May 2018 · No 32
going pro • Flying Fpv • DJi X7 • rEviEWS
EyE in thE Sky
HOW TO GET A NEW PERSPECTIVE WITH FIRST-PERSON FLYING
ON THE EDGE
Pushing the limits of the law to get some amazing photos
GOLD STANDARDS
How a new code of conduct can shape the future of UAVs
FLIGHT, CAMERA, ACTION
A pro pilot talks about working with the BBC and the new X7 camera
VIFLY
X150
A GIANT AMONG MINI-QUADS?
DRONE SHOW IS BACK!
FIRST INFO ON THE NEW AND IMPROVED UK SHOWCASE
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BIRD IN HAND
105MPH! HOW SWIFT IS THE GEPRC MX3 SPARROW?
Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Photo by Damian SadowskiC O N T R I B U TO R S
A DA M
J U N I P E R
Andrew spends his time monitoring the globe for drone news stories, testing to death the things people send him (mostly drones), and hoping his cats won’t moult all over his quadcopters. He's a graduate of the Freedonia Flying Academy and has never failed to walk away from a UAV landing. You can follow him on Twitter at
Rowan is cinematographer and drone fanatic with a passion for exploring new places and shooting them with his Xiro Xplorer. He’s always looking for new places to fly and new ways to push his work, and you’ll often find him along the Pembrokeshire coastline on most sunny/non-windy days! You can follow his most recent shots/trips on Instagram @RTBaileyMedia.
R OWA N
BA I L E Y
Hooked from the moment he sawthe AR.Drone at CES, Adam has spent the years since building, crashing, sinking, losing and occasionally flying drones. With a background in photography publishing and over a decade writing about video and still photography in his rear-view mirror, he was the only choice for Ilex’s book The Drone Pilot's Handbook (on sale now!).
Our launch editor for DRONE, Gemma has worked at the helm of NEO magazine for over ten years. Spending over a decade immersed in Asian pop culture, she recently branched out into the world of technology to take on UAVs. She’s most excited about the future of FPV racing and the prospect of drone deliveries! Can drone racing go prime time? She certainly hopes so! Follow NEO at @NEO_Magazine.
Rob has been covering tech topics for more years than he can remember, most recently in his role as editor of Digital FilmMaker magazine. He loves nothing more than hitching a ride in light aircraft or anything autonomous and has been keeping an eager eye on all things drone-related ever since he got his first glimpse of an early, slightly primitive, DJI creation a few years ago.
Known online as Painless360, Lee has a YouTube channel and business dedicated to making RC technology easier to use. An RC pilot for over eight years and with a 30-year background in electronics he became hooked on quads when he was bought one in as a present. The rest, as they say, is history! By now he can probably strip a quadcopter and rebuild it blindfolded.
Wayne was drawn into the world of RC and FPV after chancing on a tricopter video in 2011. Determined to understand how to construct his own flying machine, he’s been building, flying, crashing and fixing multirotors and planes ever since. Known online as CurryKitten, he runs his own a YouTube channel and blog focused on helping new pilots into the air more smoothly.
WAY N E
A N D R E WS
R O B I N
E VA N S
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W E LC O M E
TO ISSUE 32 OF DRONE MAGA ZINE!
H
aving spent a day in Monte Carlo last issue I had an equally illustrious trip this month, having been invited to the House of Lords in London for the announcement of the British Standards Institution’s upcoming Drone Standards. Admittedly the weather was considerably colder as the ‘Beast from the East’ gripped the capital, but it was still a hugely intriguing and enjoyable evening. Firstly, it was great to see so many leading figures brought together, not just from the drone industry but a variety of related fields as well. These people may get the odd chance to chat at trade shows, but with everyone packed into the same room it was almost impossible to avoid being drawn into an interesting discussion at every turn. I started the evening discussing the merits of drones in harbour management and ended it on the topic of data control and crypto-currency!Of course, the main talking point was the introduction of a set of standards that will help to shape the future of the drone industry. As echoed in the article on page 26, these are not regulations; instead they are a set of guidelines to establish minimum safety and quality standards that manufacturers and operators can choose to adopt. They appear in almost every other industry, so they shouldn’t be surprising or feared in any way.
Indeed, having these standards come into effect could go a long way to restrict the potential for more obligatory regulations that could impact on everyone. So rather than having the government telling us what we have to do, the BSI can tell us what we should be doing – and it’s up to you whether want to adhere to that and receive the recognition that comes with it. Either way, having a code of conduct that we can all aspire to on our terms – and further alienate the small minority not interested in playing by the rules – can only be a good thing.
Enjoy the issue!
IAN COLLEN, EDITOR
facebook.com/DRONEMagUK twitter.com/DRONEMagUK instagram.com/DRONEMagUK
10
26
CONTENTS
10
// AIR RESCUE
We hear from the Special Constable who was able to use a police UAV to find a missing person on a freezing cold night.
12 // PLANT HIGHER
Drone are lending a hand just about everywhere these days, most recently at a decommissioned nuclear power plant in Scotland.
14
// VIDEO TO GO
Parrot has introduced the Flight Director editing software to its FreeFlight Pro app, offering up auto-edited videos on the fly.
20
// UK DRONE SHOW
Now under the expanded guise of the UK Drone and Technology Show Live, it’s back for business in December.
26 // NEW STANDARDS
We speak to the Chairman of the BSI committee behind the new code of conduct coming soon to the drone industry.
32
// TV GUIDE
A professional drone pilot explains how his flair for flying really helped his career in television to take off – and meet Noel Edmunds!
16
// CLOSE CALLS
Two contrasting stories; one about a new drone designed to avoid collisions and one about a pilot who nearly caused one.
17 // HOT TOPICS
Some environmentally unfriendly reports, with drone deliveries needing to reduce its carbon footprint and a UAV fire-starter.
18
// PUBLIC OPINION
92% of people think there needs to be some restrictions on drone use, according to a new study of both pilots and the public.
20
32
12
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40
// CITY SLICKER
How one pilot has played by the rules and still been able to get some memorable shots over the skies of London that skirt the law.
46
// HEAD IN THE CLOUDS
One of our experts takes you through everything you need to know in order to take your first steps into flying FPV.
52
// TAMING ACRO
Essential advice that will make life a lot easier for any pilots looking to ease off self-levelling flights and go fully manual.
