs is a result of our experience working with commercial drones for almost a decade.

The post How Enterprises Can Build and Scale Enterprise Drone Applications Using FlytNow APIs appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/scale-drone-applications/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/12/10/how-enterprises-can-build-and-scale-enterprise-drone-applications-using-flytnow-apis/

[darnelldrones]

6 Reasons to Use FlytNow to Automate Drones for Perimeter Security

The threat from physical intrusion still remains one of the top concerns in both commercial and non-commercial contexts. According to a report from Markets and Markets, the video surveillance market, which includes both hardware and software, is presently at USD 45.5 billion and expected to reach USD 74.6 billion by 2025.

Over the years, there have been many advancements in optics and detection systems but limitations still exist in the conventional ways of using them. To overcome these limitations, security stakeholders are now incorporating drone technology in their operations.

In this blog, we will talk about drones and the FlytNow solution for perimeter security.

What is perimeter security?

Perimeter security is an active barrier or fortification around a defined area to prevent all forms of intrusion. Modern security systems are an amalgamation of sophisticated hardware and software that generally include cameras, motion sensors, electric fencing, high-intensity lights, and a command center to manage them all. 

Challenges with conventional security systems (without drones) for perimeter security

Below are some of the drawbacks and limitations that are inherent in a conventional security system:

CCTV cameras and motion detectors are stationary, thus leaving plenty of room for blind spots.

Patrolling requires human guards – for larger areas, this is the least efficient way of securing a premise.

Response to an intrusion is delayed since a human responder has to reach the location.

Benefits of using drones for perimeter security

Drones have the following advantages over a conventional security system:

Drones are mobile flying machines that can go to any location quickly, with HD camera(s), thus eliminating blind spots.

Drones can also be equipped with a thermal camera(s) which are useful during nighttime surveillance.

Drones can be automated for patrolling using the FlytNow cloud-connected solution and commercially available DiaB (Drone in a Box) hardware.

Note: A DiaB is box-like hardware that houses one or more drones. The hardware keeps the drone flight-ready (24×7) and also automates the launching and docking processes of a drone.

Drones automation for security

For perimeter security, drones are generally used in conjunction with Drone-in-a-Box hardware and a fleet management system that powers the command center. Other security system hardware, including CCTV cameras, motion sensors, etc. can complement the drones and can be connected to the command center, thus integrating into a complete system. In a real-life scenario, such a system might work in the following way:

An intrusion is detected by one of the CCTV cameras in an area under surveillance. 

The command center receives the alert and initiates a drone launch. 

A connected DiaB receives the launch request and releases a drone. 

The drone flies to the location where the intrusion was detected and begins streaming a live video feed. 

An operator maneuvers the drone to cover all blind spots.

On finding the intruder, the operator has the option to warn him/her about the transgression using the drone’s onboard payload such as a beacon, spotlight, speaker, etc.

To know about the kind of drones and sensors that can be used for security and surveillance operations please refer to our Drone Surveillance System: The Complete Setup Guide.

How FlytNow enabled perimeter security?

FlytNow is a cloud-based application that helps in managing and controlling a fleet of drones from a unified dashboard through automation, live data streaming and integration. In the context of perimeter security, this translates into a command center that connects drones with the traditional components of a perimeter security system.

6 Reasons to use FlytNow for perimeter security

#1 Easy Setup: FlytNow is cloud-hosted i.e. a user can access the application from any standard web browser, without any complicated server setup. Connecting the drones with the system is also easy and is done using FlytOS.

#2 Unified Dashboard: FlytNow features an advanced dashboard that shows the following:

A live map showing the real-time location of all the drones. The map can be customized to show points of interest, and virtual geofence, and CCTV zones.

On-screen GUI controllers and keyboard & mouse support to control a drone. This allows an operator to easily maneuver a drone to a point of interest from the command center.

Multicam support that allows streaming video feeds from more than one drone.

Different view modes that allow an operator to switch between RGB and thermal mode. In the thermal mode, there is the option to switch between different color pallets, allowing a user to identify warm objects against different backdrops.

Pre-flight checklist which is a list of checks the system prompts an operator to perform before initiating a drone launch.

#3 Live Data Sharing: An operator can share the live video feed from a drone directly from the dashboard. The feature can be used to share video with the police or other remote stakeholders.

#4 Advanced Automation: Operating drones through manual control is quite an inefficient way to use drones. Instead, automation should be employed to perform activities like security patrols. FlytNow comes with an advanced mission planner that allows a user to define a path for a drone to follow and save it as a mission. The mission can be executed periodically, thus making a fleet of drones perform automated patrolling.

#5 Add-on Modules: FlytNow provides add-ons to make a drone intelligent; this includes precision landing over a computer-generated tag, obstacle detection, and object identification. These add-ons enable a drone to autonomously fly to a location, identify a threat, and return to the DiaB hardware.

#6 Drone-in-a-Box Hardware Support: The functions of DiaB hardware, in the context of perimeter security, can be broadly classified into four categories:

Securely house a drone.

Keeping the drone fully charged all the time.

Initiate a drone launch.

Successfully dock a returning drone.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed the concept of perimeter security, the limitations of conventional security set up, and how these limitations can be overcome using drones. Then we covered how drones are actually used for aerial patrols and 6 reasons why FlytNow is an ideal solution for automating drones for perimeter security.

There are plenty more reasons to use FlytNow for perimeter security that you can find out by signing for our 28 days free trial.

The post 6 Reasons to Use FlytNow to Automate Drones for Perimeter Security appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drones-for-perimeter-security/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/11/10/6-reasons-to-use-flytnow-to-automate-drones-for-perimeter-security/

[darnelldrones]

How Drones are Useful in Forest Fire Response

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are already in use for controlling fires in urban areas and places where people reside. These UAVs are usually quadcopters that are quite effective in hovering in one place.

In the event of a fire, the primary objective of using drones is to gather situational awareness, which can be used to direct the efforts of the firefighters in locating and controlling hot spots.

Just like urban fires, forest fires too require monitoring so that firefighters know what they are dealing with.

Forest fires are different from urban fires; they are hard to control (sometimes cannot be controlled) and pose a greater threat to people and property. Here, drones can play a crucial role in detecting, containing, and extinguishing forest fires.

One example of drones to combat forest fires is that of California National Guards, who are using MQ-9 Reaper (military reconnaissance drones) to assist emergency responders in controlling forest fires. They have already provided crucial assistance in massive forest fires, which include Mendocino Complex Fire and Carr Fire.

Before we dive into how drones are used in this context, it is important to understand why they are used.

Why Drones are Used in Controlling Forest Fires?

In the event of a forest fire, time is of the essence. This is why it makes sense to use a drone for two primary purposes: initial detection and initial rescue. Here is a further breakdown:

Drones can quickly be airborne, fly to a location, map the area affected by the fire, and share the information to all relevant agencies within a couple of minutes.

A drone can carry a whole range of sensors, including a thermal camera that supports multiple color pallets. The combination of all these sensors provides a better picture of the spread and speed of the fire, which can help civil authorities to come up with a relief plan.

How Are Drones Used in Forest Fires?

Drones are useful especially in forest fires that are difficult to control. They are primarily used for collecting information and during post-incident recovery. Their usage can be explained as follows:

Information gathering: During a forest fire it is important for firefighters to know whether they are hitting the hot spots, which is difficult and dangerous for the ground crew since such fires tend to spread over a large area.

