UAS Q1 2015 by BBI International

Q1 2015

Flying For The Farm The Business Model For Precision Ag UAV Firms Page 28

Plus

UAVs Manufactured In Detroit Page 12

AND

Exempt UAS Cinematographers Share Lessons Learned Page 18

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CONTENTS Q1 2015

VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

FEATURES 12 MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

UAVs Made In Detroit

Lockheed Martin and Detroit Aircraft have created a manufacturing and distribution model that will bring UAVs to urban settings and help with first response. By Emily Aasand

18 OPERATIONS

Enhancing The View

Cinematographers with U.S. Federal Aviation Administration exemptions to operate unmanned aircraft vehicles find challenges, advantages and new realities to navigate. By Patrick C. Miller

22 PAYLOAD

UAS Startup Images Crops

A small team in the heart of ag country has found a way to simplify data gathering for precision-based UAV farming operations. By Emily Aasand

28 MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

The Birthplace Of Precision-Ag UAVs PG 12

AgEagle has created a blueprint for UAV manufacturers and distributors looking to profit in the precision agriculture industry. By Luke Geiver

PG 34 DEPARTMENTS

PG 36

34 OPERATIONS

36 PAYLOAD

Sinclair Community College invests in unmanned aircraft systems to keep its century-long tradition in the aerospace industry thriving.

After the success of parent company SRC Inc. in the military market, Gryphon Sensors reveals the realities and challenges of adapting UAV sensing technology to the civilian market.

UAV Tradition Builders By Luke Geiver

Sensing The UAS Future

By Patrick C. Miller Q1 2015

Flying For The Farm The Business Model For Precision Ag UAV Firms Page 28

Plus

UAVs Manufactured In Detroit Page 12

AND

Exempt UAS Cinematographers Share Lessons Learned Page 18

www.UASmagazine.com Printed in USA

ON THE COVER: The AgEagle UAV ready for launch in a Kansas field. Clients have purchased units for use in the U.S., Canada, South America, Europe and Australia. PHOTO: AGEAGLE LLC

04 EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTE

The UAS Business Climate By Luke Geiver

06 UAS NEWS

UAS News and Trends

www.UASMAGAZINE.com

EDITOR'S NOTE

The UAS Business Climate The UAS industry is not at a standstill. The regulatory cloud lingering above

Luke Geiver

Editor, UAS Magazine

lgeiver@bbiinternational.com

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

payload providers, precision ag services and cinematographers may cause unmanned aircraftlinked entities and interested parties to grumble, but the potential we all envision after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration regulations are issued already exists. Just see what’s happening in Neodesha, Kansas, in “The Birthplace of Precision-Ag UAVs.” In that small farming community, a team of UAV designers and manufacturers has established a business case model that highlights the economic possibilities for linking UAV and precision agriculture. For the story, we followed the work of AgEagle LLC for three months, communicating with and interviewing their team three times. Each time we talked, the merits of their operation became clearer, and as we think you will find, the AgEagle team is experiencing today what many believe could be possible for UAV manufacturers in the future. Sinclair Community College, an Ohio school with a long aviation history, is also dabbling in the future. The school has formed a unique UAV operator and data analysis program that is equipped with the country’s first indoor UAV test flight range. After converting a former newspaper printing facility into a test range, Sinclair can now offer its globally sourced student body a chance to perform first-time flights with expensive payload-equipped UAVs in a controlled space. It is hard not to be blinded by the cool factor surrounding Sinclair’s program offerings. To build the program, the school’s UAS leadership sought partnerships with firms large and small, from in and outside the state. One of those partnerships has helped a UAV manufacturer and distributor focus on its platform and set aside training new pilots because the Sinclair team has agreed to train students on the partner’s UAV platform in exchange for access and use of several high-dollar UAVs. Lockheed Martin, a global technology provider, has also found a way to partner for the betterment of its sUAV ambitions. Working with Detroit Aircraft Corp., an unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturer and distributor, Lockheed and the Detroit firm are providing UAVs to first responders and firefighting entities throughout the city. For the story, “UAVs Made In Detroit,” we held a cover shoot in a Detroit airplane hangar. It seemed fitting, given the history of the company’s founder CEO Jon Rimanelli, who had the funding, foresight and commitment to build a UAV manufacturing and distribution company––and we wanted to capture the essence of his story in photos. Our story, “Enhancing The View,” illustrates the state of the UAS industry. While the UAS world was abuzz following the FAA’s historic exemptions for six cinematographers, we were on the phone, talking with some of those firms to hear their perspective on the certificate of authorization process and what exemptions will mean for their UAV ambitions. As this young industry awaits the final FAA rules, remember, that feeling of positive anxiousness you might have for your UAS business need not give way to the partial reality that the regulatory climate in the U.S. is unfavorable. The industry is not at a standstill––it is, instead, constantly emerging and on the brink. For some, it is more than that.

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www.UASmagazine.com VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1

EDITORIAL Editor Luke Geiver lgeiver@bbiinternational.com Staff Writer Emily Aasand eaasand@bbiinternational.com Staff Writer Patrick C. Miller pmiller@bbiinternational.com Copy Editor Jan Tellmann jtellmann@bbiinternational.com

PUBLISHING & SALES Chairman Mike Bryan mbryan@bbiinternational.com CEO Joe Bryan jbryan@bbiinternational.com President Tom Bryan tbryan@bbiinternational.com Vice President of Operations Matthew Spoor mspoor@bbiinternational.com Vice President of Content Tim Portz tportz@bbiinternational.com

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Subscriptions Subscriptions to UAS Magazine are free of charge to everyone with the exception of a shipping and handling charge of $49.95 for any country outside the United States. To subscribe, visit www.UASmagazine.com or you can send your mailing address and payment (checks made out to BBI International) to: UAS Magazine/Subscriptions, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203. You can also fax a subscription form to 701-746-5367. Reprints and Back Issues Select back issues are available for $3.95 each, plus shipping. Article reprints are also available for a fee. For more information, contact us at 866-746-8385 or service@bbiinternational.com. Advertising UAS Magazine provides a specific topic delivered to a highly targeted audience. We are committed to editorial excellence and high-quality print production. To find out more about UAS Magazine advertising opportunities, please contact us at 866-746-8385 or service@bbiinternational.com. Letters to the Editor We welcome letters to the editor. If you write us, please include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space. Send to UAS Magazine/Letters, 308 Second Ave. N., Suite 304, Grand Forks, ND 58203 or email to lgeiver@ bbiinternational.com.

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UAS NEWS

UAV NEWS & TRENDS

Flying an unmanned aircraft? You may need permission from Transport Canada I use my aircraft for work or research No

Yes

It weighs more than 35 kg No

It weighs more than 25 kg

Yes

It weighs 2 kg or less

Yes

I can meet the exemption requirements for UAVs 2 kg or less

You don’t need permission, but you do have to fly safely

You must apply for a Special Flight Operations Certificate

Tips to fly safely • Fly during daylight and in good weather • Always keep your aircraft in sight • Respect the privacy of others • Don’t fly close to airports, in populated areas, near moving vehicles, or higher than 90 metres (295 feet) PHOTO: TRANSPORT CANADA

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

Yes

You don’t need permission, but you must meet the exemption requirements

I can meet the exemption requirements for UAVs between 2.1 kg and 25 kg

Yes

You don’t need permission, but you must meet the exemption requirements and give Transport Canada: 1. Contact information 2. UAV model 3. Description of operation 4. Geographical boundaries of operation

