Project for AVIA 161 Lab for Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) mapping of the 100-acre campus for Miramar College

1. 21st Century Aviation:
How to Map Miramar under
FAA Rules for sUAS
Curt Meyer & Charles Jeter, AVIA161L Spring 2018

2. Mission
Safely operate UAS to map Miramar
College while providing press
opportunities along with ArcGIS
compatible deliverables as a class project.

3. Survey
Flight: DJI
Inspire at
Miramar

4. Miramar College:
Full Processed GEOTIFF
 2891 Photos
 6.5 Flight Hours
 7.0 Processing Hours
 110 Acres
 60 Hours Project (Billable) Time

5. ArcGIS
(GEOTIFF)
Flight Plan
•DroneDeploy
•Maps Made Easy
Web Open
Drone Map
(WebODM)
Drone2Map
(ArcGIS)
Knowledge Components of Project

6. Process
 Two days
 Five Days Attempts
 6.5 hours flight time
 2891 image files (used)
 4000+ total
 7.0 Hours Image Processing
 Four Days Other Attempts

7. Breaking it all down…
Barney Style

8. The Plan
 OPPM
 Emailed to
Professor
 High Points of
Operation
 Simple, Barney
style…

9. Checklist
 Set Goals
 Met with interested parties
 Obtained Software
 Researched FAA Requirements
 Part 107 / 101 / 336

10. FAA
 107
 Instructor only takes over ‘for
purposes of safety of flight’
 Waiver for flying in airspace
 Waiver for flying over people
 101 / 336
 Drone is registered (101)
 Student is operating (***)
 Campus is accredited (***)

11. Flight Requirements – Regulations

12. “Consistent with 336, Student is
responsible for all other elements…”

13. Flight Requirements – 336 Regulations

14. Preflight: FAA and Location Risks
 Required Contacts Part 107:
 Class B airspace requires FAA Waiver
 Operating over people requires FAA Waiver
 Required Contacts Sect. 336: MCAS Miramar (Prof.s Wolcott and Moore)
 Courtesy Contacts:
 Campus PD (dispatch – 619.xxx.xxxx)
 Campus Facilities (Dane Lindsay, SDCCD Regional Facilities Officer, 619.388.7823)
 Project Area of Operations Visual Survey:
 Parking structures = good “home” points
 Water tower, possible visual obstruction to VLOS and unknown height
“Measured” water tower height via drone altitude

15. Preflight: Safety of Flight
Mitigate Solar Peak Visual
Risks
Hat
Sunglasses, on strap
Auto Descent puts drone
into sun
Mitigate Injury Risk of
Runaway
Climbing gloves
Keep SA
Harness for DJI Controls
Bluetooth Headset
Wear sunscreen / hoodie

16. Mission
Safely operate UAS to map Miramar
College while providing press
opportunities along with ArcGIS
compatible deliverables as a class project.

17. Mission plan
 “Client” -- Prof. Moore requested “map” of the Miramar College Campus
 OC Tanner (Copyright 2007) Project Planning Matrix
 DroneDeploy.com:
 Define project boundary
 Define flight elevation (185 feet AGL)
 Resumption of “legs” after batt. change: partial leg(s) are re-flown in entirety
 Data processing – Photomosaiking
 Subscription(s): $83/mo; $249/mo
 MapsMadeEasy.com:
 Define project boundary
 Define flight elevation (185 feet AGL)
 Resumption of “legs” after batt. Change: at the last photo point
 Data processing – Nope!, because of costs when number of images >250 (3,000 points @$55)

18. Mission plan (CONT’D)
 WebODM
 Data processing – Photomosaiking
 Open Source
 Drone2Map
 Data processing – Photomosaiking
 Subscription(s): $83/mo; $249/mo
 Also requires ArcGIS Online subscription:
$42/mo (but for a single user, ArcGIS
Desktop license makes sense @ $800/yr
(basic), or $3,000/yr (standard)

19. Breaking it all down…
Barney Style

20. Safety of Flight Checklist
 Weather
 Comms
 Other Teams
 Op Area Survey
 Crew Brief
 Preflight UAS
 Drone PIC
 Visual Observer
 Crew Debrief
 Data Retrieval and Duplication

21. Moved
Ground
Control Station

22. Mission
(DroneDeploy)
114 minutes
110 acres
2,453 images
8 batteries
227 minutes
110 acres
2,891 images
11 batteries

23. Lessons Learned
 VLOS was maintained across max length of campus (~2,436 ft, or 0.46 mi)
 Deliberately picked Inspire for VLOS
 DroneDeploy.com flight plan
 Closely monitor flight at low-battery-initiated “Return Home”
 Inefficient leg resumption – restarts leg
 RF Interference
 Aborted several legs, possibly due to other sUAS in class
 MapsMadeEasy.com
 During “Return Home” manual photography cancels “Return Home”
 Efficient leg resumption
 Each battery change requires “reloading” the flight; glitches will occur
 Taking command = returning to reprogram flight
 Human Factors = 80% of your problem
 Law Enforcement pre-planning pays off
 People don’t really talk to the guy in a hardhat and safety vest
 Expect adults around children to ACT like children…
 Knuckleheads will drive through your cones and “Home”

24. Breaking it all down…
Barney Style

25. Mission
Safely operate UAS to map Miramar
College while providing press
opportunities along with ArcGIS
compatible deliverables as a class project.

26. Checklist

27. GIS Integration
What is GIS? Why Do I Need GIS?
 Checks GEOTIFF markers
 Plots image onto layered map
 Allows for multiple assets to be
handled
 Visualization, BABY!!

28. Class
Codes
Mesa
College
Miramar
College
AVIA
BUSE
BUSE100
BUSE119
BUSE201
GISG
GISG104
GISG110
GISG130

29. DroneDeploy
 Had data failure
 260 of 1100 photos
survived
 DroneDeploy
wouldn’t process
 Mapped with Open
Drone Map
(WebODM)
 6.5 hours on 8GB
RAM laptop

30. The Fun Begins…

31. Lesson Learned: Plan
for Contingency
 Mapped with
Open Drone
Map
(WebODM)
 6.5 hours on
8GB RAM
laptop
 Use Formatted
and Fresh Media
 Check & Replace
Media ½ through
mission

32. Mosaic Processing Costs
 $100+ for MapsMadeEasy
 Points required: 6000+
 Two or three maps to be combined
with DroneDeploy
 Processed as backup
 $47 for Open Source Map (WebOSM)
 4 days of attempts on low end
system
 $1500 /yr for Drone2Map
 Winner!

33. Mosaic: Drone2Map Processing
“Quality”
Google Maps

34. Why Processing Matters

35. Mission
(DroneDeploy)
114 minutes
110 acres
2,453 images
8 batteries
227 minutes
110 acres
2,891 images
11 batteries

36. Mission
(DroneDeploy)
114 minutes
110 acres
2,453 images
8 batteries
227 minutes
110 acres
2,891 images
11 batteries

37. Mission
(DroneDeploy)
114 minutes
110 acres
2,453 images
8 batteries
227 minutes
110 acres
2,891 images
11 batteries

38. sUAS
Part 107
Study
Costs
AVIA 161
AVIA161L

39. sUAS
Part 107
Study
Costs
AVIA 161
AVIA161L

40. Questions?!?