Here drones carrying a thermal camera can do the job much more efficiently. A pilot flying a drone can cover a large area and identify hot spots using the thermal camera. Thermal cameras like DJI Zenmuse XT offer multiple color palettes that can precisely identify hot and cold zones giving a better idea of the kind of temperatures the responders are dealing with.

Learn how DEEP (The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) has been using drones to combat forest fires.

Aid and protection: Fighting any kind of fire is an occupational hazard for firefighters. But forest fires can move in any direction depending on the wind. This means a firefighter on the ground fighting a forest fire without the knowledge of the spread can easily get trapped.

The footage captured by a drone can provide insights about the spread and direction of the fire. This information can protect firefighters from going too close to the inferno.

Terrain Mapping: Footage captured from a drone can be converted into a 3D map allowing civil authorities to ascertain the extent of the damage. This information is useful during post-incident relief work and for insurance companies to verify damage claims.

Real-time Awareness: Any kind of relief work requires resources, and for that situational awareness is required for planning. In 2018, wildfire threatened the town of Hechingen, Germany, which was facing severe drought and the water level dropped below 50%.

The fire department of Hechingen was called in to control the blaze. The fire was close to a remote country road far away from water sources and covered an area close to 5000 square meters. DJI M210 drones, with Zenmuse XT and X4S cameras, were put to the test and flown over the area to gather intelligence. Aerial imagery showed the firefighters the hot spots and the spread of the fire; accordingly, they planned to carry water, in fire engines, to the spot and control the blaze.

Thus, drones played an important role in providing intelligence for decision making.

How FlytNow Enhances the Capabilities of Drones Fighting Forest Fires

FlytNow is a cloud-based fleet management solution that provides a unified dashboard for managing a fleet of drones. The dashboard provides access to drone-mission planning, live telemetry, and video streams from all connected drones over a 4G/LTE/5G network. Below is an illustration of how the solution works.

How Drones are Connected to FlytNow?

FlytNow supports a wide variety of drones including the popular DJI Mavic and Matrice series of drones.

Connecting a DJI drone is extremely simple; download and install the FlytOS mobile app and connect the mobile with the RC of the drone. The mobile application acts as a relay between the drone and the cloud application. Live telemetry and the video feed are sent to the FlytNow cloud server over the mobile network.

Custom drones also work with FlytNow by leveraging a single board computer (SBC). An SBC with the operating system is connected to the flight controller of the drone, which communicates with FlytNow either through Wifi or a GSM module.

Establishing a Localized Command Center Using FlytNow Business

FlytNow Business is a standard offering that comes with out of the box features. This solution is ideal for setting up a localized command center to manage drones working to bring a forest fire under control.

A forest fire can burn for days before it’s brought under control, so it becomes important for fire officials to stay close to the situation and monitor it. Following are the features that would allow firefighters to set up a command center and some ways they can be used:

FlytNow Business can be accessed from a web browser. A firefighter with a laptop or a tablet can log in to the FlytNow dashboard and see the statuses of all connected drones. Like a command center, he/she can manage and control all drones from a single dashboard.

FlytNow Business comes with an advanced mission planner that allows for setting up a flight path for a drone. Using the mission planner, a fire official can program a drone to fly over a defined perimeter and map it in order to understand the spread of the fire.

It can stream live video and telemetry from all connected drones. Using this feature, a fire official can see the video feeds (at ultra-low latency) from all connected drones on the dashboard and even share them with various agencies either via email or using the built-in team management. This would allow for better coordination among different agencies.

The dashboard supports multiple views for different kinds of operations. For example, in a search and rescue operation, an operator can switch to the IR view to detect the heat signature of people trapped by the fire.

In the case of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and Matrice 210 V2 Dual, the dashboard supports MSX, which generates high contrast thermal images with lines and edges, and multiple color palettes including isotherms. Using the color palettes, a firefighter can identify hot and cold regions, which can aid in the identification of hot spots.

FlytNow Business can be integrated with cloud servers like AWS S3 for the storage of video captured during firefighting operations. These videos can later be used for training purposes.

Establishing an Automated Drone Based Response System Using FlytNow Enterprise

FlytNow Enterprise is a customizable offering that includes all the features of the Business version plus additional features. It can be used to set up a fully automated response system that can be integrated with ground-based hardware (Drone-in-a-Box and charging pads) and computer-aided dispatch systems like 911. A system like this would function in the following way.

An emergency operator receives a forest fire alert through the computer-aided dispatch system.

The alert is routed to the nearby fire stations. A fire official logs in to the FlytNow dashboard and selects the alert, which pinpoints the fire’s location.

The firefighter requests a drone recon over the area. The response system (powered by FlytNow Enterprise) automatically creates a mission and selects a nearby drone station ( Drone-in-a-Box hardware). FlytNow Enterprise supports all popular Drone-in-a-Box hardware.

The drone receives the command and flies off autonomously. FlytNow Enterprise supports integration with UTM service providers like Airmap for airspace intelligence to support BVLOS flights.

On reaching the location, the drone starts recording and sends out a live video feed for the firefighter to see.

A firefighter has the option to use AI features like object detection to identify certain ground objects, for example, a hotspot.

The drone continues the mission until its battery becomes low. It goes back to the station and lands on the DiaB hardware using the precision landing feature by FlytNow Enterprise. The solution makes it safe for the drone to fly autonomously with advanced failsafe that allows a drone to do an emergency landing in case of a hardware failure.

Summary

In this blog, we understood the importance of drones and how they are used in controlling forest fires. We discussed in detail the challenges that drones allow firefighters to overcome, and how FlytNow as a solution enhances the capabilities of drones.

You can implement FlytNow today with our 28 days free trial and see yourself how FlytNow can enhance your workflow with drones. Making the justification of using drones even stronger.

The post How Drones are Useful in Forest Fire Response appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drones-in-forest-fire-response/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/10/21/how-drones-are-useful-in-forest-fire-response/

[darnelldrones]

The How and Why of Search and Rescue Drones?

Drones provide unique capabilities that are leveraged by emergency service providers all over the world. They are already saving thousands of lives through participation in various public emergency and safety operations.

The 2020 COVID pandemic has accelerated the adoption of drones for public safety. When humanity was facing a worldwide lockdown, authorities in India used drones to monitor cities and enforce social distancing norms. Read the full case study on how an Indian startup helped authorities in the state of Gujarat to use drones via the country’s first drone command center.

When it comes to public safety, drones are used in a variety of use cases. But there is this one use case that catches peoples’ attention since the benefits are pretty straightforward. The use case we are talking about is search and rescue.

In 2019, a hiker got trapped on a ledge somewhere in the Snowy Canyon State Park, Utah. The mountain search and rescue operation happened at night using drones. SAR drones were used as a light source by the rescue team to locate the hiker. Similar to this, there are thousands of stories of how drones helped save precious lives.

How Drones are Used During Search and Rescue Missions

The real power that drones provide to rescue operators is the cheap, easy access to aerial data of a large area, which gives the rescue team the ability to save time in finding a missing person, where every second count.

Apart from the easy access to aerial data, drones can also carry different types of payloads that can be used in different situations. One such payload is the thermal camera that is extensively used during search and rescue missions.

What is a Thermal/IR Camera?

A thermal/IR camera is a sensor that can detect a small section of electromagnetic waves called infrared. These are not part of the visible light that we can see.