70
// GEPRC MX3 SPARROW
The creators are claiming a top speed of more than 100mph, so is this FPV flyer punching above its weight?
74
// FORMAT WARS
It’s not quite VHS vs Betamax or PlayStation vs Xbox, but choosing the right format for sharing your videos online can still be crucial.
80
// SHARP SHOOTER
We chat with Florian Ledoux, winner of the recent SkyPixel Photo Contest and a man on a mission to bring the Arctic to your laptop.
58
// FLIGHT SCHOOL
Once qualified there aren’t too many other places to learn new skills but a new drone academy aims to change that.
62
// DJI MAVIC AIR
We’ve teased it; we’ve had some brief test flights with it; and now it’s time for our full in-depth review of the drone everyone’s talking about.
66
// VIFLY X150
When one of our experts says this is his new number one choice for quads of this size, you might want to find out why.
40
46
80
62
70
80
DISCOVER HOW A PASSION
FOR WILDLIFE AND A FLAIR
FOR FLYING COMBINED INTO
AN AWARD-WINNING CAREER
L
incolnshire Police has used a drone to help to find the missing driver of a crashed vehicle in sub-zero temperatures. The incident happened on the A16 near Ludborough in the early hours of 25 February, during a night with temperatures reported as low -2°C when the weather was both foggy and snowing. Officers were responding to a call after a member of the public reported seeing the car upside down in a ditch with smoke coming out of it. The driver had been spotted walking on foot away from the crash site towards a nearby village.We spoke directly with the pilot involved in the search, Special Sergeant Kevin Taylor, about the incident. He confirmed that the search of the area had started at 2.24am with four police officers on the scene, which he described as a “pitch black night, freezing cold,
on an unlit section of A-road with no moon.” They were further assisted by the local Fire Brigade who had attended with a hand-held thermal camera.
Whilst the fire crew was able to check under the vehicle and in the area close by to ensure no one was trapped or had been thrown out of the vehicle, they had not been able to find the driver. As a result the decision was made for Kevin, a full-time Subject Matter Expert for Metis Aerospace with 15 years of experience with fixed wing and rotor craft, as well as a PfCO holder, to travel from Lincoln to the site as part of his voluntary role as a Special Constable.
Special Sgt Kevin arrived at the scene at 3.26am and was airborne and searching by 3.33am. When we asked how this seven-minute deployment time of the Lincolnshire
Police’s DJI Inspire 1 with XT thermal camera was achieved, he said: “We go through all the checks but we pre-plan en route as to what we’re doing, the area we’re going to and anything that might affect us.”
As for the flight itself, Kevin explained that “the section of road we were interested in searching was a kilometre long, and obviously the interest was in the road, the dykes and the surrounding fields. Lincolnshire is a very rural area, so a thermal drone search can be ideal. I did a flight out from the location of the accident to the village; there were various heat sources showing, particularly from the water in the dyke at the side of the road. I had officers check out two other heat sources first, which proved to be water. When you look at the thermal results back there were a couple of areas that were a little bit bigger and a little bit warmer, and they were ruled out.”
SEARCH
HOT SPOT
As the drone continued its flight back, Kevin spotted a third source, about 150 metres away, emanating from a ditch. “I didn’t know that it was a person at that stage, until I guided the officer in. He couldn’t see, even when he was within twelve feet of where the chap was. I had to tell him to go forward a bit and then back a bit and then turn right a bit, because he still couldn’t see. He was six feet down into the ditch and you really had to get down to see him.
“There was that element of talking him in, going backwards and forwards, interrupted by other operational radio work at the same time, so he went back past the location that I wanted him to check. So I had to ask him to go back and keep going into the ditch, then he confirmed back to me (at 3.45am) that it was the chap in the ditch who was unconscious.” Kevin confirmed that whilst the other officers
and the Fire Brigade had performed thorough searches, the missing driver “was so far down in the ditch they simply wouldn’t have found him. The only way they could have found him was to go and walk down into the ditch, but due to the water in there it was not a possibility.
“As soon the officer was with him I returned (the drone) home, because I was approaching the end of my battery life. Being a cold evening, even with 12 minutes of flight time I didn’t have a lot of battery left. I didn’t want to leave the heat source in fear of not finding it again, so I stayed airborne and by the time the officers got to him the battery was at 30%. However, the drone was about 140 metres from my location with no wind so there was no complication with the flight back.” Once the craft had landed, Kevin began assisting the other officers, with an ambulance arriving on scene at 3.52am to take the driver to hospital.
Speaking about the incident to the press, Sgt Mike Templeman commented that without the drone this search could have taken much
longer and that the deployment possibly saved the man’s life. He also referred to the response as “a great team effort”, and, whilst praising all those officers involved, he made specific mention of PC Logan-Glover, PC Smith and drone pilot Special Sgt Taylor.
Lincolnshire Police’s drone project started in March 2017, with full approvals being given for operations in October 2017. The
programme was started by Chief Constable Bill Skelly, who had previous experience with the technology in the Devon & Cornwall force, and was supported by Crime Commissioner Marc Jones. The team currently consists of four pilots, with a further six officers currently undergoing training. You can follow their daily operations on Twitter via their handle @lincsCOPter.
WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK 11
“I didn’t know that it was a person at that stage…
GOING
NUCLEAR
DRONEs DRIvE sAfEty At
DEcOMMIssIONED pOwER plANt
A
lthough the winter weather hitting the UK in March wasn’t good news for most drone pilots, it did give one aerial team the chance to demonstrate the positive benefits of UAV use for inspection work at a decommissioned nuclear power plant. With only a few flights the team was able to demonstrate both the financial savings and the speed and safety aspects of using drones over traditional on-foot methods.The drone programme has been initiated at the Dounreay plant on the north coast of Caithness in Scotland. It was opened in 1955 and until 1994 was the home to five nuclear
reactors. Following the closure of the facility (and the passing of the site through a number of government bodies), the maintenance of the buildings, management of the potential environmental harm of the radioactive materials and the safe decommissioning of the site has fallen to Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL).
As part of these works, 50 building inspections a year were previously carried out using traditional techniques of putting people on roofs and up ladders that could be 55 metres off the ground. Following a project initiated by senior electrical engineer John Moar, and an outlay of £6,000 on a drone, the inspections
are now being carried out with a pilot safely on the ground. As well as estimated manpower savings of £100,000, the risk of serious injury or even death from falls has been removed as a result. The savings made on the very first drone inspection, which targeted two 20-metre tall ventilation stacks, are reported to have covered the cost of the craft.