UAS NEWS

Canada simplifies UAS rules Canada is ahead of the game when it comes to integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace. While the UAS industry in the United States continues to wait for the Federal Aviation Administration to lay out commercial operation regulations, Canada has the complexities figured out. Canada has had safety regulations governing the use of UAVs in place since 1996, and Transport Canada recently announced two exemptions that simplify small unmanned air vehicles (sUAV) operations and safely integrate sUAVs into Canadian airspace. The exemptions state that special flight operations certificates won’t be required for UAVs

under two kilograms (4.4 pounds) and certain operations involving UAVs under 25 kg. “These exemptions will require companies to fly sUAVs within certain safety conditions including height restrictions, minimum distances from aerodromes and other hazards, as well as flight in specific airspace and visual line of sight,” a spokesperson for Transport Canada told UAS Magazine. The 25 kg weight threshold was developed based on research from a joint Transport Canada industry working group of UAV systems program designers. The threshold is also consistent with international approaches to classifying UAVs, including ongoing work by the International Civil

Aviation Organization, according to Transport Canada. “Transport Canada has requirements in place for aircraft of all sizes. For businesses, these changes will make it easier for their small UAVs to take flight sooner, while maintaining safety of those on the ground and in the skies,” said Lisa Raitt, minister of Transport. If operators are caught flying UAVs without special flight operations certificates, Transport Canada can issue fines of up to $5,000 for an individual and $25,000 for a company. Misconduct of special flight operations certificates can result in $3,000 fines for individuals and $15,00 for a company, according to Transport Canada.

“This approach will dramatically improve the ability for Canadian businesses to safely make use of this extremely capable technology while substantially reducing the time it takes to get authorization for more complex operations,” said Steward Baillie, chairman of Unmanned Systems Canada. “Coupled with the safety awareness campaign announced two weeks ago, I believe that Canada now has one of the most effective and progressive UAV regulatory frameworks in the world.”

Preparing the UAV operator base Florida State University believes the demand for unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) operators is growing. The school has announced a program that will prepare students to pilot UAVs in several applications. In the spring, FSU will offer unmanned aircraftl systems (UAS) courses in its Emergency Management and Homeland Security programs under a new program, Application of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “Our discussion with state and local emergency managers show intense interest in what

drones can do for the field of emergency management, particularly emergency response, recovery and mitigation,” David Merrick, deputy director of the EMHS program at FSU, said. “These versatile systems can capture still and video imagery of disaster impacts and provide critical, near-real-time assessments for a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft.” The program, a first for any educational institution in Florida, will help students learn the basics of UAV operations set in wildfire monitoring settings,

identifying hot spots during urban fire incidents, monitoring agricultural conditions and locating or communicating with individuals stranded in disaster situations. The EMHS program has already used UAVs during two disaster situation projects, according to the school. The program’s current faculty includes three UAV manufacturer-certified pilots. The school is looking to adapt existing indoor building space for uninhibited flying and practice space. “There’s much in the way

of understanding the technology and its application, not to mention the policy issues involved with the use of UAS that students need to learn before they get their craft up in the air,” Merrick said. “By the end of this program, these students will have unique experience in every aspect of UAS deployment, remote sensing applications and putting UAS imagery to work in a wide range of specializations—and knowing how to fly them.”

www.UASMAGAZINE.com

UAS NEWS

Pix4Dmapper creates app for UAV mapping Mapping and recording more accurate data sets and threedimensional images just became more convenient for Android users. Pix4Dmapper released a smartphone app for the Android operating systems that allow unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators using the DJII Phantom to map areas by defining various types of flights, the company said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Users can select flight areas and height to create a fully automatic flight, or fly the drone using the remote control. The app automatically calculates in real time when to acquire images to cover the area optimally, as well as enhance image attributes and characteristics.â&#x20AC;? Christoph Stretcha, CEO and founder, said the company made the app to simplify the user experience while guaranteeing the best and most accurate results achievable. Oliver Kung, co-founder of the company, recently held a webinar walk-through on the application. The app connects to the UAV via wireless connection and allows the user to place a predetermined height (typically 165 feet) to fly the grid and capture images at predetermined times. A grid pattern of 260 feet will typically yield 50 5-megabyte images, depending on the height of the objects below the UAV, which limits the number of images the UAV will record. The app utilizes key points situated in the grid to match photos taken from various points along the grid back to those key

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

THE PIX4D VOICE: Christoph Stretcha, CEO and founder of Pix4D has already spoken at events in Europe and China to showcase the mapping company's capabilities. PHOTO: PIX4D

points to create a 3D rendering or orthomosaic. The system is better than using stitched pictures, according to Kung. Images created through the app can offer measurements as accurate as 1 centimeter depending on the settings and GPS capabilities of the UAV. Images taken from a mapping flight need to be downloaded to a computer currently, but Kung said a cloud-based option will soon be released. Other operating systems will soon be offered as well. The system can map a 6-acre property in 20 minutes, creating a 3D map with a resolution up to 1 inch, the company also said.

UAS NEWS

Universities armed with COAs for testing, teaching Universities across the U.S.–– including the University of Maryland and the New Jersey Institute of Technology––are applying for and receiving certificates of authorization (COAs) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to incorporate unmanned vehicles into their curriculum and into the national airspace. With its COA, NJIT is preparing to conduct its first unmanned aircraft system (UAS) over the Atlantic Ocean to test the feasibility of safely integrating drones into the public airspace and to assess the research and operational capabilities of several data-collecting sensors aboard the aircraft. The flight will include weather sensors to gather information on atmospheric conditions and devices with mapping, communications relay, and high-definition video capabilities, according to NJIT. NJIT was the first public institution in the state to be granted permission to test UAS. “This [COA] process was a learning experience for me and NJIT,” says Michael Chumer, director of the crisis communications center and of UAS applied research at NJIT. “As we proceeded through the application, we learned a lot about what data is required to safely integrate UAS technology within the national airspace.” “NJIT’s mission is to enhance the country’s homeland security and emergency management capabilities. A primary goal is to develop droneborne weather sensors that can predict where a major storm will make landfall as many as two days before existing technology now permits,” the university said. The unmanned vehicle NJIT is using is the RS-16 integrated with the Applanix Direct Mapping Solution created by American Aerospace Advisors Inc. The RS-16 has roughly a 13-foot wingspan, with a max gross takeoff weight of 85 pounds. The UAS has a catapult launch and lands on Kevlar skids, according to Chumer. “The testing, evaluation, and applied research that NJIT plans to accomplish will be integrated into the nation’s overall test site research plan,” says Chumer. “The UAS has the potential to strengthen our nation in a myriad

THE TALON: The platform pictured here is designed to haul payloads that others may want to test before offering to the commercial market. PHOTO: NJIT

TALON 240 SPECS

RS-16 SPECS

of ways, and we at NJIT will call upon our considerable technical skill sot hasten this process along.” Like NJIT, the University of Maryland Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site received its first COA. The authorization resulted from the first use of UMD’s airworthiness process, the only known university airworthiness process that is modeled after the U.S. Navy’s rigorous standards for ensuring the safety and reliability of its manned and unmanned aircraft, according to the test site. “This COA gives folks not only in Maryland, but in this region and even outside our region, a resource to go to in order to fly their systems,” says Matthew Scassero, director of the UMD UAS Test Site. “The whole reason we set up was to help the FAA but to also be a resource for the industry to get airborne.” “This flight authorization is significant

because it builds on the exisiting relationship between the University of Maryland and the Navy, and applies our mutually disciplined research approaches to the cutting edge of civil and commercial unmanned aviation,” said Darryll Pines, dean of the UMD A. James Clark School of Engineering. The test site is using the Talon 240, which is designed and manufactured by UAV Solutions Inc. of Jessup, Maryland. The Talon 240 has a 20-foot wingspan and can fly for up to three and a half hours. “We were looking for a large fixed-wing vehicle that could haul payloads that other people may bring to us to do research on and the Talon 240 had just about everything we needed,” said Scassero. “They’ve been extremely easy to work with and very cooperative with everything we’re trying to do.”