Anything that has mass emits infrared radiation that can be captured using a thermal camera. The camera shows the image in different shades of color or grayscale to denote varying degrees of temperatures.

How Thermal Cameras are Used in Search and Rescue Missions?

In the year 2019, an 88-year-old man from Brownsville, Texas went missing on a Monday evening after leaving his home. When the family of the man informed the police about the disappearance, a local search and rescue team was formed with help from the police and fire department.

It was not until late at night that a local drone operator was involved. Around 11 PM, drone operator Desi Tristan spotted the old man near a field in tall grass.  The drone operator was scanning the area with a drone equipped with a thermal camera. The old man, identified as Luis Reyna Zuniga, suffered from an unspecified medical condition that led to this incident. 

Here are some popular thermal drones used for search and rescue missions

A thermal camera is a pivotal part of any aerial search and rescue mission. Drones that can carry a thermal sensor and can fly for a considerable amount of time are preferred for such operations. Here are some popular models from DJI that are extensively used for public safety operations.

DJI Inspire series with the FLIR XT or XT2 thermal camera.

DJI Matrice M210

DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual with FLIR thermal sensor.

DJI M300 RTK

Parrot ANAFI Thermal

How FlytNow enhances the capabilities of drones (UAVs) in search and rescue missions

FlytNow is a cloud-based drone fleet management system that provides a unified dashboard to control multiple drones along with the live streaming of video and telemetry data.

What problem does FlytNow solve?

The traditional use of manually operated drones during a search and rescue mission hinders the sharing of drone data among different agencies (fire, police, and EMS) and thus making collaboration difficult. The problem compounds when using multiple drones flown by multiple pilots. This is where FlytNow comes as a cloud solution that connects ground pilots with a web-based dashboard that aggregates all that data, making sharing of data easy, and provides a command center to manage all the drones. The below illustration shows how the solution works.

How drones are connected to FlytNow?

FlytNow supports the popular DJI drones as well as custom drones based on PX4 and Ardupilot.

Connecting a DJI drone is easy. First, download the FlytOS mobile app and connect the mobile with the RC. The mobile connects the drone with the cloud application, allowing it to stream live data and video.

Connecting a custom drone requires a Single Board Computer (SBC) with the FlytOS operating system connected to the flight controller of the drone. The SBC establishes a connection between the drone and FlytNow via the internet over a WiFi or 4G/LTE/5G module.

Establish a command center using FlytNow Business

FlytNow Business is a standard offering that comes with useful features, for research and rescue missions, out of the box. The solution is suitable for setting up a command center to manage multiple drones during a search and rescue mission, which would yield some of the following benefits:

Members of the search and rescue team can access the drone data from their laptops or tablets since FlytNow provides a web-based dashboard over the cloud.

The dashboard comes with an advanced mission planner that can be used to automate the drones. Using this feature, a public safety officer can define the flight-path of the drones thus ensuring that a particular area is properly covered.

A drone pilot can broadcast live drone footage to multiple agencies and individuals having access to the dashboard.

FlytNow Business supports live video streaming from a thermal drone. The feed is further enhanced with the support of MSX (shows thermal images with sharp contrast and edges) and multiple color palettes including the popular isotherms. Using these features, an operator sitting at the dashboard can effectively analyze the video feeds from multiple thermal drones and locate the missing person(s) a lot faster.

FlytNow Business supports a variety of payloads including the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise & DJI M210/M300 RTK payloads. This makes the solution versatile, which can be used in a variety of situations.

FlytNow Enterprise for a fully automated drone-based response system

FlytNow Enterprise is a customizable solution that has all the features of FlytNow Business plus additional features. The solution is ideal for establishing a drone-based response system that is integrated with computer-aided dispatch systems like 911 and a network of drone stations, powered by Drone-in-a-Box technology.

A response system like this would have the following capabilities:

An incoming emergency alert from a dispatch system like 911 can be routed to the FlytNow dashboard from where first responders can request a drone recon. This is possible because of the robust APIs of FlytNow Enterprise.

The response system can automatically dispatch a drone from a nearby drone station on request. The Enterprise version has extensive support for popular Drone–in-a-Box and charging pad solutions.

A drone can fly autonomously to an emergency location thanks to BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) capabilities of the Enterprise version and integration with UTM service providers like Airmap, Attitude Angel, etc..

During a mission, a drone can quickly perform a perimeter check and find people in distress with AI features like object detection. The drone can even land on top of a marked location using the precision landing feature.

Running a system like this would require data collection at a massive scale for compliance purposes. The Enterprise version has native integration with DroneLogbook that helps in recording and managing flight data and can generate automated reports for compliance purposes.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed the reasons why drones are a popular tool of choice in search and rescue missions, and how they are used. We also touched upon a few popular drones and payloads that are suitable for search and rescue operations. Finally, we ended by discussing how FlytNow as a solution enhances the capabilities of drones for public safety operations.

Time to switch to a better way to handle drones. Try FlytNow for 28 days free of cost.

The post The How and Why of Search and Rescue Drones? appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/search-and-rescue-drones/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/10/15/the-how-and-why-of-search-and-rescue-drones/

[darnelldrones]

Role of Drones and FlytNow in HAZMAT Response

HAZMAT is a classification that includes materials that are harmful to organisms and the environment at large; the word itself is an abbreviation for “Hazardous Materials”. The classification includes all agents that are either biological, radioactive, or chemical in nature.

Sometimes, due to an accident, an act of war, or terrorism hazardous agents are released into the environment that causes damage to all living beings. In such an event, an urgent response becomes vital to contain the agent and mitigate the further loss of life.

In this blog, we will discuss how drones can help agencies involved in such emergency response situations and how FlytNow increases the effectiveness of drones through data-driven decisions.

Before diving into the benefits of FlytNow, it is important to understand the general process followed during a HAZMAT response and how drones are currently being used.

General Process Followed During a HAZMAT Response

HAZMAT response is an occupational hazard for people who are involved, which is why careful planning and strict protocols are very important. It is common for teams to deal with acids, gasses, cyanide, radioactive materials, inflammable substances, etc. during such responses.

According to CRAM for HAZMAT Technician, there are 8 steps for managing a HAZMAT situation, which could be treated as a general protocol.

Site management and control: This step is a tactical one, where the response team determines the safest way to approach a hazardous situation and take charge of the site. Here the aim is to create a secure staging area by cordoning off the area. The core activities of this stage are survey and monitoring, collecting data on the hazard, determining the extent of the damage, and assessing the contaminants and the overall risk.

Identification of the problem: Based on the data collected in the first stage, the hazardous material is identified and the source of the contamination is determined. The worst-case scenario and effect on the workers and the people, in the surrounding areas, is also considered.

Hazard & risk evaluation: The response team assesses the physical damage caused by the hazardous agent to the people and the area. Such an evaluation would reveal a lot about the contaminants, and its symptoms; based on which, suitable mitigative measures could be taken. For example, during a burning inferno, if people nearby are complaining of asphyxiation and headaches, then it could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning, based on which medical assistance can be provided.

Protective clothing and equipment: The response team deploys protective gear and measuring instruments that would allow the investigators to closely examine the contamination and acquire important information regarding the air quality, level of radioactivity (in a case dealing with radioactive substances), and other environmental factors.