John told us that his awareness of drones and reasons for initiating the drone programme come from a long-time interest in aerial photography. “I had a hobby background in self-built RC model aeroplanes and helicopters, mainly during the 1990s, and first took aerial views using a modified auto-wind film-type camera mounted in a wooden plans-built model aeroplane. I started flying light aircraft in 1999 and began taking a lot of aerial photographs from then onwards. Drones were a natural progression and I only started operating these recently for the purpose of my work as I saw the opportunity emerge.” Knowing the potential benefits of drone technology, the next step was convincing DSRL of the benefits of using such systems. The nature of his work environment gave John some assistance as “innovation is key to our decommissioning programme and, as an engineer, we are encouraged to constantly innovate and stay in touch with new technologies,” he explained.
day job. Nuclear safety case considerations, security, training requirements, cost and conventional safety were all considerations rather than obstacles.
“It was a matter of assessing, mitigating and balancing these risks and other factors. The balance of risk compared to ‘conventional’ access methods spoke for itself and I did not need to work too hard to convince the management of the benefits once I had done my homework and presented the facts and implementation plan.”
POWER RANGER
Convincing the company of the benefits was one thing, but getting permission to fly at the plant was complicated as, due to the nature of the site, there is a strictly enforced air exclusion zone. “The area is a flight prohibited area, as regulated by the CAA, in force around the site. So the application included permission to use the airspace with security controls considered.”
With a PfCO and specific exemption finally secured, John was able to get to work using a DJI Inspire 2, operated with the dual TX set-up and chosen for the task “because of the functionality and support.” John explained
that “general surveys are our main focus, such as asset inspection, condition monitoring or storm damage surveys. Provided in line of sight, the drone is able to get very close to the area being examined, much closer than a mobile elevated work platform can, for example. They cannot necessarily perform as well as a person up close with the benefit of all senses but the difficulty is in getting the person up close in the first instance, and so the drone is a clear winner.”
The success of this early use of the technology has been made evident by the amount of work the team have been able to perform. “We have successfully carried out around 20 inspections over the winter period and after the recent strong winds we
managed to conduct two months’ worth of storm damage surveys over a period of just a couple of days,” John says. “This would have previously required the hire of mobile work platforms costing several thousands of pounds each week and would have been more resource intensive. In addition to saving the taxpayer money, we are increasing the quality and timeliness of the inspections.”
John says everyone seemed happy with the results. “The project manager was delighted at the quality and detail of the images and how easy and safe it was to get them. It also gives us 360 degree inspections, which often isn’t possible when doing the inspection manually.” With a team from the site’s maintenance department now involved in the drone works, John has said the system “also has the potential to develop applications in other areas, such as 3D modelling, thermographic, environmental and land remediation surveys, and PR footage.”
Further proof of the benefits of drone use can be found in a number of similar initiatives that are being undertaken at other nuclear facilities in the UK and beyond. For more details on the Dounreay facility and the drone use there, head over to dounreay.com.
WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK 13
P
arrot, the developer of the Bebop drone series, has announced the addition of Flight Director to its FreeFlight Pro companion app. The program, powered by algorithms developed by Singapore-based video editing software company Muvee, identifies the “optimum sequences” in a user’s captured drone footage and then presents them with a ready-to-share montage of between 15 seconds and 3 minutes.The software’s algorithm automatically identifies the best moments of the operator’s footage by analysing the drone’s flight telemetry and then synchronises them to the beats of the selected music track. Users can choose tunes from the app’s library or from their own playlists. In addition, three editing styles are available to select from.
Talking to Parrot about these pre-set selections, a spokesperson explained that Story “follows the chronological order of the shots” and is “great for following a journey or storytelling.” Trailer is a “fast-paced editing style which uses fast motion and quick cuts to the most exciting moments to crank up the impact and drama.” And finally there’s Cinematic which “automatically finds the most awesome sweeping smooth shots,” with the intention of being “great for making epic landscape aerial movies.”
Videos can be further customised with a choice of seven ‘Themes’, which are overlays that add flight telemetric information to the video. The software then uses your smart device’s built-in share systems to post the videos to any and all compatible platforms, including Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.
When asked what the design goal was for this latest addition to the growing library of software for the Bebop series, a Parrot representative commented that Flight Director is “part of our efforts to create a user-friendly ecosystem around FreeFlight Pro.
“Our goal is to provide our users with an exceptional, multi-purpose tool to accompany them during their journey with our drones. Flight Director was specifically designed to offer the opportunity to quickly edit drone footage and create amazing content with minimal efforts and editing skills thanks to its intuitive interface and automated processes.”
Whilst Flight Director is usable with all three craft in the Bebop range, when asked if the software will be made available for users of the Disco fixed wing craft, we were told that it is currently “designed to work on quadcopter drones only.”
Flight Director is available now and requires the FreeFlight Pro application from version 5.2 onwards and either iOS 9.0 or Android 4.2 or higher. The Premium version, available on a 15-day free trial, is listed at £19.99 in the App Store and £14.99 on Google Play. A free version is also available, enabling operators to use the ‘Best Of’ feature which will select videos from your drone to create a 15-second compilation of the “best moments shot by your drone.”
Android users should note that Parrot has confirmed that the software is only compatible with devices with the rm64-v8a and armeabi-v7a binary interfaces. This means that a small number of older devices will not be able to use the app, and will therefore not be able to purchase the software from the store. More information on Flight Director, FreeFlight Pro and the company’s range of aerial solutions can be found at Parrot.com.
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kydio, a drone development start-up based in Redwood City, California, has announced the launch of its 4K R1 autonomous drone after four years of development and boasting some impressive obstacle avoidance tech. The drone’s key feature, the Skydio Autonomy Engine, has been demonstrated in a series of launch videos showing the craft following runners, skiers, bikers and skaters through a variety of densely forested areas. The technology has also been demonstrated ‘in the wild’ by a number of vloggers, including Casey Neistat who considered the autonomy “a quantum leap” when compared to DJI’s technologies.Talking about the launch of the R1, Adam Bry, CEO and co-founder of Skydio, stated: “The promise of the self-flying camera has captured people’s imaginations, but today’s drones still need to be flown manually for them to be useful. We’ve spent the last four years solving the hard problems in robotics and AI necessary to make fully autonomous flight possible. We’re incredibly excited about the creative possibilities with R1, and we also believe that this technology will enable many of the most valuable drone applications for consumers and businesses over the coming years.”