• 20-foot wingspan • 3.5-hour lifespan (electric) • 12-pound payload capacity • 5,000 feet max height • 15-20-minute deploy time

• 13-foot wingspan • 85-pound max gross takeoff weight • 12-16-hour lifespan • 15,000 feet max height

www.UASMAGAZINE.com

UAS NEWS

Airware receives investments to build UAV platform GE Ventures, the investment arm of GE, has made its support of unmanned aerial systems official. The global firm announced it would invest in Airware, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)based company. The partnership aims to help identify ways that Airware’s platform can help deliver safer, more efficient solutions for GE’s industrial customer base and allow them to collect better data and make more informed decisions. “Airware is at the heart of today’s commercial UAV ecosystem, and GE Ventures is excited to use this partnership to learn more about how drones can be used to meet the needs of our customers and business units,” said Alex Tepper, managing director of GE Ventures. In announcing the partnership, GE Venture stated the company is excited to invest Airware to help prepare for the commercial launch of its platform and expand its engineering, sales, marketing and customer support functions. “Airware is setting the standard among UAV manufacturers and developers, and helping the entire ecosystem grow with it,” GE Ventures said. GE Ventures has been working with customers in the oil and gas, power, and transportation industries to outline potential uses for commercial UAVs and to identify new and innovative ways to tap its potential. “We tend to look at innovation across different segment ar-

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

eas and the four themes that we’re investing in right now are around the world of health, the world of energy, the world of industrial internet and the world of advanced manufacturing—where the drone space comes into play,” said Sue Siegel, CEO of GE Ventures. “GE, a Fortune 50 company, sees commercial drones as a promising way to collect richer, faster and more effective data in a wide range of markets,” said Jonathan Downey, founder and CEO of Airware. “The company operates in more than 170 countries globally and across many industries and we’re thrilled to provide it with a platform to explore the space further.” In July 2014, Airware announced it raised $25 million in Series B financing to help prepare for the commercial launch of its platform, which will be used to expand its engineering, sales, marketing, and customer support. The round is led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital. Mike Abbott, general partner at KPCB, will join Airware’s board which currently includes Downey, and Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, according to Airware. “Commercial drones are creating a revolution in insights and countless industries around the world will soon benefit from access to aerial information that, until now, has been too difficult,

AIRWARE’S AUTOPILOT ALLOWS: - Autonomous flight control systems - Flexible ground control software - Cloud services - Access to third-party hardware and software solutions dangerous, expensive or downright impossible to get,” said Downey. “To help organizations use drones for any commercial application, we’re building a platform that anyone can customize and build on top of. This funding will accelerate our efforts, and we are extremely fortunate that high-caliber investors like Kleiner Perkins are partnering with Airware.” Abbott adds, that Airware recognized the early opportunity to apply drone intelligence to commercial applications and is now, “at the forefront of the industry that will soon experience rapid global expansion.”

Airware has raised more than $40 million. The company received $12.2 million in Series A funding in May 2013, led by Andreessen Horowitz with Google Ventures, First Round Capital, and Felicis Ventures participating.

UAS NEWS

K-MAX TO THE RESCUE: The Kaman K-MAX demonstratrd its firefighting abilities during a demonstration at Griffiss International Airport near Rome, New York. The helicopter can be flown as a manned or unmanned system. PHOTO: KAMAN CORP.

UAVs team up to demonstrate firefighting capability Two unmanned aerial systems successfully demonstrated their complimentary abilities to fight wildfires during test flights conducted at Griffiss International Airport near Rome, New York. An Indago quadrotor sUAS served as a scout, identifying hot spots and providing data to an operator who directed an unmanned K-MAX helicopter to autonomously extinguish the flames. In one hour, the unmanned K-MAX helicopter lifted and dropped more than 24,000 pounds of water onto the fire. As a result of the test—conducted by Lockheed Martin and Kaman Corp.—the K-MAX UAS could, by next summer, be

playing a vital role in battling wildfires that threaten lives and property. The demonstration was requested by the Department of Interior and attended by about 100 representatives, including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, service providers and New York state fire and police representatives. The K-MAX flew different mission types to demonstrate its capabilities, which included delivering an ATV and dropping sequential lines of water to create a firebreak. “We did eight different scenarios which were all guided to us by our customer on what would be appropriate for them to see to support future use of

aircraft like this for firefighting,” said Dan Spoor, vice president of Aviation and Unmanned Systems at Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training Business Spoor noted that the KMAX recently returned from a 33-month deployment supporting the military in Afghanistan where it flew about 2,000 missions and successfully moved 4.5 million tons of cargo. Greg Steiner, president of the Kaman’s aerospace group, said, the K-MAX can be flown as a manned platform during the eight-hour window when firefighting operations are typically conducted during daylight. The mission could be extended two or three times longer by flying

flying it as a UAV at night or during bad weather, he said. “It can fight fires directly and also support the groundbased firefighters, resupply food, water, medical supplies and equipment,” Steiner said. “It can even perform rescue or extraction operations.” Larry Brinker, executive director of the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, said the demonstration with two different UAS was a success in the Griffiss’ mission to integrate UAS into the national airspace. The airport control tower coordinated the UAV operations at the same time it was handling civil traffic.

www.UASMAGAZINE.com

MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

UAVs

MADE IN

DETROIT Detroit Aircraft and Lockheed Martin have partnered to revive Detroit and provide first responders with emerging UAV technology. By Emily Aasand Photos By Andrew Potter

It began in the early 1920s. Founded by Edsel Ford, William Stout, and other industry leaders, Detroit Aircraft Corp. was, at one time, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest aviation holding company. In 1929, adding to the companies under its umbrella, Detroit Aircraft purchased 87 percent of the assets of (what became) Lockheed Corp., just months before the stock market crashed, ruining the aircraft market and plunging Detroit Aircraft into bankruptcy, receivership and dissolution. Five days after Detroit Aircraft closed its doors, in 1932, Lockheed Aircraft Corp. Division was bought out of receivership by a group of investors and, in 1934, became Lockheed Corp. The company merged with Martin Marietta, in 1995, and has since become known for its global aerospace, defense, security and advanced technology services.

UAS VISION: Jon Rimanelli, Detroit Aircraft CEO, aimed Detroit Aircraft's beginning focus on small UAS for first response and public safety, in an effort to follow the business model of "think big, start small."

www.UASMAGAZINE.com

MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

In 2007, Jon Rimanelli, an avid pilot, began working to revive the Detroit Aircraft name. He had learned of the Red Bull Air Races that are held in various locations around the world and began researching air racing. Rimanelli says he thought the banks of the Detroit River would be a perfect location and proposed it as the site for the 2010 Red Bull North America’s Air Races. In the process of making his successful pitch for the event, Rimanelli discovered the rich aviation history of Detroit. “One of my biggest arguments [to host the races] was all the history in Detroit. From Charles Lindbergh being born here to Boeing being from here. All the aviation history here is incredible,” says Rimanelli. “It was the perfect opportunity to restore aircraft manufacturing in the city of Detroit.” With the 2010 races ac-

complished, and armed with knowledge of the city's history, Rimanelli believed the time was right to revive the defunct Detroit Aircraft. He contacted Bruce Holmes, former NASA Langley chief strategist, who led NASA’s small aircraft transportation systems, to see what NASA had been studying in the area of mass producing small aircraft systems, and here he found his next business idea. On July 11, 2011, Rimanelli founded Detroit Aircraft, a new company, under the same moniker, designed to “leverage Detroit and Michigan’s skilled labor and industrial base to mass produce highly automated freight and passenger transportation systems to network to the United States’s 20,000 airports.” “The rule of thumb, if you ever want to start in business, is to think big, start small,” says Rimanelli. “So I decided to focus on small UAS for first response

MANUFACTURING AGREEMENT: Rimanelli began visiting with Lockheed Martin in an effort to become the top-level manufacturing and assembling of the Indago platform.