Information management and resource coordination: In any kind of response, coordination is important, which is achieved through the sharing of information with various agencies and also the media. Coordination encourages cooperation and the effective utilization of the available resources.

Implementing response objectives: Based on the acquired knowledge an action plan is prepared considering the available resources. The plan focuses on the best way to stop the spread of the contaminants keeping the safety of the technicians in mind.

Decontamination: With an action plan, decontamination efforts begin with the aim of putting the damage and spread of the contamination under control. For example, in the event of a leak of a biological agent, like a virus, people who came into contact are immediately quarantined and put under observation.

Terminating the incident: This is the final step that can be broken down into four sub-steps, which are: (1) debriefing after a successful containment, (2) preparing a post-incident report, (3) a formal review highlighting the strengths and shortcomings of the response operation, (4) and complete documentation.

How Drones are Used During a HAZMAT Response

Visual Inspection

On 13 November 2019, there was an anhydrous ammonia leak in a food distribution center in Sarasota, Florida. The fire alarm inside the building was connected to the chemical monitoring system, which picked up the leak.

The fire department of Sarasota County swung into action. On arrival, the team began investigating the source of the leak, but it was proving to be difficult from inside the building. On investigation, it was found that the leak was coming from one of the chiller units on the roof. SMFR’s (Southern Manatee Fire & Rescue) and Sarasota County Fire Department HAZMAT teams were called in to deal with the situation. They had DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise drones, adapted for disaster response, with a thermal camera.

The drone was flown over the roof to track the ammonia cloud using thermal vision. Thus, the source of the leak was quickly and safely determined, and appropriate action was taken.

Identifying the Hazard Material

Firefighters at Southern Manatee Fire & Rescue department have customized the Matrice 200 series of DJI drones for detecting hazardous agents in the environment by strapping the drones with sensors that can detect vapor, chemical, and radiation. 

  A drone with such sensors is far more capable and safe than a man in a HAZMAT suit. One major benefit of using drones for HAZMAT identification is the speed with which the process can be done. 

  How FlytNow Enhances the Capabilities of Drones for HAZMAT

FlytNow is a cloud-based drone fleet management solution that provides a single dashboard to manage and control multiple drones over a 4G/LTE/5G network. The web-based dashboard has panels to see the live telemetry and the video feed of every connected drone.

How Drones are Connected

FlytNow is a hardware-agnostic platform that supports both off-the-shelf DJI drones and custom drones based on PX4 and Ardupilot.

Emergency response teams using DJI drones can easily connect with FlytNow using the FlytOS mobile app. The FlytOS mobile app connects with the drone RC and becomes a relay between the drone and the FlytNow cloud.

Connecting custom drones require a single board computer (DJI Manifold 2, Raspberry Pi 3b, Odroid N2, Jetson Nano Developer Kit, etc.), with the FlytOS operating system, connected to the autopilot. The SBC establishes the connection between the drone and FlytNow over the internet.

Using FlytNow Business for Standard HAZMAT Response

The business version of FlytNow is a standard offering. It comes with ready-to-use features that can be used in a HAZMAT response in the following ways:

An operator can use the web-based dashboard to create advanced missions for the drones. This feature is especially useful in site management of a hazardous situation. A drone can be programmed to do a perimeter check and provide vital situational information.

FlytNow supports live video streaming from all connected drones. Using this feature a HAZMAT technician can broadcast a live recon to remote experts, who can then guide the technician in identifying the hazard material and source of the leak.

The solution supports a variety of payloads, this includes the DJI M2E payloads. This feature increases the overall versatility of the drones during a mission.

FlytNow dashboard supports a variety of views. The cockpit view can be used by a remote inspector to have a better view of the situation. If the drone has a thermal camera then a viewer can switch between RGB (normal camera) and thermal mode.

In the case of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual Camera or Matrice 210 V2 Dual Camera, the thermal mode supports MSX, which produces images with better contrast separating regions of different temperatures. Along with this, a viewer can switch between different color palettes; this feature is useful in identifying hazardous materials at different states (solid, gas, and liquid).

In an incident like the ammonia leak mentioned above, a thermal camera with different color palettes (isotherms, Rainbow, Hotspot, Gray, Hot-metal, and Coldspot for the M2E Dual) would have made the job of identifying the leak much safer and easier for the technicians, because certain color palettes are better at identifying gases.

FlytNow Business can be integrated with private cloud services such as Amazon S3. This allows for the automatic storage of all video data captured by the drones, which can be retrieved for future investigations.

Using FlytNow Enterprise to Establish a Drone Based Response System

FlytNow Enterprise offers additional features and customization when compared to the Business version. Using this version a fully automated response system can be established that is integrated with ground-based hardware (Drone-in-a-Box) and computer-aided dispatch systems like 911. This is possible because of some of the additional features provided by the Enterprise version:

REST API allows integration with various public safety systems. When integrated with such a system, an incoming HAZMAT emergency request can be routed directly to the FlytNow dashboard from where an emergency operator can initiate a drone survey.

FlytNow Enterprise works with all popular Drone-in-a-Box hardware and charging pads. In a fully integrated response system, a request from a HAZMAT technician for a drone recon can be routed to a nearby DiaB station from where a drone can launch itself and perform the task.

The advanced-mission planner can achieve flight automation of drones. Drones can be deployed automatically from remote locations with the support of UTM service providers like Airmap.

AI-based add-on features. A drone in a HAZMAT response can leverage features like object detection to automatically identify critical features of the situation.

DroneLogbook integration for robust flight data management. Public safety personnel can capture flight data of every drone flight with DroneLogbook and auto-generate meaningful reports for compliance purposes.

Summary

HAZMAT incidents are a grave danger not just to the people but the environment as well. This is why it’s important to deploy the best technology available to address such situations. Drones, as cutting-edge technology, have immense potential for HAZMAT response and are quickly becoming an integral part of the standard response in many countries.

Public safety drones can make a big difference, but managing them can be a challenge as fleets of drones get incorporated for parallel missions. This is where FlytNow, as a cloud-based offering, enables fleet management and sharing of aerial data easy and quick, across multiple agencies for better coordination.

To experience FlytNow, sign up for our free trial for 28 days using this link: https://app.flytnow.com/

Or

If you are interested in partnering with us, please reach out to us using the form here: https://flytnow.com/partner/.

The post Role of Drones and FlytNow in HAZMAT Response appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drone-for-hazmat-response/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/role-of-drones-and-flytnow-in-hazmat-response/

[darnelldrones]

Drone Surveillance System: The Complete Setup Guide

Proficient automatons in the space of reconnaissance and security have the ability to upset a wide scope of businesses. Be that as it may, until the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, drone reconnaissance had been at a beginning stage, yet the pandemic demonstrated the world the adequacy of automatons in implementing a lockdown, which thusly has given the area a truly necessary lift.

In enterprises where dangers continually loom, automatons can spare lives by giving fundamental data in crisis circumstances. In any event, for public security, drones have demonstrated to be a significant instrument. As of late, DJI, an innovator in drone equipment, reported at AirWorks 2019 that automatons were answerable for sparing 279 lives.

In an examination directed by the European Emergency Number Association, it was discovered that drones (fitted with noticeable light sensors) in a salvage mission had the option to find a setback 3 minutes quicker than a customary mission. Different tests and recorded contextual analyses have over and over demonstrated that automatons have a huge financial effect on organizations and a passionate effect on those whose lives were spared.