The craft is 13 x 16 x 1.5 inches, weighs in at 2.2lbs, has a top-flight speed of 25mph and a flight time of 16 minutes. The camera allows for 4K at 30fps (or 1080p at 30 and 60fps) with live streaming also available at 720p at 15fps. It has a maximum range of 300ft (depending on your smart device) and twelve navigational cameras, with five tracking modes available.
This isn’t a cheap piece of fun, though, as the R1 Frontier Edition is currently available for the not insignificant sum of $2,499 (plus shipping). More information can be found at skydio.com.
Words by AndreW WAtton-dAvies
Follow the Leader
HigH-end automation targets
tHe prosumer market
T
he UK Airprox Board (UKAB) has confirmed that on 01 January 2018, a glider on its landing approach to Dunstable Downs Airfield in Bedfordshire was involved in a near-miss incident with a drone. The drone was reported to have been “20-50m in front of the nose of the glider and a few metres below” the Schleicher ASK 21, as it was at 550ft and making its final turn for approach. With both the weather and the UAV being described as grey, it is reported as having been difficult for the pilot to see it “against a backdrop of Dunstable town.”The report states that with the drone passing rapidly by the glider, there had been no time for the glider pilot to take avoiding action. The report concluded that “had the drone been on a collision course, it was unlikely that the glider would have responded to control inputs rapidly enough to allow avoiding action to be effective,” and thus the Risk of Collision was given as “High”. It added that it was “a situation where providence had played a major part in the incident” and that a definite risk of collision had existed.
The incident was the highest risk of the seven drone-related reports reviewed at the January meeting of the UKAB. The other incidents included reports of UAVs being flown beyond practical visual line of sight, in the vicinity of airfields, above cloud cover, and on approach paths for landing planes. More details on the incidents can be found at the website airproxboard.org.uk.
NEAR MISS
glider and drone in close call
Words by: Andrew wAtton-dAvies
www.droneMAGAZine.UK 17
A
research team from the Lawrence Livermore NationalLaboratory in California has concluded that the additional warehousing needed for drone deliveries, and the longer travel distances being planned by developers, reduces the previously championed environmental benefits of the technology when compared to traditional ground-based vehicle delivery.
In the paper, ‘Energy Use and Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Drones for Commercial Package Delivery’, the team found that the drones themselves potentially consume less energy per package-kilometre than delivery trucks, provided that the craft are flown at an energy-efficient speed and distance. However, savings are undermined when the electricity and natural gas needed for maintaining additional storage facilities are factored in. The paper concluded that to realise the environmental benefits of drone deliveries, regulators and firms should focus on minimising extra warehousing and limiting the size of drones.
Co-author Joshuah Stolaroff (and team leader along with Constantine Samaras) told us: “Finding ways to use existing retail space to store and stage goods is one way they might limit the need for extra warehousing. For regulators, placing limits on package weight and drone weight seems straightforward. Both parties should assess the full life cycle impacts of their proposed system before implementing it.”
As for the potential dangers of not taking such action, he said: “In the worst case, widespread drone use would moderately increase emissions in the transportation sector at a time when we need to make dramatic reductions for climate reasons. We are not aware that any developers or drone users have systematically considered the drones’ environmental impacts before. Our paper is an important first step.” The full study can be found and analysed at the website nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02411-5.
AERIAL FOOTPRINTS
environMentAl iMpAct of
UAv deliveries Assessed
T
he US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service has reported that a fire on 06 March in the Kendrick Park area of Coconino National Forest, Arizona, was caused by a drone battery igniting after a crash landing and setting fire to dry grasses. The fire is said to have burned more than 300 acres of forest land and required the efforts of around 30 firefighters and a water tender truck to get under control, driving smoke across the nearby Highway 180.
The craft is reported to have been 16 x 16-inch hobby drone, with the pilot having been identified and charged with starting a wildfire. The exact reason for the battery starting the fire has not yet been established (though a hot battery and dry grass is a bad mix), but if found guilty the drone operator can face anything from a fine or community service to jail time.
The flying of drones in the National Forest is permitted, provided the pilot follows FAA rules, does not take off or land in a wilderness area and that there are no wildfires in the vicinity. The Forest Service itself provides maps and supporting information for those wishing to fly in the area. The incident is believed to have been the first time that a wildfire has been caused by a drone.
N
ominet UK, the .uk domain name registry since 1996, has released research into public opinion on drones and their use as part of its Digital Futures Index. Aimed at “identifying consumer sentiment around drone ownership, while also exploring trends among drone owners,” the results show that 92% of respondents believe there should be restrictions on who can use drone craft, 90% want drones registered with a central body and 72% support “the equivalent of a driving licence for drone operators.”The results were based on a representative sample of 2,002 UK adults and 500 drone owners, who were surveyed over a ten-day period in January 2018 by Opinium. Other data released included the findings that 83% of respondents believe that drones pose a risk to the public when out of controller range and 79% having concerns about the safety of flight paths, roads and properties.
The public were also concerned about illegal use of the craft, with 71% of respondents thinking drones could be used for criminal activities and 58% saying that UAVs pose a danger to their privacy, with 49% considering camera drones “a major privacy risk.” How the public believe registration should be handled is not as clear an issue, though, with 42% supporting the creation of a new central
body, 37% in favour of registration with the government, 30% with the aviation authorities and 25% wanting drones to be registered with the police (we’d assume it was a multiple choice section before you question the maths!).
Of the 500 drone users surveyed, 66% said that their drones are fitted with a camera but the same percentage claimed there is “a lack of clarity over filming permissions.” 62% of users said that they had filmed persons or places without permission and 9% said they didn’t think filming permissions are ever needed. On the issues of safety, 53% admitted to having crashed a craft under their control, 37% admitted to having lost drones under their control and 26% said they didn’t know the range of their devices, “despite knowing the potential dangers.”
