Aerial Photography UAS and FPV Racer UAS

      First Person View (FPV) racing seems to the be the latest craze among RC enthusiasts and a great example of one that just recently became available to buy off the shelf is the Team Black Sheep (TBS) Gemini FPV Racer.  Based on the design by an award-winning multi-rotor pilot Dr. William Thielicke, the Gemini is capable of reaching speeds up to 50 mph and thanks to its forward tilting rotor design can do so without having the forward camera point towards the ground making it hard to see where you're going (TBS, 2015).  The 10 degree forward tilt of the motors decreases the angle of attack of the body of the hexacopter in forward flight, which coupled with the aerodynamic design of the body reduces drag (TBS, 2015).  This design also allows for the Gemini to remain very agile, which is equally important to speed in most race scenarios (TBS, 2015).  The option to have a built in FPV camera that is HD insures clear video, and the aerodynamic design of the body that doubles as great protection in case of a crash, are great benefits (TBS, 2015).  The Gemini uses TBS 4A Bulletproof Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC) with built-in universal battery elimination circuits (UBEC) which prevents the need to worry about interference from the electric motors affecting the FPV camera since everything is run off of one battery (TBS, 2015).  Managing radio-frequency interference (RFI) by paying attention to the positioning of the battery, camera, and transmitter with relation to each other is an important part of making sure to get the most out of a FPV system (Mikowski, 2013).

(FPV, 2015)

     Another growing use for RC aircraft is aerial photography and video, and a great example of an aircraft that is currently available to meet this need is the Multirotor G4 Skycrane by Service-Drone.  Its octo-rotor configuration, with a 3-axis brush-less gimbal system, allows a user to mount a RED dragon 6K or RED epic 5k camera below the aircraft with unhindered, 360 degree sight lines (Multirotor, 2015).  The aircraft provides an incredibly stable platform from which to take pictures or video thanks to the 360 degree gyro-stabilized camera mount and a flight control system that corrects flight position 512 times per second while holding a fixed position (Multirotor, 2015).  It can also maintain that high stability in winds up to 33 mph, which means you won't be limited to filming only when there are low winds (Multirotor, 2015).  The Skycrane also features some auto-pilot capabilities such as position hold, coming home, automatic landing, way point navigation, and automatic altitude control that can be very useful for inexperienced pilots trying to use the system (Corrigan, 2014).  The G4 Skycrane gives the user the ability to mount a professional 4K camera on a stable platform that is capable of meeting the needs of almost every kind of film production (Film, 2015).

References

Corrigan, F. (2014, November 6). Top Business Drones For Aerial Imagery And Cinematography. Retrieved from http://www.dronezon.com/drone-reviews/top-business-drones-for-aerial-view-imagery-photography-cinematography/

Film TV. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.service-drone.com/en/production/film

FPV RACER. (2015). Retrieved from http://team-blacksheep.com/products/prod:gemini 

Multirotor G4 Skycrane. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.service-drone.com/en/shop/uav/multirotor-g4-skycrane/multirotor-g4-skycrane-v

Mikowski, E. (2013, October 16). FPV Setup Wiring - Reducing RFI Interference. Retrieved from http://www.fpvforme.com/fpv-setup-wiring/

TBS GEMINI Mini FPV Hex. (2015, February 16). Retrieved from http://www.team-blacksheep.com/tbs-gemini-manual.pdf