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

and public safety because Detroit has a very large area to manage and I saw that as a force multiplier. We spent a lot of time doing homework, researching and building multi-rotor helicopters to get some experience.” In 2013, Rimanelli began visiting with Lockheed Martin. During those conversations, Lockheed Martin mentioned it had spent several years designing and developing the Indago unmanned aircraft platform and that there was potential for Detroit Aircraft to be a distributer of that platform. “We had several meetings. They came to Detroit a couple of times—one for a meet and greet with city officials and another to demonstrate and present the Indago to various agencies in the region,” says Rimanelli. “They decided that we would make an excellent distributor, we signed a distributor agreement, and during that process we told them we were also interested in manufacturing for them.” The company has not only become an Indago platform distributor in Detroit, it has also branched out to other cities. Detroit Aircraft recently sold a vehicle to a Louisiana police department and is currently finalizing certificate of authorization (COA) applications with Detroit fire department. “He has also bought the right to do top-level manufacturing and top-level assembling from me,” says Dave Pringle, site general manager at Lockheed Martin for Procerus Technologies. “It’s kind of interesting how we went from a phone call a year ago to becoming a distributor to becoming a supplier,” says

Rimanelli. “It’s a very unique relationship.”

The Vehicle

The Indago is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) quadcopter with a weight of just under 5 pounds. “It has multiple capabilities and uses that we are looking to market,” says Pringle. “Public safety is one of those, and Jon is attacking that market very heavily.” The unmanned aircraft folds into two small cases—one that actually carries the VTOL itself and the other one houses the hand controller—all of which fits into a backpack. “It’s nice for public safety— law enforcement, search and rescue—because of its quick set up,” says Pringle. “It can be set up in less than two minutes and be up in the air. It has a leading endurance within the industry ranging between 45 minutes to an hour of endurance depending on the situational use of the vehicle.” The Indago can fly between 25 and 35 miles per hour and has a ceiling height of more than 18,000 feet.

Lifesaving Partnership

Todd Sedlak is the lead trainer at Detroit Aircraft with more than 3,500 flight hours. He is also a firefighter, and helped facilitate when Detroit Aircraft and Lockheed Martin developed a partnership with the City of Detroit and the Detroit Fire Department. “When I was able to take these two skill sets that I have as an unmanned systems operator and a firefighter, the utility was

MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

AN EYE IN THE SKY: The Indago has a 45-minute lifespan and has a ceiling height of more than 18,000 feet.

obvious to me,” says Sedlak. “We set up meetings with the Detroit Fire Department and I explained the utility to them and they were immediately on board.” Detroit Aircraft has applied for a COA and is expected to receive it within the next month, at which point, it will conduct training for the Detroit Fire Department. Detroit Aircraft has been looking into dilapidated areas of the city to perform mock search

and rescue missions or hazmat scenarios and to train other Fire Departments how to improve their efficiencies in fighting fires using unmanned systems, says Rimanelli. “We have more fire issues than anywhere else in the country, which would make an ideal training location for other agencies in the United States to learn how to use these vehicles in first response and fire application,” says Rimanelli. “That’s our

strategy. To create an academy to train other fire agencies and first responders on how to use them here in the city of Detroit.” Rimanelli says he and his company have seen an interest from other fire departments across the country. “Our goal is to make sure that these technologies are affordable and accessible for every law enforcement team, every first response team and every fire department in the nation,” says

Rimanelli. “It’s a tool that mitigates risks, increases efficiencies and can help save lives.”

UAS Vision

The unmanned aircraft vehicle industry within Lockheed Martin is spread across several business units, the Indago is the only platform Pringle has at Procerus Technologies, but Lockheed Martin offers a wide range of systems including fixed-wing platforms. www.UASMAGAZINE.com

MANUFACTURING & DISTRIBUTION

SEARCH AND RESCUE: Detroit Aircraft has developed a partnership with the city of Detroit and the Detroit Fire Department in which Detroit Aircraft will train firefighters to use the Indago platform for rescue missions.

As for Procerus Technologies, Pringle says he and his team are focusing on the U.S. Department of Defense market as well as the international and public safety markets. “My team is a relatively small, commercial entity of Lockheed Martin,” says Pringle. “We just received our first program of record with our preceptor gimbal with the U.S. 16

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

Army. We will continue to focus on the U.S. Army. Opportunities within the Department of Defense is one of my big focus areas, but we’re also taking our products internationally and forming alliances with agents in other countries.” In the U.S., Lockheed Martin and Detroit Aircraft are no different than any other U.S. firm waiting to hear on the Federal

Aviation Association regulations. “The last I heard [on the FAA ruling] is that there’s going to be a release by the end of the year where they [the FAA] will lay out an 18-month plan describing the process allowing people to qualify vehicles and operators as well as lay out the parameters upon which they’ll allow the aircraft to fly,” says Pringle.

“I’m hoping and looking forward to the FAA streamlining the process because it’s my belief that getting this technology to the people who need it the most is a big priority, not only as a company, but as a nation,” says Rimanelli. “It’s a moral responsibility, in my opinion.” “The reemergence of Detroit Aircraft, the reemergence of the city, and creating jobs here

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PHOTO: AERYON SKYRANGER

A state affair

in the industry, is for me, the bigger story,” says Rimanelli. “It’s been fun because it’s an opportunity to give kids who don’t see much of a future in Detroit an idea, an opportunity to have a different type of job in aviation. I’d say the broader mission of the company is that at the end of the day, we’re successful in delivering this technology to the

masses and first response. I would say long-term, I think unmanned systems are the foundation for a highly automated air transportation system in the future.” Author: Emily Aasand Staff Writer, UAS Magazine 701-738-4976 eaasand@bbiinternational.com

The Michigan State Police purchased the Aeryon SkyRanger, a small unmanned aerial system (sUAS), to evaluate for state-wide unmanned aircraft system (UAS) integration. “It’s such a new technology that we believe it can enhance law enforcement in several different areas,” says 1st Lt. Chris Bush, commander field support and aviation section, Michigan State Police special operations division. “We’ll probably start out with some search and rescue calls, tactical calls and we’re looking at doing some mapping on our critical infrastructure in the state.” The MSP is currently operating under a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration training certificate of authorization (COA) to train officers in a number of public safety scenarios, says Aeryon Labs Inc., developers of the SkyRanger. “The goal of the UAS program is to enable officers to operate the Aeryon SkyRangers in applications such as critical incident and natural disaster response, search and rescue, traffic accident reconstruction, as well as scene photography,” says the company. “After the success of the UAS training scenarios, we look forward to receiving the operational COA for the entire state,” says Bush. “Our emergency response and investigation teams are anticipating the benefits of using the Aeryon SkyRanger in the field.” Michigan is home to four of the top 10 most violent cities in the country and the Michigan State Police say they hope to implement this new technology to better those cities. “For the Michigan State Police agency to provide operational UAS capabilities for 83 counties is a significant deployment, especially with training operators who might not have previous experience flying unmanned systems,” says Dave Kroetsch, Aeryon Labs president and CEO. “We know that the Aeryon SkyRanger’s easy-to-use interface will help speed up the roll out process and ensure that first responders can gain critical field data quickly and accurately.” www.UASMAGAZINE.com

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UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

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ENHANCING

THE VIEW How exemptions for UAS cinematographers will positively impact the consumer and the industry By Patrick C. Miller

When the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration gave six aerial photo and video production companies exemptions for the commercial use of unmanned aerial systems, was it a significant step forward or a case of too little too late?