Commenting on the study, Russell Haworth, CEO of Nominet, said: “At the moment drones are largely extravagant toys, but the reality is that they have the potential to revolutionise many aspects of our lives… What’s needed is a centralised database and flight path mapping tools that allows these drones to communicate with each other. That way, accidents are less likely to happen, as collision avoidance systems would take over in the event of an emergency. City infrastructure would also need updating to accommodate drones, including things like
landing locations for drone deliveries. No doubt as cities become smarter, drones will play a wider role.”
When asked how much the views of drone operators differed from the general public, a spokesperson added: “On the whole, drone owners and consumers were aligned on their thoughts when it came to regulation and restrictions or who should be able to purchase a drone. One area where they did differ is about the potential of drone use in the future for deliveries. Drone owners were much more open to receiving deliveries via drone, with a quarter saying they think it is the future of deliveries, compared with just 10% of consumers.”
More details on Nominet’s research, covering a range of technological issues, can be found at nominet.uk/DigitalFuturesIndex – although we were told that there are no current plans for the full results of this study to be released.
NEw suRvEy bAcks DRONE REstRIctIONs
PUBLIC ORDER
H
aving launched in 2015, the UK Drone Show enjoyed two great annual shows before taking a break in 2017. Now it’s ready to return under the expanded guise of the UK Drone and Technology Show Live 2018, being held over the weekend of 01-02 December back at the NEC in Birmingham.Although the change in name suggests a shift in focus, the core is still very much on the ‘drone’ side of things. But with an ever-growing range of crossover industries such as photography, virtual and augmented reality, RC cars, gaming, robotics and smart technologies it makes sense to open those doors a little wider and embrace a potentially larger audience.
The event is being organised by DTECH Show Limited, a joint venture
between the UK Drone Show founder, Oliver O’Brien (who’ll be project manager on the 2018 show); the former CEO of the MCM ComicCon events in the UK and current owner of Malo Events, Bryan Cooney; and the managing director of Activate Communications, Luke Galliana, who’ll be heading up the Brand Partnerships.
In terms of the show itself, you can expect the same wealth of major exhibitors, display stands and presentation areas that we saw in 2016, but with a plenty of intriguing newcomers and much more packed into an NEC hall space that the team
expects to be slightly bigger and certainly more compact than those previous shows, and with even more on to get your hands on.
The headline features include the returning iSeries FPV race event, boasting a whopping £10,000 prize pool – and the team hopes to entice some major international pilots to the UK to take on the best of British over two intense days of frenetic racing.
There’s also a £4,000 prize pot up for grabs in the ‘Perfect Capture’ photography competition, with two categories on offer: Aerial Photography for the drone owners out there, and Nature Photography which is open to more traditional hand-held photographers.
As well as seeing many familiar faces from the drone world on the show floor, plus some other potential big hitters from the worlds of photography, gaming, technology and beyond, there’ll also be the very nicely timed ‘Christmas Gadget Fair’.
Oliver explained that this will include “presentations of all the latest gadgets” and that they were “looking at getting some well-known hosts involved.” We can certainly imagine it providing a very handy shopping centre for many a festive gift this year!
THE SHOW GOES ON!
BIGGER AND BETTER
The joint venture seems to be a nice piece of timing all-round, with Bryan Cooney selling his stake in the UK MCM ComicCon in October last year, and Luke, who’d previously worked with Bryan on those MCM events, told us they’ve been keen to get involved with the Drone Show for a while. And when Bryan was free from the responsibilities of the many ComicCon shows held across the UK each year, Luke says it “gave us the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling with Oliver and try to put some plans in place to get the show going and get the partnership going.”
On announcing the event, Luke added: “It’s going to be the largest showcase for drones and technology in Europe. We’re looking to have as many interactive areas as possible over the course of the two days. There’ll be lots of exciting competitions, lots of new product launches and lots of new technology.” This was echoed by Oliver who says it will be “the most
unique consumer technology show in the UK.” Oliver also explained how expanding his original premise into the UK Drone and Technology Show Live made sense. “With things like photography, it crosses over into a whole new world, as with eSports and so on. So it’s a natural progression for the show to grow… but it’s still the Drone Show and we’ll still have all of the right drone elements.”
To this extent you can still expect to see large sections of the show floor given over to the likes of drone training, development, insurance and all things CAA-related. Plus we’ll see the return of the popular Tiny Whoop area and the RC cars will once again be tearing it up on their own track – and with talk of underwater UAV technology joining the fun, we’re also dreaming about the possibility of a giant fish tank as well!
With the likes of flight simulators, VR and eSports amongst many other things, the 2018 show certainly does have the potential to be a hugely hands-on and interactive experience. “I think that’s key as well,” says Luke. “Obviously coming from the ComicCon experiences, for us,
it’s all about having as many areas as possible that are interactive and that’s what helps to make the experience, as we’ve found in the past putting on these kinds of large-scale events.”
A NEW BEGINNING
What’s perhaps most exciting about this new venture is that the 2018 show is only the beginning. The team already has a five-year plan in place to expand and develop the concept. One potential avenue of growth could see the show follow in Bryan’s previous MCM footsteps, where ComicCons are held in many different cities across the country throughout the year – and the UK Drone and Technology Show Live could also effectively be taken ‘on tour’, albeit on a slightly smaller scale to begin with.
“Obviously we’re used to having multiple events all around the country,” Luke explains. “So we see this event happening in major cities across the UK and worldwide as well. So it’s not just about the NEC, it’s about multiple cities and we’re already working on that research
and those conversations have already started to take place.”
In the short term, though, the team is focused mainly on getting the 2018 show in place to act as a foundation for those more ambitious plans into 2019 and beyond, and Oliver says they’ve already received an enthusiastic response to the new event. “Obviously we’ve got our core people there, the main exhibitors, and we’ve been talking to them before the launch. So you’ll have all the players there you’d expect but obviously we’ll be bringing in manufacturers from the photography side and things like that and we’re certainly getting a lot of interest.”
With some 10,000 people likely to attend, the expansion into the ‘and Technology’ side of the name could also help to drive new customers, including those who might not necessarily attend a drone show but might be enticed by the likes of virtual reality, eSports or the latest Apple gadget. “That’s the thinking behind it,” Luke says, “and that’s obviously one reason why we’re looking at having these categories out there; it gives us the opportunity to market those individually, as well as the crossover for the drone sectors.
“It’s one of those things where we know that the market is there for us to enhance it with the crossover of technologies. We’re playing it down a little bit, in terms of what can be achieved this year. I think if we base the footprint on something just a little bit larger than what the UK Drone Show was, then we’ve got the scope to increase that as the uptake comes in from the partners.”