Building up an observation framework utilizing automatons can be unpredictable, which is the reason FlytNow has planned its cloud-based application to address the extraordinary prerequisites of such tasks.

How Does Drone Surveillance System Work?

Drone surveillance refers to the act of keeping a visual track of an individual, a group, objects, or a situation for the purpose of thwarting any kind of threat.

An effective surveillance system using drone fleets requires seamless integration between reliable hardware and intelligent automation software. Below are the generic components of such a system.

Drone Fleet Management Software

This alludes to a cloud-associated programming arrangement like FlytNow that is equipped for mechanizing the dispatch, watch, and landing pattern of an automaton armada.

FlytNow empowers security clients to use off-the-rack, just as custom automatons to quickly arrangement and convey a flying observation framework. It gives an electronic dashboard to control an armada of automatons, fueled by coordination with outsider programming for UTM and consistence, and the capacity to share top notch video takes care of with far off partners, progressively.

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/09/24/drone-surveillance-system-the-complete-setup-guide/

[darnelldrones]

Drone Highway Patrol: A Drone Based Response System for Highways

When we think about commercial drones, we mainly see them as a tool for aerial inspection and monitoring, since a lot of applications happen in this context. According to phillybyair.com, the construction industry was the largest user of drones, in terms of usage, in 2019, which further strengthens the perception of widespread use by this industry. 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the commercial drone ecosystem; we are now witnessing a rapid adoption of drones by various government agencies across the world for public safety use cases. For instance, during the global pandemic lockdown, police officials in the state of Gujarat, India created the country’s first drone command center from where a fleet of drones was managed to monitor the streets of the city of Ahmedabad; read the full case study. 

If we dig deeper into the use of drones for public safety, there is one use case that is not often talked about, drones for highway patrolling. No! You won’t be getting a speeding ticket from a drone any time soon. But what drones can do is to act as first responders in emergency situations happening on highways. Clearly, drones aren’t meant to catch criminals and speeding vehicles, they are more like eyes-in-the-sky that provide situational awareness when something goes wrong. 

Why Use Drones for Highway Patrolling

With regards to highway patrolling, drones provide the following advantages:

A drone can reach a location much faster compared to ground-based vehicles, which is why they are ideal for the role of first responders. 

In situations like wildfires or avalanches, where roads get blocked, drones can be sent to assess the situation and identify people who are in distress.

Drones can help optimize the resources to be deployed for emergency response, by providing crucial first-hand information on a fast-evolving situation to human first responders (police, fire, and paramedic). 

Drones can carry a variety of payloads, such as Automated External Defibrillators. A drone carrying an AED can save lives by rapidly reaching someone having a cardiac arrest in remote areas.

Instances of Drones Used for Patrolling

Save people from avalanches: Drones are actively being used in mountainous areas for patrolling ski paths and participating in search and rescue missions, in case of an avalanche.

According to BBC, 90% of avalanche victims survive if rescued within the first 15 minutes, but the odds of surviving drops to 20% after 45 minutes. Thus, the rapid response abilities of drones become ideal for such situations.

In the Czech Republic, there is a nationwide agency called the Mountain Rescue Service of the Czech Republic that actively participates in rescuing people trapped by an avalanche. They rely on a response system based on a network of drones. When an avalanche strikes, mobile vehicles carrying drones go to the affected area and deploy the drones. The drones carry a transceiver to hone into a particular frequency that skiers transmit. In this way, skiers trapped in snow are quickly located and saved. 

Analyze crash sites: Iowa State Patrol has deployed drones to investigate crash sites on highways. Drones equipped with a high-resolution camera can be used to render 3D images and recreate accident sites for investigators. The state patrol is using this technology only for investigating accidents, not to monitor traffic violations.

How FlytNow can Power a Drone Response System for Highway Patrolling

FlytNow is a cloud-based application that offers a web dashboard to manage a fleet of drones. The dashboard has an integrated map that allows live tracking of all connected drones; it also has widgets to control the drones along with their payloads. 

FlytNow comes in two main versions (FlytNow Business and FlytNow Enterprise) for commercial users. 

How Drones are Connected to FlytNow?

FlytNow supports both DJI and custom drones. DJI drones are connected using the FlytOS mobile app. The app connects with the Remote Controller (RC) and establishes a connection with the web application. 

When connecting custom drones based on PX4 and Ardupilot or DJI enterprise drones, a single board computer (SBC) is required; this could be a Raspberry Pi 3b+/4, Odroid N2, DJI Manifold 2, Nvidia Jetson Nano / TX2, etc. that is loaded with the FlytOS operating system and connected with the autopilot of the drone. The SBC allows the drones to communicate with FlytNow and receive instructions over the cloud.

FlytNow Business for Remote Patrolling

FlytNow is a standard offering that provides out of the box features to manage drones remotely. It is ideal for localized response systems that rely on both remote viewing capabilities and the support from local pilots. Here are some of the features that help police officials:

FlytNow has a standard web-based dashboard to manage all connected drones. It has panels to monitor the live telemetry data of each drone and the live video feed coming from the drones. An officer having access to the dashboard can inspect an emergency situation remotely, and guide the personnel present at the scene. In the case of a DJI drone, an officer close to a scene might use the mobile app to share the footage with remote officers or an expert.

FlytNow Business offers integration with a private cloud server to store videos captured by the drones. Police officials can use this feature to maintain a video record of every incident captured by the drones, which might prove to be useful in future investigations.

This version supports the remote control of a variety of payloads, including payloads offered by DJI. Among the supported payloads include a thermal camera, spotlight, and loudspeaker. Such payloads are useful in special circumstances like night time search and rescue missions where time is a critical element.

FlytNow Enterprise

The FlytNow Enterprise version includes everything that the Business version has, plus additional features and the option of customization. This offering is ideal for establishing a full-fledged emergency or disaster response system that includes a network of Drone-in-a-Box installations, multi-user access, and integration with services like 911. Below is an illustration of how a system like this might work:

Understanding a drone-based response system using FlytNow Enterprise for highway Patrolling

Here we will explore how a drone-based highway response system might work using a hypothetical situation.  

At hour 21:00 on route 66, a tanker collides with a truck and catches fire. A nearby witness calls 911.

An emergency operator receives the request and triggers an alert. The alert is then routed to nearby state troopers and the fire service.

As fire engines are prepared for dispatch, a fire serviceman opens the FlytNow dashboard and selects the fire alert (made possible through integration with 911), which puts a pin on the map.

The fireman requests drone coverage for the scene. Since FlytNow is integrated with a network of drone stations, powered by Drone-in-a-Box (DiaB) hardware, a mission is created automatically and a nearby drone is selected for the task.

On receiving the command (over the internet), a drone automatically takes off from a DiaB and flies towards the location. FlytNow automatically selects an optimal path for the drone, taking into consideration airspace norms, by leveraging UTM services like Airmap.

On reaching the location, the drone begins a live-video stream of the incident, providing crucial situational awareness to the firefighters. The stream is broadcasted (the drone maintains communication with FlytNow over 4G/LTE/5G network) to nearby state troopers.

A state trooper with special privileges takes secure control of the drone’s camera and initiates a thermal scan to identify victims. The object detection capability of FlytNow allows the drone to identify crash victims. The trooper passes the information to the paramedics.

