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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Hello Mishari,<br>
<br>
I use DJI Phantom 3 Advanced [1]. There is already Phantom 4 which
has got slightly better camera, but a bit shorter flight range.
Phantom has got intelligent flight modes, from which I use the
Point of Interest. In this mode aircraft flies automatically
around an object, and it is impossible to pilot so precisely
manually (an example is on the video below).<br>
<br>
There is also DJI Inspire quad but it weighs 2.9 kg (two times
more than Phantom's 1.2 kg). All DJI quads has got a GPS
navigation and a GPS enabled camera, so there will be exact
geographical coordinates in produced JPG images, and an aircraft
has got a Return Home feature. Return Home means that if a pilot
lost a quad from the LOS (line of sight) in the sky, or a radio
control signal is lost for some reason, it still can return and
land automatically via this feature. It is an useful security
function.<br>
<br>
I would recommend to fly early in the morning on a sunny and quiet
day (see local weather forecast beforehand), as the light is
better [2], the air is clear, but also there are less people and
less vehicles on the streets early in the morning. I usually wait
for good weather as long as it takes for flying in a town or a
city. <br>
<br>
Also it makes sense to check local regulations [3] (but better
from an official source), and try to follow them as much as
possible. As much as possible, because, for instance, it is
allowed normally to fly only in the LOS mode, but fly-always may
happen unintentionally, in this case a pilot may still return
either via FPV (first person view), or Return Home feature.<br>
<br>
[1] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-adv">http://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3-adv</a><br>
[2] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)</a><br>
[3]
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.richardbarrow.com/2015/08/quick-look-at-the-new-and-updated-drone-law-in-thailand/">http://www.richardbarrow.com/2015/08/quick-look-at-the-new-and-updated-drone-law-in-thailand/</a><br>
<br>
brgds<br>
O.M.<br>
<br>
On 09/08/16 09:55, Mishari Muqbil wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CAMEkuv_WbXi-VJqvv3fSXr9iDRkAZqxCx79gnVfRTYgqWt0N3w@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<p dir="ltr">Hello,</p>
<p dir="ltr">I'm just trying to track down a drone provider but
I'm not sure if anyone here has ideas of the kind of
specifications I should be asking for. I assume that it should
have a GPS enabled camera and some sort of path following
feature. Anything else?</p>
<p dir="ltr">Thank you everybody for your input so far.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Best regards<br>
Mishari</p>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Jul 28, 2016 12:29 PM, "Oleksiy
Muzalyev" <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:oleksiy.muzalyev@bluewin.ch">oleksiy.muzalyev@bluewin.ch</a>>
wrote:<br type="attribution">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div>Power poles, wires, wind, trees are usual dangers for
multirotor aircraft too. There is also an issue of a
large bird attack. These risks could be mitigated via
sport flying.<br>
<br>
I usually train sport flying at a stadium very early in
the morning when there no people there. I have got a
small trainer quadcopter, several foldable Air Gates,
and Air Flags. There are also gates at an American
football field with high poles, which are good for
learning to fly in narrow spaces.<br>
<br>
I have an impression that birds being excellent fliers
themselves can immediately see the level of piloting
skills of a RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System)
pilot. If they see that it is an friendly experienced
pilot they usually do not attack. In any case I
regularly train diving and other <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_fighter_maneuvers"
target="_blank">BFM</a> .<br>
<br>
In addition to aerial images I also film aerial video.
Video provides an additional information. For example,
recently I filmed a medieval Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi
fortress [1] in Ukraine. I upload a video to Wikimedia,
add a video link to the Wikidata page, and add wikidata
tag to the OSM map for this object.<br>
<br>
Wikimedia accepts videos only in open OGG and WEBM
formats. Unfortunately, some quality is always lost
during conversion to these formats. You can see the same
HD video at youtube and compare the quality [2]; I tried
all convertors which I could find for Mac.<br>
<br>
[1] <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi_fortress"
target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr>Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi_fortress</a><br>
[2] <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://youtu.be/C-kQjmzlY7A" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/C-kQjmzlY7A</a><br>
<br>
On 27/07/16 23:42, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:hyances@gmail.com" target="_blank">hyances@gmail.com</a>
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Yes, ballons and kites is a good
community-engaged method; in my particular case we
face problems with the public-lab-ballon-kit because
irregular power poles/wires at a low height, plus
some wind present during the activity, so it wasn't
possible (and a little insecure). Regarding
stiching it was not so easy to deal with 89 pictures
using the MapKnitter (version 1 1/2 years ago), so
by the moment aerial orthophotomosaics software
seems to be the option. Another point regarding
ballons is the cost of the helium.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>About security (and mobile apps) you should
consider to create a previous relationship with the
community, so start with workshops or other
activities. In my particualr case for the
replication in other slums in Colombia, the
conclution to my proposal was "not recommended". If
your focus is catastral, ultra-high-res aerial
imagery is the better way, mobile apps can create
ancyllary pictures, very useful <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://hotosm.org/updates/2016-07-27_introducing_the_mapillary_humanitarian_mapping_kit_in_partnership_with_hot"
target="_blank">indeed</a>. <br>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
</div>
<br>
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href="mailto:talk@openstreetmap.org">talk@openstreetmap.org</a><br>
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href="https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk"
rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.openstreetmap.<wbr>org/listinfo/talk</a><br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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