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St. Leonards-on-Sea,
East Sussex
Photo by Phil Ovenden
Given the wintry weather in the UK last month, reader Phil Ovenden was right on cue with this overhead shot of a beach in East Sussex he calls ‘Two Tides’ that had us dreaming of sunnier times. Phil tells us it was taken with a Phantom 4 Pro and at a height of around 20m. If it didn’t make the issue, he joked that the photo “makes a good screen saver” but we’re more than happy to include it in the magazine – and on our desktop!
SETTING THE
STANDARDS
With a new set of Drone Standards due to be
introduced both in the UK and across the world, Ian
Collen spoke with the BSI Committee Chairman, Robert
Garbett, to find out what exactly it could entail…
W
ith the impending regulations set to introduce things like drone registration and mandatory training for UAV pilots, the idea of having even more rules or restrictions placed upon everyday drone users might seem a little disconcerting. So while the work of the British Standards Institute (BSI) might be familiar to many, it’s probably important to start off by clarifying for those not quite so sure that standards do NOT mean regulations (as some other outlets have reported).Whether it’s in the drone industry or anywhere else, these standards are purely a set of rules or guidelines for best practice that individuals or companies can choose to adopt – typically in areas involving safety or quality. Those
that do so are, upon application, given due accreditation (such as the BSI ‘kitemark’) which serves to inform all potential clients and customers of their now-proven level of professionalism.
You’ll find it on everything from plugs to fire extinguishers, car parts and much more – because when you’re buying something and you want to be sure that it works, you’ll usually go for something that’s been approved for safety and quality over something that hasn’t, right? It’s this same practice that is set to be introduced to the drone world, with standards to be established in an ongoing process across all different aspects of the industry.
However, one very important positive for the drone community – and one that could make a notable impact on actually restricting regulations – is that typically regulations lead and standards follow. But because the drone industry has grown and evolved so quickly, the standards have the chance to lead.
According to Robert Garbett, Chairman of the BSI Committee on Drone Standards: “It means that things are standards-led and not regulation-led, which is good because it means that the industry is not choked by over-regulation,” although he does point out that the UK government is keen to avoid this anyway.
WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK 27
or possibly in future incorporating certain standards as part of an operator’s training or qualifying requirements – but that’s not to say they will ever be used in this manner.
QUALITY CONTROL
We’d previously spoken with Robert in Issue 26, as we discussed the launch of the Drone Major portal for uniting industry professionals. Interestingly it was another of his projects, SUAS Global (which is geared more towards everyday operators), that possibly started the BSI ball rolling. He explains how a while ago these members wanted some kind of standard in place, so he approached the BSI to create a kitemark. Although nothing was possible at that time, Robert was directed to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and one thing followed another – and so on 28 February 2018 he was standing in the House of Lords addressing a room full of senior industry figures and politicians (and one humble magazine editor) as Chairman of the Committee preparing to introduce Drone Standards to the country.
In terms of what exactly it means Robert describes a standard as “the industry’s best practice” – noting that although UK-based, these proposals also work on an international level as each standard is presented to the ISO for discussion and potentially global acceptance. As to what
it will entail, Robert explains: “There are two parts to this; there’s the product and there’s the operation. The product is essentially: ‘Is it safe to use?’ And the operation is: ‘Is it used safely?’ When you overlap those two things in the air industry you get what we call airworthiness – and that’s what we’re trying to achieve, airworthiness within the drone industry.”
Although Robert was unable to give any specific examples of what the standards currently include, we were
All photos by Lee Schofield, except where stated
able to get a fairly self-explanatory understanding of what to expect. In manufacturing terms it means that both those making drones and also those making accessories such as batteries or motors might have certain standards to adhere to (if they want to be recognised as such).
“That’s talking to manufacturers to say ‘if you are building a drone for use in the air, these are the minimum safety considerations you should have’,” Robert says. “An example of that might be if you’re designing a battery for use on a drone you should ensure that that battery is intelligent enough to check the temperature and alert the pilot before it runs out of power.”
In terms of the operation, that’s actually one part that Robert himself is a ‘convenor’ of. “That’s the standards for the operator of an air drone. So that’s going to be really exciting with all sorts of topics in there, from security, to how you operate at night, operations beyond visual line of sight, training, competence, maintenance… all of those aspects are covered in there.”
It’s worth pointing to his use of the term ‘air drone’, as these standards will ultimately encompass all aspects of unmanned technology, taking in land, sea, underwater, air and anything else that applies – ‘space’ is mentioned but in the short term that applies more to airspace and UTM systems (beyond that, who knows?!).
It’s also worth echoing the point that these standards remain optional – but it’s easy to see them being almost a necessary badge of honour for major companies. “That’s quite important for a lot of organisations when they’re trying to sell their services overseas or to very large organisations,” Robert says. “Once the standard exists it’s quite frequent that those organisations will ask: ‘Are you following those standards?’” For smaller individual operators who don’t need to operate at these higher levels, or perhaps can’t justify the expense (as there are costs involved with receiving accreditation), it might not be quite so important. Although as a guide there’d certainly be no harm in at least aspiring to these levels of safety and quality.
STANDARD TIME
In terms of a time frame, these standards are still some way off becoming ‘live’ so to speak. The BSI and ISO don’t exactly operate in short turnaround times, with Robert quoting 1-2 years for the former and up to 3 for the latter to get a standard into effect. However, a lot of work has
already been done, with the operations side of things (including Robert’s own contribution) up to what’s called the ‘Committee Draft’ stage.
This means it will be presented to the committee and all other ‘mirror’ committees around the world in ISO member countries, ahead of their next meeting in June. The feedback and comments will then be absorbed and responded to in an “acceptable Committee Draft” before it goes out to wider – and public – consultation later in the year. “It is not then an official standard but it is reviewable by government and Mrs Smith from Glasgow if she so wishes and they can make further comments on that.
“We then take in those comments from the wider
consultation in order to release the final standard. I’m hoping, certainly from the operations standard perspective, that we can have that at least at a stage where we know where we are by the end of the year. It may not be a formal standard by that point but we will all know what is in that standard.”