The debate started in late September when the FAA announced the granting of exemptions to the six businesses (a seventh was later issued to Flying-Cam) to operate UAS for moviemaking and television production. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx hailed the occasion as “a significant milestone in broadening commercial UAS use while ensuring we maintain our world-class safety record in all forms of flight.” Chris Dodd, the former U.S. senator who heads the Motion Picture Association of America—the organization that petitioned the FAA for the exemption—called it “a victory for audiences everywhere” that gave “filmmakers yet another way to push creative boundaries and create the kinds of scenes and shots we could only imagine just a few years ago.” But Michael Drobac, executive director of the Small UAV Coalition, reflected the view of other pundits when he groused, “We’re hopeful that future petitions that are approved will not necessarily have to be a cookie-cutter model of what was approved for the production companies in the closed-set filmmaking.”

Brendan Schulman, an attorney specializing in UAS law, opined, “I’m worried that it’s too small a step forward and it’s too narrowly limited.” Some of the FAA restrictions include: no night operations; keeping the UAV within line of sight; operating UAVs on closed sets only; providing advanced notice of UAS flights; providing a plan of activities to an FAA Flight Service District; prohibiting UAV operations from a moving device or vehicle; and requiring a privately licensed pilot with a current third-class medical certificate and an observer. So, what do the six companies that received the exemption think of it? How will it affect their ability to shoot movie and TV scenes from unmanned aerial vehicles, engage in aerial photography and record commercials? And, how do they view the process they went through, and will it open the way for other commercial UAS applications? Eric Austin, owner of HeliVideo Productions in Austin, Texas, reflected Schulman’s view, saying, “There’s not much freedom about it. The limits they put on our use are quite severe.” However, representatives of the other five companies were more charitable in their assessments of the FAA exemption. They all agreed that while they might not have gotten everything they wanted, they got what they needed. “The FAA was very cognizant of creating fair limitations,”

ACTION TRACTION: HeliVideo Productions has provided aerial video to CBS News, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, HBO Sports and others. Shown here is one of its UAVs, the Epic 6K Dragon. PHOTO: HELIVIDEO

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says Tom Hallman, president, Pictorvision, Van Nuys, California. “We addressed all the safety issues, yet are still able to use these things commercially.” Preston Ryon, owner of SnapRoll Media, Franklin, Tennessee, expressed satisfaction with the way the FAA regulated the companies. “It does it in a safe way, and that’s the best part of it. It’s just restrictive enough to keep things safe and organized,” he says. For Chris Schuster, owner of Vortex Aerial, Riverside, California, the exemption provides an opportunity to return to the U.S. for filming on closed sets. “Up until the last two years, we’ve had to operate outside the United States,” he says. Hal Winer, director of op-

erations for Astraeus Aerial, Encino, California, cites another reason the FAA’s exemption is important to the companies, which is to separate the professionals in the field from the amateurs. “There’s a ton of hobbyists out there who are throwing cameras on a UAS and marketing themselves as aerial cinematographers,” he notes. “Everyone on our team has extensive experience in the film, television and advertising industries. We know where to put the camera. We know how to use the camera. We know how to get the shots. We also have experience with the FAA in safety and flight operations. “We’re not just trying to capitalize on an industry that

DAY AT THE BEACH: Earlier this year, Aerial MOB tested its quadcopter, hexactoper and octocopter UAVs at a beach near its headquarters in Carlsbad, California. PHOTO: AERIAL MOB

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

has the need,” Winer continues. “We are professionals in the industry. We recognize the need and we’re filling it based on our expertise.” Ryon echoes Winer’s view: “Just because anybody can buy a UAV doesn’t make it safe for them to be out there flying. We’re all for other people going through the same process we went through so that they can be licensed and safe. There’s a need for more than just six operators.” Although the process actually started months before the MPAA officially filed for the exemptions in early June, it took nearly four months to finalize them. All six companies were mostly satisfied with the process and the manner in which the FAA conducted it. “Given the tough task that the FAA is facing in terms of integrating commercial use of UAV’s into the national airspace, I think it was a reasonable process,” says Tony Carmean, founder of Aerial MOB, Carlsbad, California. “With that said, it took a huge amount of time, effort, and finances to develop all of the proper documentation that the FAA required. It was not easy by any means.” Austin agrees that the process was lengthy and expensive, requiring “powerful consultants and lawyers.” However, he adds, “Considering how slow the FAA moves, I was actually surprised when they moved quickly toward the end. I know they’ve been under tremendous pressure for years on this subject.” There is no disagreement among the six companies that

the ability to use UAVs for their work improves safety and lowers costs while opening new avenues for creativity. As Hallman explains, in contrast to using an expensive full-sized manned helicopter, “Just because of the size, weight and noise, we can get much lower, much closer to actors. You don’t have a giant combustion engine making tons of noise. You don’t have giant prop wash blowing stuff all over the set. We can fly indoors.” And, he adds, “Because the wing span of the class of multirotors we’re going to be using is three to four feet versus 36 feet, it opens up tons of locations and really interesting places we can now put a camera that you couldn’t even dream of before.” Aerial MOB’s Carmean says, “This technology has the ability to get perspectives not possible with any other traditional film production tools like dollies, jibs, cranes, cable cameras, Russian arm cars and full-size aircraft. The use of UAS allows for combining all of these types of shots into one continuous shot, and we can do them much more efficiently in terms of time and budget.” Schuster references another instance in which UAS will help in capturing aerial shots. “We can operate on city streets with the caveat that a set perimeter is secured and excludes any non-production personnel,” he says. “It keeps the general public out of the eye of the camera so it preserves their privacy, and it also preserves their safety as well.” In granting the exemption,

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the FAA recognized the obvious safety benefits that UAS offer over conventional manned aircraft. “The fact that the aircraft are so much smaller, the blades are so much smaller and we’re using electric power instead of liquid fuel, there’s a lot less that can go wrong if there’s an accident,” Hallman says. “Just not having hundreds of gallons of fuel that can spill if there’s an accident really changes the safety issues.” Among the six companies, there’s broad agreement that the FAA will use the experience gained from the regulatory process and the commercial UAS operations to eventually open the door to integrating other applications into the national airspace. “The entertainment industry sector of drone use is probably the best place for them to start with the integration process,” Schuster says. Austin concurs, saying: “I know the FAA is using us as the first test case, and it makes sense because we operate in the tightly controlled movie and TV arena. They are moving on to other areas such as agriculture, pipe and transmission line inspection, and flare stack inspection. These will take more time to approve, but I expect we’ll see some news on this front soon.” As Hallman notes, now that the aerial cinematographers can legally operate UAS, it should provide the FAA with guidance to develop regulations for other industries. “We’re going to generate a whole bunch of data that the

NEW TOOL: Pictorvision, known for its use of manned helicopters to provide stabilized camera systems for the broadcast, entertainment and commercial sectors, is adding UAVs to its platforms as a result of the FAA exemption. PHOTO: PICTORVISION