When the battery of the drone becomes low, the drone automatically returns to the DiaB to recharge and stay ready for the next mission.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed the fast-evolving adoption of drones in public safety operations, especially highway patrolling. We touched upon the utility of drones in patrolling operations and specific instances where drones have saved lives.

We then discussed how FlytNow, as a solution, enables emergency responders to build a system where drones can autonomously go to an emergency situation and provide situational awareness.

If you or your police department is interested in such a drone system, then try our 28 days free trial of FlytNow Pro. This version allows you to immediately demonstrate the power of drones for public safety.

Or contact us at https://flytnow.com/contact/ for the Business or Enterprise version.

The post Drone Highway Patrol: A Drone Based Response System for Highways appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drone-highway-patrol/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/drone-highway-patrol-a-drone-based-response-system-for-highways/

[darnelldrones]

How Firefighters Can Better Manage Emergency Situations Using Drones

Drones are eyes in the sky for firefighters. They can serve as an essential firefighting tool for people in the fire services, especially in and around urban centers, where a deadly inferno might occur in a highrise building. 

Drone for fire fighting can equip fire officials with the latest technology, and add complementary capabilities to the existing resources such as fire trucks, ladders, specialized suits, etc. Firefighters can now acquire aerial information in a quick, cost-effective manner. 

In 2016, a tragic fire broke out in a warehouse in Oakland, California. The warehouse had been converted into a living space called Ghost Ship. The fire, which claimed the lives of 36 people, is one of the deadliest in the history of Oakland. Drones, equipped with a thermal camera, were used by firefighters to identify hotspots and search the unsafe-building after the fire was extinguished.

The effectiveness of drones is rapidly catching on, as agencies around the world begin to adopt this technology. In the US, more than 900 state and local agencies related to the emergency services are using drones one way or another; out of them, approximately, 186 is believed to be related to fire and emergency medical services.

Can Drones (UAVs) Put Out a Fire?

This is a common question that people often ask. A short answer is No, drones are more useful in acquiring situational awareness about the fire and its surroundings. Firefighters can use this information to control the fire and ultimately put it off. However, there are a few companies that are equipping drones with water hoses or fire extinguishing materials.

How Are Drones Used During Firefighting?

Situational awareness: In a typical scenario where a fire has broken out in a building, firefighters arrive at the spot and begin their operation with limited information about the extent of the fire and damage it has caused to the structure. 

Instead, with a fleet of drones, firefighters can begin with an aerial assessment of the scene and know the extent of the fire before starting their rescue operation.

Reach difficult places: Drones are efficient in going to tight spaces since they are nimble and agile, and deploying them first avoidings putting humans in unsafe situations.

Thermal assessment: In a firefighting situation,  firefighters work against the clock to save the lives and integrity of the structure. That is why it is important to direct their efforts towards the source of a fire.  Drones equipped with a thermal camera can assist firefighters to identify hotspots inside a blazing structure. Accordingly, firefighters can direct their efforts to bring the situation under control. 

Search and rescue:  Firefighters are actively involved in search and rescue missions. A thermal camera drone can do the job of 100 people by scanning a large area and identifying people in distress. During a natural calamity like an earthquake, thermal camera drones can fly over fallen structures and identify trapped individuals, and even identify dangerous leakages.

What Kind of Drones and Payloads are Commonly Used During Firefighting?

Drones come in all shapes and sizes, but not all of them are suitable for firefighting operations. The more suitable ones are off-the-shelf drones from the likes of DJI and custom drones based on open source stacks mainly PX4 and Ardupilot. Here are some of the drones that are considered fit for such kind of tasks:

DJI Inspire 2

DJI Matrice 300 RTK

DJI Matrice 210 V2

DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise 

Parrot ANAFI Thermal

Drones are not usable without the appropriate payloads. For firefighting purposes, these are some common payloads that are used:

Zenmuse XT2 (a thermal camera for DJI drones) 

Zenmuse Z30 (a normal camera with 30x zoom for DJI drones)

Zenmuse H20 (A hybrid camera that combines a wide-angle camera, 23x optical zoom camera, thermal camera, and laser rangefinder for DJI drones)

How FlytNow Can Make Drone Operations a Lot Smarter for the Firefighters

Traditional Challenges in Using Drones for Firefighting

The conventional way of using drones, during firefighting, is a pilot controlling a drone using the remote controller (RC). Here, the pilot becomes the relay point of all the information collected by the drone. This method of using drones may be simple, but is not very effective, since multiple pilots are required to control multiple drones. On top of the human resource requirement, there are several other disadvantages, as follows:

It becomes difficult for a drone pilot to share the data with different agencies and ground personnel, which hinders coordination.

Difficult to archive flight data, which makes it problematic for the future analysis of an emergency situation.

Data collected from multiple drones cannot be stitched together for better situational awareness. 

Sharing live data becomes difficult, more so when multiple drones are involved. 

Drone response can’t be automated since they can’t be integrated with emergency response systems like the 911 operations centers.

How FlytNow Helps in Overcoming the Traditional Challenges

FlytNow is a fleet management system that helps public safety officials to overcome challenges in using drones for firefighting. 

FlytNow is a cloud-based application that provides a unified dashboard to control a fleet of drones. It has two versions (Business and Enterprise) that cater to two different use cases.

How Drones are Connected to the FlytNow Cloud Application

FlytNow is a hardware-agnostic cloud platform meaning it supports different kinds of drones. Users using DJI drones can use the FlytOS mobile app to connect the drones to the cloud application. 

In the case of custom drones, a single board computer loaded with the FlytOS operating system can be attached to the flight controller of the drone, to facilitate communication with the FlytNow application over a 4G/LTE/5G network.

FlytNow Business

FlytNow Business is a standard offering that provides out of the box features in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service). This version is useful in establishing a quick command center, locally, for a particular response to manage the drones in operation. 

Some of the unique features and benefits that it provides are as follows:

It provides a web-based dashboard with an integrated map to control a fleet of drones. Using this feature, a single operator can control the movement of multiple drones, thus saving cost and time.

The dashboard offers live telemetry and visual data from all connected drones, with dual control from both the RC and the web dashboard. This allows for coordinated drone operations where data from multiple drones can be stitched together and shared for better situational awareness. 

The Business edition has out of the box support for live video-streaming from multiple drones that can be shared with anyone using their email address.

A viewer can switch between ‘normal’ view (RBG) and ‘thermal’ view (IR) if the drone is equipped with an IR sensor. In the case of DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual and DJI M210 V2 Dual, the FlytNow dashboard provides the MSX view that shows the lines and edges, along with the contrast, to differentiate between regions with different temperatures.

Along with MSX, FlytNow gives the option to switch between different color pallets like Rainbow, Hotspot, Gray, Isotherms, Hotmetal, and Coldspot for the M2E Dual.

Thermal imaging allows firefighters to identify hot spots and see whether they are hitting the fire. In a post-fire situation,  a thermal drone can carry out an inspection of the outer facades of the building, and send the live footage using FlyNow to a structural engineer sitting hundreds of miles away for a better assessment.

The business version has out of the box support for DJI payloads (eg. Dual Camera, Spotlight, etc) for drones such as Mavic 2 Enterprise and the Matrice 200 series. These payloads are specially designed for emergency operations.

Apart from DJI payloads, it supports remote control of the gimbal, on which the camera is attached, via the web dashboard. This allows a remote viewer to control the camera angle for a better visual.