Given the speed that these processes move at, compared to the fast-moving world of drones and UAV technology,
it’s obvious that this will need to be a constantly evolving process – although in this first instance getting the foundations in place is an important first step. “It does take time but we are moving as fast as we can and the restructuring of the committee at a national level reflects that,” says Robert. “We will be breaking out some of the larger topics to separate sub-committees so that they can be worked on in a more efficient manner.
“It will be a challenge but the BSI is very used to doing this and the industry will move as fast as the industry can move. Whether it will be able to keep up with the requirements or the wants of the industry is another thing but we will certainly do our best.” Robert quotes unmanned traffic management systems (UTMs) as an example. “That started as what’s called ‘beyond visual line of sight’, so we needed to address that problem. That then moulded into ‘if we had a UTM that would solve that problem,’ And then that moulded into ‘hang on, if you have a UTM then you’d need integrated airspace’. So it’s evolved so quickly.”
It’s an example that does illustrate the breadth of the industry and the various challenges ahead but Robert and his team are excited to embrace the task in hand. “The evolution of these safety quality standards is a very forward-thinking idea and we’re not restricting ourselves to just the classification of drones at the moment, or certain sizes that are being operated. This is a standard which addresses all drones in the air, in all environments, anywhere.”
SAFETY FIRST
Much like there are people with justifiable concerns over drone regulations, so there will be those who are apprehensive about the introduction of these standards. The truth is that they are an inevitable step, as they are in any industry where safety and quality are to be considered
WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK 29
“These standards are purely a set of rules or guidelines for best practice that
individuals or companies can choose to adopt”
As part of his speech Robert declared that “2018 isof paramount importance – and the simple fact that the drone industry has the potential to put standards ahead of regulation has to be considered a good thing.
Whether you’re a high-end manufacturer, a commercial pilot or just a fun flyer, these standards could benefit everyone. The likes of DJI can take some solace in the fact that those numerous Chinese knock-offs won’t be getting the same accreditation of quality; trained operatives adhering to these standards will have a further seal of approval to support their PfCO as a selling point to clients; and casual drone owners will be able to buy their next model and accessories with a little more confidence.
“The industry is crying out for permission to do more with this technology and I think the regulations that are now being evolved will be informed by these standards and there will be not only an increasing awareness, but also kind of a stabilisation,” Robert explains. “Once the standards are in place, for example, investors will be more willing to invest in companies that are compliant with that standard. Governments and regulators will be more willing to allow things to happen if they are done within the confines of the standards and you get more acceptance of the technology.”
With the likes of the Drone Major Group and his work with the BSI, Robert has been dealing with key figures on all levels in the industry – and he says he has their full support. “We’re having nothing but positive feedback from all areas of industry all over the world. Many organisations, such as DJI you mentioned earlier, are engaged in this process fully. I haven’t witnessed any resistance whatsoever. The government is doing a fantastic job in ensuring the regulations are enabling and not restricting – and that’s really positive.”
You can keep track on any further updates on the standards on the BSI website www.bsigroup.com. You can also follow developments and get involved via the Drone Major Group site www.dronemajor.net and at suas-global.com.
Standard Bearers
According to Robert: “The British Standards Institution is the longest standing organisation responsible for developing the national standard, or the British Standard. Essentially what they do is develop open and clear peer review standards. So they form a team of experts around a topic, those experts will work to develop the content and that content is then reviewed within the national committee.
“Then it goes out to the wider community of experts in the UK and even out to the public, so the BSI tries to get as wide a distribution and as many comments as they can possibly get to ensure that the standard is as close as they can get to the industry view. Every single comment is noted and that then forms the standard which becomes the national standard on any given topic.”
“Things are standards-led and not regulation-led,
which is good because it means that the industry
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DRONE PRO
SKY TV:
Jack Johnson is a freelance pilot who found a flight
path into the television world. Ian Collen discovered
more about his time working with the BBC, DJI’s
new X7 camera, and Noel Edmunds…
TURNING A PASSION INTO AN
AERIAL ADVENTURE
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DRONE PRO
:
A
s with many people who’ve established themselves in the film and TV industry, Jack Johnson can trace his foundations back to an early age. He developed a love of video after his grandad gave him an old Hi8 camera, and that passion continued through to university (studying Media Production) and ultimately to the TV world where he’s been working for the past seven years. However, his career really ‘took off’ around five years ago.
“It was back in 2013 that I first started seeing videos for the DJI Phantom 1,” Jack explains. “I remember seeing the promo video for the first Phantom and thinking ‘wow, this looks incredible!’ So I got my first Phantom.” As an interesting sign of the times, Jack says he couldn’t initially afford a gimbal for the camera, “so it was just bolted onto the bottom – but I instantly fell in love with flying.” He later upgraded to a Phantom 2 (with gimbal!) and hooked it up to an FPV monitor. “I thought it was game changing.” he says. “I then took my PfCO in 2014 and started to try and get myself out there with my contacts from my TV work and I haven’t looked back since.”
Jack set himself up as a freelance drone operator and has been working commercially for more than four years – and his previous experience in TV gave him some good leads to get his aerial career off the ground. “When I first started out, I was lucky enough to be employed by the BBC in the Natural History Unit on the Springwatch series. So I started to build up contacts there before going freelance a year later and taking on drone work properly. Nearly all of my work comes from word-of-mouth recommendations by people I have worked with and built up strong working relationships with.”
The large majority of his drone work remains in TV, where he says he’s employed as a drone operator, typically on short-term contracts such as one day at a time. And with most shows working to limited budgets, he has to bring along his own kit, which these days boasts an Inspire 2 with an X5S camera (and 12mm, 25mm and 45mm lenses). As filming often takes him to remote locations, Jack also points to a LowePro rucksack as being a “total life-saver for me. It means I can get all the kit I need for a day’s shooting on my back rather than carting around a giant hard case. It opens up new modes of transport like being able to ride along on the back of a snowmobile or quad bike to reach places that were a nightmare before!”
RUNNING WILD
ideas for shots and together we work out a shot list of what is needed. It’s a collaborative process and I get a lot of freedom to get the shots that I think work.” One handy trick he uses is to run an HDMI cable from the Inspire controller, so the director can follow the action for added peace of mind.
Having made his break working on the BBC’s
Springwatch series, it’s unsurprising to hear that wildlife and natural history shows are commonplace in Jack’s portfolio – with the likes of Blue Planet II also appearing on his growing CV. He’s lucky that this is another passion
of his, even if drones don’t exactly blend into these environments. “Flying drones near any wildlife is always a bit tricky due to the noise they make, it would be great if someone made a silent drone!”