FAA can use and figure out for the rulemaking process,” he says. “What is a reasonable amount of regulation? It’s a learning process for everybody. We can create standards that just haven’t been happening so far. This visibility should give the FAA and the public at large the information they need to come up with reasonable, permanent rulemaking.” There’s also an expectation that as the companies demonstrate they can operate under the FAA’s regulations, some of the restrictions could be relaxed. “In this initial approval, we are not going to be allowed to perform nighttime operations due to insufficient data for such operations,” says Carmean. “The FAA has said that they are open to approving nighttime operations in the near future if or when we are able to establish safe operational procedures.” Winer says Astraeus Arial has a proprietary system that enables its UAV to fly blind. However they can’t use it under the FAA regulations. “We anticipate that rule changing

down the road, but for right now, we’re fine with it. We’ll take what we can get,” he says. Schuster says that going through the process has changed his perspective on the FAA and the regulatory process. “Honestly, I have a newfound respect for that branch of our government. Being that we’ve been working hand in hand with these people, we’ve learned that the time commitments and the perceived delays were actually very well justified by the Federal Aviation Administration,” he says. “They rose to the occasion,” Schuster adds. “They got the job done in due course and actually in record time. Considering how complex the problem was, they really did an excellent job. They realize that if things don’t work out right, they’re going to be the ones that answer for it.” Ryon also expressed admiration for the manner in which the FAA conducted the process. “The FAA was super-professional and moved as fast as they possibly could while keep-

ing safety in mind,” he says. “They wanted this type of technology to be used, but they wanted to do it in a way that when it’s introduced for commercial use, it’s done safely.” Ultimately, Carmean believes the public will notice the difference in what aerial cinematographers can accomplish with UAS. “The true beauty of what this technology offers film production is low-altitude aerial cinematography, not necessarily just the high altitude, wide-angle shots,” he explains. “The big winner here is the consumer. This technology will enhance the film-viewing experience.” Author: Patrick C. Miller Staff Writer, UAS Magazine pmiller@bbiinternational.com 701-738-4923

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UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

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UAS Startup

IMAGES CROPS David Dvorak and his team are simplifying the world of precision agriculture by providing data-capturing payload systems to farmers, agronomists, and plantation managers. By Emily Aasand Photos By Emily Aasand

When David Dvorak started Field of View in 2010, he saw a business opportunity for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) technology in agricultural imaging. After four years, he’s seeing an even bigger need for this

technology. While in college, Dvorak was part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering research group at the University of North Dakota. While working with that group, led by William Semke, director of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering, and the late Richard Shultz, electrical engineering department chair, Dvorak began trying to figure out how people could actually use a small UAV to do agricultural imaging. He found there were many issues with managing the camera triggering and actually knowing if the needed data was collected. “That experience gave me the exposure to come up with the idea for Field of View’s GeoSnap System,” says Dvorak, CEO of the Grand Forks, North Dakota-based company.

MULTIPLE OPTIONS: To date, Field of View has outfitted multiple UAV packages with its specialized payload offerings.

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The company was formalized after Dvorak and his team competed in the North Dakota Business Plan Competition through UND. Dvorak and his team won the competition in 2011, which helped the startup company get funding.

A Field of Opportunity

Field of View’s flagship product is the GeoSnap System, a turnkey imaging solution that helps service providers capture data desired by the agriculture industry. Dvorak and his team design and manufacture the systems in its North Dakota office. The GeoSnap System is a camera add-on designed to facilitate imaging missions by managing camera triggering and streamlining the direct georeferencing of captured images. The stand-alone system can work in any aircraft and doesn’t need to interface with an autopilot. The customer just needs to provide power to the system and mount it in the aircraft to get a complete aerial imaging setup that intelligently triggers the camera and logs the position and altitude of the camera at the moment of image capture. “We couldn’t really fix the fact that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration kept delaying the release of small UAS regulations, so we focused on what we could control, which is developing technology to help with the imaging process,” Dvorak says. “One way we found we could do that was by producing a visualization of coverage while we are still on the site just to make sure we’re able to get the data

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

we need. With that, we started building early versions of the GeoSnap product. We decided to start selling that hardware and providing consultations.” The company also resells a stitching software, Agisoft Photoscan Pro, an introductory geographic information system (GIS) software called Global Mapper, and resells Tetracam multispectral cameras. “We resell Agisoft Photoscan Pro, which is a stitching software that will take all the individual images and make a single, seamless file,” says Dvorak. “We also sell Global Mapper, which will take that data and generate the normalized difference vegetation index and allow you to see differences in crop performance.” Field of View also provides an onsite training service for customers, which Dvorak says is definitely needed. “Training is probably the biggest thing, in order to be successful. We are working on building a library of video tutorials to help people walk through the different steps of the various pieces of software that we sell.” Since Field of View doesn’t provide the actual aircraft, it’s only able to take the training so far, but the company can help customers with anything on the post-processing side of things. “We’ll be launching an imaging processing service for next growing season where people will be able to send us imagery and we’ll stitch it together and provide it to them,” says Dvorak. Today, the company consists of Dvorak, Kaci Lemler,

operations manager and systems engineer, and Danny Hajicek, software and electrical design engineer based in Los Altos, California. “All three of us graduated from the University of North Dakota,” says Dvorak. “In addition to us three, we also work with a company out of Fargo [North Dakota] who manages our international sales.” In its early years, Field of View saw mostly international inquiries. “As a small startup company trying to deal with someone from Brazil was challenging for us so that’s why we’re working with a company out of Fargo, who takes care of those leads for us,” said Dvorak. “We’ve sold our systems to countries including Canada, France and Australia.”

Servicing Both Sides

Agriculture is quickly becoming a focus in the UAS industry. Farmers, crop consultants, and ag researchers are beginning to use remote sensing as a tool in making critical decisions, Dvorak says. “Many in the ag industry are enticed by UAS and their promise of high resolution data that can be delivered on demand.” “We’re a unique company in that we sit in-between two industries—the ag industry and the emerging UAS industry,” Dvorak says. “Our easiest customer is someone who already has an unmanned aircraft and knows how to use it but doesn’t know a lot about the camera side of things.”

As for the future of ag imaging, Dvorak says multicopters will more than likely be the go-to. “The biggest thing right now is endurance and the battery and power system problem. The world is good at solving those eventually over time.” “The UAS/agriculture equation involves so many pieces of the puzzle to make it work like everyone thinks it can and should work, that you pretty much have to team up with other people who can bring other pieces to the equation,” says Dvorak.

Insight On Regulations

It has been a benefit to be a small company while there haven’t been FAA regulations because the risk of going bankrupt from enormous overhead while waiting for the FAA to enact regulation hasn’t been there, Dvorak says. “It was easier for us, in our early days, to be a small company because we didn’t have this enormous overhead that would make us look like a nonprofitable company.” On the other side, Dvorak says the lack of regulations has been frustrating. “The biggest challenge right now is that people can’t spend money on our equipment because they don’t have a clear way to link money back to it,” says Dvorak. “If they can buy our equipment and have assurance they can pay it off in a season, then that might be a different story, but with the current FAA situation, it’s not really feasible.” Dvorak also mentions one of his biggest frustrations is

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EXPANDING SERVICES: Field of View says they will be launching an PIECE OF MIND: Field of View offers training services, which Dvorak says is one of the big imaging processing service which will stitch images together for clients. components of being successful with the technology.

‘We couldn’t really fix the fact that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration kept delaying the release of small UAS regulations, so we focused on what we could control, which is developing technology to help with the imaging process.’ -David Dvorak, Field of View CEO DELICATE TOUCH: The camera add-on facilitates imaging missions by managing camera triggering and streamlines the direct georeferences of captured images.

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SMALL TEAM, BIG IMPACT: Dvorak and Lemler assemble the GeoSnap in house from Field of View's North Dakota-based headquarters.