FlytNow Enterprise

The Enterprise version adds customization and addons to the Business edition. This version is ideal for setting up a drone-based emergency response system with the following capabilities:

A system that is integrated with a dispatch system like the 911

Integration with a decentralized network of drone stations supported by Drone-in-a-Box hardware, which allows for automated dispatch of drones.

A unified dashboard that can be part of a command center, which allows for the control and management of the drones over 4G/LTE/5G. 

With respect to fire fighting, the Enterprise version offers advantages such as:

AI-based features like object detection to help identify people trapped under debris or lost in a forest.

The ability of public safety officials to maintain detailed flight-record of each and every drone flight, to comply with airspace norms. All these legal requirements and complexities are solved using FlytNow Enterprise’s native support for DroneLogbook (a flight data recording service) and Airmap (a UTM service). 

Support for custom maps, so that operators can adjust to the terrain over which drones are flying.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed the importance of drones for firefighting and how they can be used to save time, resources, and lives. We also touched upon the kind of drones and payloads used for fire fighting operations. Finally, we ended by showcasing the benefits that FlytNow provides by allowing the usage of drones at scale with data availability for proper coordination. 

If you (plan to) use drones for public safety, then FlytNow is the right software platform to allow you to leverage cloud technology for better management and transparency of your drone operations. You can get started with our 28 days of a free trial. You can also contact us at https://flytnow.com/contact/

The post How Firefighters Can Better Manage Emergency Situations Using Drones appeared first on FlytNow.

source https://flytnow.com/drone-fire-fighting/

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/09/17/how-firefighters-can-better-manage-emergency-situations-using-drones/

[darnelldrones]

Automaton Surveillance System: The Complete Setup Guide

Proficient automatons in the space of observation and security have the capacity to disturb a wide scope of businesses. In any case, until the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, drone reconnaissance had been at a beginning stage, yet the pandemic indicated the world the viability of automatons in implementing a lockdown, which thus has given the division a genuinely necessary lift.

In ventures where dangers continually loom, automatons can spare lives by giving fundamental data in crisis circumstances. In any event, for open security, drones have demonstrated to be a significant device. As of late, DJI, a pioneer in drone equipment, declared at AirWorks 2019 that automatons were liable for sparing 279 lives.

In an examination led by the European Emergency Number Association, it was discovered that drones (fitted with noticeable light sensors) in a salvage crucial ready to find a setback 3 minutes quicker than a conventional strategic. Different tests and recorded contextual analyses have more than once demonstrated that automatons have a colossal monetary effect on organizations and an enthusiastic effect on those whose lives were spared.

How Does Drone Surveillance System Work?

Drone surveillance refers to the act of keeping a visual track of an individual, a group, objects, or a situation for the purpose of thwarting any kind of threat.

An effective surveillance system using drone fleets requires seamless integration between reliable hardware and intelligent automation software. Below are the generic components of such a system.

Drone Hardware Requirement

This refers to drones that are capable of performing surveillance patrols, for example:

Drone Fleet Management Software

This alludes to a cloud-associated programming arrangement like FlytNow that is fit for mechanizing the dispatch, watch, and landing pattern of an automaton armada.

FlytNow empowers security clients to use off-the-rack, just as custom automatons to quickly arrangement and send a flying observation framework. It gives an electronic dashboard to control an armada of automatons, fueled by joining with outsider programming for UTM and consistence, and the capacity to share top notch video takes care of with far off partners, progressively.

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/08/27/automaton-surveillance-system-the-complete-setup-guide/

[darnelldrones]

Drone on Demand: Software Solution for On-Demand-Drone Services

Drone-on-demand identifies something which supplies a drone solution for a predetermined period or to reach certain organization objectives. These solutions exist because we’ve reached a spot where there is certainly reliable, offtheshelf hardware and applications available to generate enterprise-grade drone solutions.

Enterprises who avail such services view business value from the simple access to aerial statistics at a sensible price, that was impossible a couple of short years ago. Besides airborne intelligence, drone-based delivery is just another segment that’s seen a jump popular recently.

Organizations which operate drones need to comply by regulatory conditions, including air-space criteria that guarantee safety, security, and solitude. While there remain challenges across tech (e.g. battery lifetime fail-safes), this industrial drone department is very lucrative; in accordance with this industry research business, Markets-and-Markets, the drone services market has been likely to reach 63.6 billion dollars from 20-25 at a CAGR of 55.9percent from 2019 into 2020.

Use Cases for a Drone-on-Demand Service Provider

While these services are relatively new, and people are still discovering new ways to use them, there are immediate use cases where such services are yielding tremendous commercial benefits. Some of them are listed below.

Roof Inspection of private and commercial estates: Roof inspection is a popular application of drones because aerial inspections can do the job quickly, versus manual ones, at a lower cost. Drones also bring in a level of data sophistication in the entire inspection process. With technologies like thermal and 3D imaging, a drone combined with intelligent software can automatically detect things like water damage, insulation issues, structural damages, etc.

While a property owner/caretaker may not wish to own drones and find skilled pilots to operate them, services provided by drone-on-demand companies can be a practical and economical solution.

Aerial inspection of construction sites: Inspections are common at a construction site. But with a drone, a pilot can inspect the outer facades of such structures without the need of manpower and heavy equipment. Since operations like this require skilled pilots, specialized drones, and sophisticated software, a drone-on-demand service, customized for construction applications, can make a lot of business sense.

Emergency Response: You will find some drone solution providers which can be specialized in emergency response endeavors. By way of instance, a US-based company named Phirst Technologies, LLC has established a drone-based very first responder system named First iZ, with all FlytBase’s technology, which incorporates with the CAD (computer-aided dispatch) system that induces the 9-11 emergency services at Tyler, Texas, USA. This technique allows emergency operators to detach drones out of the unified dash to assemble advice within an emergency position and also pass to the information to individual pilots that is able to arrive after, more educated, and more prepared.

Public-safety : Drones are broadly utilized in operations such as search and rescue, audience control, crisis assessment, etc.. In a situation, Airworks 2019,” DJI had announced that drones spared the lives of 279 people. There are providers who concentrate on public security surgeries .

Industrial inspection: Drones are an important tool in the energy and utility sectors. Drones are used for inspecting refineries and gas pipelines to detect damages such as corrosion and cracks. They are also flown over wind turbines to inspect the blades. Such activities require a fair amount of specialization in aerial navigation, which is why there are sector-focused service providers for such drone applications.

Security and surveillance: There are numerous companies that provide turnkey, drone–based security solutions for some of the following use-cases:

Event surveillance

Crown monitoring

Intrusion detection

Border security

Drone shipping : The idea of making use of drones to get lastmile shipping has existed for centuries. Since the tech included is hard, providers within the space are highly technical and have a tendency to concentrate on some particular sort of package deliveries. By way of instance, zip-line is a business which offers an autonomous drone solution to clinical deliveries.

source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/08/24/drone-on-demand-software-solution-for-on-demand-drone-services/

[darnelldrones]

Drone Disaster Relief – How Drones are Used for Disaster Response

The ongoing pandemic (COVID-19) has taught us many things. Among those lessons is the realization that drones can be used for operations to save people’s lives.

Even before the pandemic, at AirWorks 2019, DJI announced that drones saved the lives of 279 people around the world. The number probably represents a small fraction of documented cases where drones were used as a means for public safety. For example, during the lockdown that followed after the onset of COVID-19, drones helped Indian authorities to contain the spread of the virus by monitoring the streets for unlawful gathering. Read the full case study.