On a more practical note, Jack says he has worked closely with the likes of the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology to set out best practice and the required safety guidelines for operating in wildlife habitats. “A few years ago I was asked to film a heronry, which is an area of trees where herons nest together. It’s amazing to see these almost prehistoric birds all nesting in close quarters high up in the trees. I worked with a man who had been counting the birds there all his life from the ground but he had never had a chance to see them from above.
“We started by taking off at a safe distance from the birds and then flying in slowly, making sure to come in from a different angle of descent than their predators would usually take. Amazingly the herons were not fussed in the slightest by the drone and we managed to get some amazing and intimate shots of the nesting environment from above. Most birds, however, do get spooked by the noise, so it’s very important to be aware of where the nesting areas are so as not to scare them away or stress them out while they are nesting.”
To echo the point Jack admits to being chased off by red kites and buzzards: “While they have never looked like attacking, it’s unnerving being followed by such big birds!” However, his hairiest moment was one he didn’t realise had happened until he reviewed his aerial footage later in the
WWW.DRONEMAGAZINE.UK 35
day. “I was filming in northern Mexico out in the desert. I was busy getting some top down shots of some plants that come out only when there is a bit of moisture. It wasn’t until we got back to our camp that evening that the producer was looking through the footage and said to me: “Did you know you got a shot of a rattlesnake?”
“I ran over to look and as I had been flying slowly along I had passed over a giant rattlesnake that was perfectly camouflaged in the desert. I hadn’t seen it and it was about 25ft away from where I was standing! I made sure I kept more of an eye on the ground after that…”
BRIGHT LIGHTS
One of his more recent assignments saw Jack head off to Finland for three weeks last November as part of a documentary on the Northern Lights and the Sami reindeer herders in the area – and it’s not exactly a natural habitat for drones. “We knew heading out there that it was going to be cold, but nothing quite prepares you for standing around in -30 degrees for hours on end!” Jack says. Fortunately for him, the Inspire 2 was up to the challenge. “Once you start
DRONE PRO
Time and Time Again
One interesting and impressive side dish to Jack’s work is with time-lapse videography. Last year he set about filming cherry blossom trees in Japan to show just how their spring bloom really changes the landscape. “It was an idea that had always intrigued me with the new automated flight apps coming out but it wasn’t something that I had seen done before,” Jack explains. “The theory was simple; set a flight path, save it and then go back and keep repeating it as the environment changes. So I spent a few months practicing the techniques and working out all the variables that can affect the accuracy of the repeat flights.”
Although the theory was simple, Jack did find lots of tricky variables and little niggles that meant things didn’t work out to begin with, plus it took a while to get the relevant permissions from the Japanese authorities – but eventually he got some great shots. “It took us three weeks to get the results we wanted but I was very pleased with how the time-lapse worked out. It’s not a perfect process and I’m still working on how to get the success rate higher but I have a number of different shoots this year hoping to repeat the effect in different environments.”
You can see his efforts for yourself over at vimeo.com/214559440.
to get below -25, lots of the camera kit was starting to break; monitors freezing and batteries dropping out, but mostly the drone kit worked very well. I had full arctic gear on, so I had my batteries in the inner pockets to keep them close to my body for heat.”
Another problem was the moisture in the air icing up the leading edges of the blades pretty quickly, meaning Jack had to limit his flight times to 3-4 minutes before swapping propellers and having the producer cleaning up the frozen blades. Further adding to the complexity of the job was that in order to fully capture the Northern Lights in real time, the crew would have to work in low-light conditions and predominately at night.
“We were in a very remote part of Finland,” says Jack, “and each location we filmed at night we had recced during the day so we knew where trees and obstacles were. To be able to pick up the Northern Lights on current drone cameras, they have to be very bright. After three weeks of
frustrating cloud cover, we were very lucky on one of the last nights to catch an unbelievable display and capture some shots on the drone as well as our other cameras. It was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen and I highly recommend it to anyone to try and see them!”
His work was helped after he was able to get in touch with DJI to test out the new Zenmuse X7 camera, with the bigger sensor hopefully giving better results than traditional low-light cameras, at a time when the sun is
“As I had been flying slowly along I had passed
over a giant rattlesnake that was perfectly
only up from around 10am until 2pm. Fortunately it lived up to its billing. “The shots that came out of the X7 were incredible. With the Northern Lights it was still a bit of a struggle and the lights had to be really bright to be able to pick up properly in video, but that’s to be expected as it’s a specialised low-light camera. However, even when we got some shots that looked very grainy, in the post-production process we were able to clean them up very nicely and make them usable.
“There was an example of shooting early one morning where the moon was still in the sky, and the unprocessed image looked very noisy and grainy. However, the final product looked beautiful. When the sun came out and I had some rare bits of nice lighting, the camera really came into its own. Sunny days in Finland at that time of year is like perpetual sunset; it’s four hours of golden-hour sun so it was a pleasure to shoot in and the X7 helped give that extra bit of detail and colour depth that really stood out.”
GOING PRO
Although the X7 is a very impressive piece of kit aimed at high-end professional use, Jack says that simply having the best gear isn’t the be all and end all of aerial filming. “I’m of the opinion that more important is ability to get a good shot. It’s only really high-end TV productions like drama and high-quality wildlife documentaries that really need the likes of the X7 shooting RAW.” He adds that his existing X5S is still doing a great job, and he combines this with ProRes for his TV work – “as it’s much easier and quicker to work with in post-production and still gets great results, especially when nearly all TV productions still deliver their final programmes in HD.”
As for what further additions Jack would like to see boosting his arsenal, he notes the aforementioned quieter propellers to avoid disturbing the wildlife. He’s also keen to see some more lenses to make the X7 even better in the field: “Both a special low-light lens, something around f1.8 would be amazing, and I would also love to see a tighter lens. The 50mm is great, but I would love to see something around
DRONE PRO
A Great Deal
Jack offers up many highlights from his career so far, including a trip to Portugal last year to film the huge waves at Nazare for Blue Planet II. However, we can’t say we’d have imagined that filming Noel Edmunds in front of the famous Flying Scotsman locomotive for a Deal or No Deal
special would have been one he saw coming!