‘We’ve sold our systems to countries including Canada, France and Australia.’ -David Dvorak, Field of View CEO

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

that the UAS/ag industry still doesn’t have a reliable source of imagery from UAS. “I would like to get to the point where farmers can depend on this data and use it as part of everyday management practices,” he said. “A big part of that is to be able to capture the imagery and stitch it together so you

can start having all these data points to start driving your analysis.” Author: Emily Aasand Staff Writer, UAS Magazine 701-738-4976 eaasand@bbiinternational.com

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The Birthplace of

Precision-Ag UAVs AgEagle has put a small Kansas town on the map by providing the business model for linking UAVs with precision agriculture By Luke Geiver

Neodesha, Kansas, may someday be considered the birthplace of the modern precision agriculture-based unmanned aircraft vehicle business. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in that small ag-based

town where Bret Chilcott and Tom Nichols have created the largest UAV manufacturing business in North America that is solely focused on the practice of monitoring crop health, improving yields and providing the data and information necessary to make precision agricultural philosophies a reality. From their homebase in Neodesha, Chilcott and Nichols have built UAVs for clients around the world, including Sweden, Brazil, Canada and the U.S. When the duo is not working to tweak their fixed-wing designs and cloud-based data gathering systems, they are on the road at shows in cities of all sizes ranging from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Los Angeles. To Nichols, time on the road helps the team to clarify the mysteries of UAVs prospective clients have yet to understand. Our team spoke with Nichols over the course of two months to uncover the truths about the state of UAVs in

THE KANSAS CONNECTION: Farmers, including those pictured here from Kansas, are already working to implement the AgEagle unmanned aircraft system into day-to-day operations. PHOTO: AGEAGLE LLC

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

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SIMPLE BY DESIGN: The newest AgEagle UAV launching system and control center can all be run by as few as one operator. PHOTO: AGEAGLE LLC

precision ag. We caught up with Nichols multiple times, once on his way to a small farmer gathering a short drive away from Neodesha where he was asked to discuss UAVs, and again, a month later, 30 minutes before he was about to take the stage at a Nebraska farm show. We saw Chilcott during an L.A. drone expo, but only garnered a quick hello due to the constant swarm 30

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of interested parties asking Chilcott to explain AgEagle. For anyone interested in gaining a true understanding of the role unmanned aircraft systems can or will play in the precision ag industry, it is apparent that at this time, the story is only about the future. Fortunately for our team, the farmers near Neodesha and the attendees of the Lincoln show and the L.A.

event, the AgEagle team has already experienced the future.

Early Days

Before Chilcott, founded AgEagle, he was involved in building model aircrafts, selling Cesna airplanes, working in boat manufacturing and the world of composite material. He was once the owner of a composite materials firm.

After learning about Kansas State Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experimental work to develop a remote control flight platform capable of holding cameras, roughly four years ago, Chilcott put his aircraft and composite building skills to use. He designed a fixed-wing platform that KSU said should be offered to the commercial marketplace. At the same time, Nichols had joined

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Chilcott as a business development executive to help grow Chilcott’s composite material business. “KSU said we should sell our product to farmers and ranchers,” Nichols says, but before they were willing to invest time and effort the duo visited a Kansas precision ag event to speak about how the UAV they had built may be used in farming.

“There were all these guys in farm attire, overalls made for the middle of winter,” Nichols says. “But, they all pulled out iPads and laptops. They were very smart in talking about their operations.” After giving their precision-ag-UAV pitch, Chilcott and Nichols were swamped. “They could see the value of it [the AgEagle] in their sky,”

Nichols says. “If we had the ability to sell 10 at that show we could have. That was two-anda-half years ago.” Following the show, the team of two returned to the shop and decided they needed to commit to UAVs. “We took the list of all the customers that we supplied carbon fiber parts to and told them we were changing our business and that

we were now AgEagle and that was all we were going to do,” Nichols says. Since January 2014, the Kansas-based team has manufactured and sold more than 130 units and established roughly 23 dealerships for its AgEagle UAV.

How AgEagle Succeeds

The AgEagle product is a

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TRAVELING SERVICE: The AgEagle team has traveled across the U.S. to explain its products and services, even offering field demonstrations when possible. PHOTO: AGEAGLE LLC

fixed-wing UAV equipped with a foot-operated launcher. Because the team is focused of precision ag only, the entire design of the system is geared towards easy, one-man operation. Along with the UAV, the team has developed AgEagle Rapid, a data gathering system used to assemble information from sensors and stitched images. The system begins tabulating its own scan patterns soon after ascension, tweaking its flight pattern for wind and other factors while optimizing lens focus and camera settings if it is not operated manually. Photos taken during flight are geo-referenced and uploaded to Rapid’s cloud-based automated data transfer network 32

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within 15 to 20 minutes thanks to DroneDeploy, a UAV-software and technology firm that offers a system called CoPilot. The system helps connect unmanned vehicles to an Internet feed, eliminating the need for ground-based operational control. The data or image set can be viewed on a smartphone or tablet and can be implemented into the client’s desired farm management software of choice capable of creating field remedy prescriptions for trouble areas highlighted in the images. Chilcott and Nichols have worked with multiple farm management software providers, payload designers and others to learn which offerings will

work best with the AgEagle, but according to Nichols, the system is capable of handling nearly any payload offering. The business model to date for the AgEagle team has been a success. The company focuses on precision agriculture firms, agronomists and even individual farmers. When the team is on the road educating and selling, the conversations had can be described in one of four ways, Nichols says. There are some worried about UAVs and joke that if one were to fly over their respective property, they may take action to remove the UAV from the sky. Others have seen or heard about UAVs in farming publications. “Those people want to know how it will ben-

efit them. By the time I explain the benefits they understand,” he says. Then, there are precision ag professionals already applying high-level farming techniques. “They know about UAVs, but they want to know how to implement them with their farmbased prescription software.” There are also farm support service providers and co-ops. They want to know about how to add them to their suite of services and how to start up a dealership. “The novelty of the UAV has not worn off, but the knowledge base has expanded so that there is less mystery surrounding UAVs,” Nichols says. Although Nichols tone has always been best described as

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MORE THAN A PLATFORM: In addition to its fixed-wing UAV, the Kansas company offers a cloud-based data viewing and software package that allows farmers to see data the same day as the flights. PHOTO: AGEAGLE LLC

energetic and excited, he does have a sliver of frustration behind his voice with the current state of U.S. regulations against UAVs.

Profiting In Limbo

Following Transport Canada’s passage of small UAV rules, AgEagle’s calls from Canada have exploded, Nichols says. “Everyone wants to order one or set-up a dealership,” he says with that excitement, but the same cannot be said of the company’s U.S. operations. “The only reason why the industry hasn’t exploded is because the co-ops, the agronomists and all the people that want to fly for hire are concerned about the FAA or a competitor might

step-in and create legal hassles for them,” he says with frustration. “So, they wait.” Although AgEagle is mainly serving clients in Brazil, Sweden, Canada and other non-U.S. markets, it has still found success at home. According to Nichols, there are people willing to pull the trigger on buying the AgEagle today even if they know they are going to lose another growing season due to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s delay of sUAV rules. “They want to use their time now as a learning experience so that when they can use them they will now how,” he says. It’s that reality that has the entire team excited at a time of industry stagnancy. Interested

parties, the agronomists, coops and farm support teams are still investing in ag-based UAVs even though regulations currently prohibit their use. “I think our story can be about what other startup UAV companies can look like,” Nichols says. The company, less than five years old, has already quadrupled its employee base in Neodesha and is becoming a well-recognized brand in the UAV sector. Until the FAA issues its regulations, Nichols believes other firms can maintain success by continuing to travel, get in front of potential users and test products possible. The AgEagle team has already moved past its UAV business aspirations, Nichols adds, and

is already working on new editions of its UAV, tweaking the manufacturing model and developing more and more distribution models beneficial to all parties. Until the U.S. explodes the way Canada has, Nichols and Chilcott will continue to travel and look for potential payload offerings or software offerings that can keep their product flying high. He ended our talk earlier this year from the shop in Kansas with that message. “I’m off to a smalltown farmers meeting,” he said “Usually people want to learn more and buy our products.” Author: Luke Geiver Editor, UAS Magazine 701-738-4976 lgeiver@bbiinternational.com