We have just scratched the surface when it comes to commercial drone usage – drones have tremendous potential in disaster management alone.

In a report from the United Nations, it has been stated that 1.2 million lives were lost, 1.7 trillion dollars of damage was done and 2.9 billion people were affected due to global disasters that occurred between 2002 and 2012. With economic and human losses of this magnitude, every new technology that promises to save lives has a huge potential, including drone technology.

What Problems do Drones Solve During a Disaster Response?

There are several pre-existing protocols that are supposed to be followed during disaster response. Most of them have been successful so far, but they create their own set of challenges. The main one is the response time, which is of great importance during disaster management. The second one is logistical support.

For example, in 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 devastated the Kathmandu region of Nepal, which claimed the lives of 9000 people. All means of transportation were destroyed which drastically affected the disaster response and relief work. Many people, trapped under the rubble, lost their lives since help didn’t reach them on time.

When the Nepali government appealed for assistance to the international community, help arrived in the form of medical support, food, and relief equipment. Several international agencies came and deployed drones to help better assess the situation and to aid the search and rescue process.

Drones were also used during the 2013 typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. They were mainly deployed to survey the impact of the storm on farmlands and ascertain future risks from similar storms.

Drones help improve the response time, since they can be deployed much faster, as compared to traditional vehicles like a helicopter. Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) drones can cover large distances and assess the situation in an event where all transportation routes have been destroyed or made inaccessible.

Drone Benefits During Disaster Response

The process of disaster management can be broken down into the following stages:

Prevention

Preparation

Reponse

Recovery

Using drones for disaster response can add value to all of the above-mentioned stages according to a study from Zurich North America. The study highlights the correlation between a short response during the early phase of disaster recovery with increased success in search and rescue operations.

To better appreciate the benefits of using drones, consider the following:

Drones can ensure the safety of people. During the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster 2011, drones were used to survey the extent of the disaster without risking the lives of the relief workers.

Drones are quite effective as first responders since they can be deployed fast and easily, as compared to manned aerial vehicles.

Drones are relatively inexpensive, and with the help of a drone fleet management system, can be deployed in large numbers as autonomous fleets.

Drone Applications for Supporting Disaster Response

Drones are a versatile tool, to be used in various ways, as a critical aid in disaster response.

Drones have long been in use for aerial mapping and surveys. The same application can be easily extended to disaster response. For example, drones were used during the landslide of Oso, Washington in 2014 to map the region after the incident.

It often happens during an earthquake that a partially damaged building or a civic structure requires a thorough inspection before it can be deemed safe for humans to go there. Drones equipped with sensors like infrared (IR) cameras can do the job safely.

Drones can be used for medical delivery. A US-based company called Matternet did its first field trial of medical delivery using drones to camps set up after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Drones can be used for search and rescue operations. In 2005, fixed-wing drones were used to search for survivors after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi.

How FlytNow Enables Drones for Disaster Relief

Drones are not just a piece of hardware; they are usually paired with intelligent software to make them truly effective. In a disaster situation of a large magnitude, having multiple drones can be advantageous, but managing a swarm of drones is not easy. FlytNow, with its cloud-based software solution, solves the problem of simultaneously controlling and managing a large number of drones.

In brief, FlytNow works as a cloud application that provides a unified dashboard to manage drones connected to the system. When a request comes for deploying a drone, an emergency response operator can use the advanced mission planner to create a flight path for the drone and initiate the launch. Once in the air, the drone flies with full autonomy as per the mission plan. Below is an illustration of how a drone public safety operation might operate:

FlytNow is available in two versions, FlytNow Business and Enterprise; the latter offers a host of customization options.

FlytNow Business

This is a standard offering that provides usability out of the box. The offering comes with features specifically designed for disaster response and public safety operations. Here are some of those features and how they benefit disaster relief operations:

The ability to control drones over 4G/LTE/5G networks. By combining this feature with VTOL drones, a disaster response team can fly drones for long distances, and conduct surveys and mapping of an affected area.

Role-based access to the system. Disaster response teams are multi-faceted and not all require the same level of access to the drones. A relief worker on the ground might require only video access compared to someone who is required to assess the entire situation for planning logistics.

A mixed fleet of drones. FlytNow is a hardware-agnostic platform i.e. it supports both off-the-shelf and custom drones based on PX4 and Ardupilot. In a disaster situation, different types of drones might be required. For example, delivery drones are heavy and can carry large packages. Whereas, drones meant for surveys are smaller in size and may even have fixed wings for long-distance flight.

Live video streaming and sharing. Video feeds from a swarm of drones flying over a disaster affected area can be streamed onto a single unified dashboard, which is ideal for command center operations.

FlytNow Enterprise

The Enterprise version includes FlytNow Business as well as customization and add-ons, for operations that need scalability and a high degree of automation. This edition includes an operating system, which is installed on a single-board computer (SBC) – the SBC is then attached to the flight controller of a drone. This configuration allows for add-ons and integration, some of them are as follows:

AI-based features:

Obstacle avoidance, also known as FlytCAS, allows a drone to fly over a complex environment. This feature is useful when a drone is flying over or near ruins which can throw unexpected obstacles.

Precision landing, also known as FlytDock, allows a drone to land precisely on a machine-generated visual tag. This feature can be used when a drone has to land on a specific location to make a delivery.

Object detection, also known as FlytAI, allows a drone to detect objects from its video feed. This feature can be used to detect moving objects or humans on the ground during a search and resume operation.

Support for third-party integrations: The FlytNow application supports integration with third-party applications. During a disaster scenario, it is important to accurately log the drone flights and to make sure the drones don’t interfere with other aircraft. There are service providers like DronelogBook for flight data recording and Airdata for airspace intelligence, which can be integrated with FlytNow easily.

Advanced geofence: For the safety of the drones and compliance with airspace norms, it is necessary to restrict the area of operation during any relief work. FlytNow supports polygon geofences for operators to work on complex geography.

Integration with ground-based hardware: FlytNow has native support for ground-based hardware like charging pads and Drone-in-a-Box systems. By using such hardware, a first-responder system can be set up where the launch and docking of a drone are fully automated. When disaster strikes, such systems can be activated for faster response and expedite the overall relief process.

Some Instances of FlytNow in Use

During the recent lockdown for COVID-19, India’s first drone command center was established in Ahmedabad, by Dronelab, using FlytNow, which allowed local drone pilots to launch coordinated operations to monitor the streets for unlawful gathering.

One of our partners in Belgium, DR ONE, is using FlytNow for airport asset monitoring.

History was created in the city of Lillestrøm, Norway, when Droneverkstedet, one of our partners, conducted the very first remote drone construction site inspection using FlytNow over a 5G network.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed the usability of drones in disaster response and the problems they help solve. Then we reviewed the benefits of using drones for use cases in disaster situations. Finally, we ended on the note of how the FlytNow drone fleet management system enables disaster management teams to quickly deploy and manage drones for disaster relief.

What’s Next?

Leverage the power of FlytNow to conduct remote public safety operations with capabilities of automation and AI. To experience FlytNow, sign up for our free trial for 28 days using this link: https://flytnow.com/pricing/

If you are interested in partnering with us, please visit https://flytnow.com/partner/.

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source https://uavnation.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/drone-disaster-relief-how-drones-are-used-for-disaster-response/