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UAVS IN FOCUS: The Sinclair UAS team will provide students with the chance to build UAV platforms and train on other, prebuilt offerings in its UAS courses. PHOTO: SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

UAV Tradition Builders At Sinclair Community College, the UAS industry has become the priority to keep its long-history in the aerospace industry alive and well. By Luke Geiver

Sinclair Community College has been offering aviation classes since 1911. Deb Norris and Andrew Shephard are making sure the Ohio-based school can continue its long tradition in the aerospace world. The duo has helped to spearhead the formation of a unique, unprecedented 34

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unmanned aircraft systems program capable of training future UAS operators, designers and data analysts. They’ve also helped give something to the UAS industry of North America that has never been done before: an indoor UAV flight test range. In 2008, after several major manufacturing companies pulled out of Dayton, Ohio, Norris,

the vice president for workforce development at Sinclair, and Sherphard, now UAS director at the school, began searching for an emerging market that the school could rally behind. Norris knew then that the school could grow by taking advantage of the surrounding community’s capabilities, which still included manufacturing and also data

analytics. “In the fall of 2008 we went on a trade mission to Israel with the purpose of researching UAS technologies that we might form partnerships around,” Norris says. “We also wanted IP that we could form basic business around in the U.S.” After the Israel trip and some following market research performed by the school and third-party consultants, Norris, Shephard and the school’s leadership team decided to invest in a national center for UAS training. The school was built on a three-legged stool, Norris says, that includes access to airspace, simulation and modeling and a

OPERATIONS

NO CRASH WORRY: At the Sinclair indoor UAS test facility, students training to fly will be able to utilize GPS-capable systems in a controlled setting, a situation the Sinclair team believes will alleviate student concern of flight risks. PHOTO: SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

leading edge curriculum backed by industry partners that know how to analyze data. “That is the only reason you are going to fly an application. It is about gathering and then understanding your data,” Norris says. Since committing to the UAS program, the school has invested roughly $7 million. Ohio has provided another $4 million, and in addition, the school has earned other income sources. Norris created a pro-forma early on in the program’s formation, complete with tasks, goals and a timeline. Through consulting and other engagements, Norris and the team have already met all of its financial and time-specific UAS goals, an element of the effort that Norris is proud of. Earlier this year the team hosted an opening ceremony for its indoor training facility. The 28,000 square foot facility— a former university printing building—has an impressive list of UAV amenities available for students. The facility includes a UAS simulation center and a sensors avionics lab. Shephard can offer his students access to turbo-prop UAVs along with other electric

small UAVs. A 3-D printer allows students to print a UAV platform and then assemble a full unit before test flights at the range. The range consists of 3,200 square feet with a mezzanine level to allow operators to stand 14-feet above ground to watch the UAVs from above if necessary. The indoor range is also GPS permeable, so UAVs equipped with GPS will allow the students to test UAV programs that have such software capability. “We know we can run a lab in any weather conditions. You aren’t as worried about students making a mistake,” Shephard says. “If they fly into the wall it is not the end of the world.” The indoor range will also allow students to perform preflight checks and crash assessment briefings, Shephard says. Flight testing capabilities are important to Sinclair, Nelson says. Testing allows the students to gain the experience needed in the workplace. Nelson says here background in economic development has taught her to focus on establishing a talent pipeline before working to attract new businesses. To help expand both Sinclair’s capabilities in attracting

ANNOUCEMENT SERIES: Since it entered the UAS space, Sinclair has met many of its self-imposed goals and milestones, including a press conference held earlier this year unveiling the nation's first indoor UAS range. PHOTO: SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

students and offering a cutting edge curriculum, Norris and Shephard have worked to partner with industry, including many partnerships that are not based in Ohio. “We are seeing that you want to find as many connection points across the country as possible,” she says. One of those connections has already paid off for both the school and the industry. Sinclair has partnered with UAV designer and manufacturer Altavian. “We wanted a more strategic partnership that just buying some of their UAV’s,” Nelson says. Through its partnership with Altavian, Sinclair is educating students on the Altavian UAV platform—how to fly and maintain it. Because Altavian was focused on research and development and less on training, Sinclair was able to find a need it could fulfill for the company by training fu-

ture Altavian pilots that are also purchasing units for commercial use post-graduation. To date, Shephard has helped provide UAS interns to operations around the world, and, each year when the program offers short-term workshops, the attendees include participants from places as far away as Italy, he says. “We are application focused now, but we fully intend to add other specialties such as data analytics or maintenance,” Nelson says. “We are looking at this as an investment in the future.”

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PAYLOAD

TECH BE NIMBLE: Trachsler probes clock voltages on an analog-to-digital evaluation card. SRC wants Gryphon Sensors to have a "skunkworks" atmosphere and to be quicker and more nimble in developing technology for commercial markets. PHOTO: GRYPHON SENSORS

Sensing the UAS Future

Gryphon Sensors seeks to leverage its military roots into commercial markets By Patrick C. Miller

Tony Albanese sees developments in the world of unmanned aerial systems as the beginning of a renaissance with enormous potential.

“There’s going to be so much going on in the next 10 years in this industry,” says Albanese, the president of Gryphon Sensors. “It’s going to change the way commerce works. It’s going to change the way a lot of things 36

UAS MAGAZINE Q1 2015

work, but it has to be done safely. It’s critical to get it done that way.” Getting UAS integrated safely into the national airspace is the primary reason SRC Inc.—a major defense contractor headquartered in North Syracuse, New York—created Gryphon Sensors and chose Albanese to head it. SRC has extensive experience in developing radar systems for the military, ranging from airborne systems to ground sur-

veillance radars, and from avian surveillance to weapon location applications. As SRC’s former executive vice president of defense and environmental solutions, Albanese brings experience in the defense and air traffic control industries, including radar system engineering, program management, domestic and international business development, and operations and manufacturing management. His familiarity with applying

technology in the commercial world should help the Federal Aviation Administration solve the dual challenges of UAS airspace integration and commercialization, which Albanese describes as a massive problem. “The No. 1 mission of the FAA is safety first,” he says. “With tens of thousands of UAS being delivered into the U.S. every month, this problem’s only going to get worse before it gets better.”

PAYLOAD

GRYPHON'S LEADER: Tony Albanese, president of Gryphon Sensors, came from SRC Inc. with experience in the defense and air traffic control industries. PHOTO: SRC INC.

Compounding the problem is the nature of small, low-flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the challenge of separating them from the environmental background. “This mission is extremely difficult because we’re focused on the very small UASs,” Albanese says. “When you set up a radar to detect them, you’re also detecting birds that are basically the same size. It complicates the problem for the radar processor to sort through that data and determine what’s real and what’s not.” SRC is supplying the military with similar solutions. However, applying what SRC does for the military to the civilian world isn’t as easy as it might seem. “We’re spinning off to a commercial entity so that we can create separation from the military,” Albanese explains. “As you can imagine, the military’s very sensitive to the commercial use of technology that can get widespread exposure and that would create an opportunity for adver-

saries to determine vulnerabilities to military technology.” SRC moved some of its expertise to Gryphon Sensors to create new systems that don’t look or function anything like those currently used by the military. Albanese believes SRC can leverage its success in the military world to assist the FAA in the civilian world. “There’s already a precedent in place with the ground-based sense-and-avoid program,” he notes. “The FAA, quite frankly, has been very comfortable with and understands the benefit of radar. We feel that there will be a tilt toward the use of radar for this mission.” Another reason SRC formed the new subsidiary was to avoid the defense contractor mindset of process and procedure that tends to add costs and cause delays with government contracts. “By creating the subsidiary, we can avoid the process-heavy costs and delays to focus on the commercial business,” Albanese says. “It also allowed us to take a number of people and isolate them from the rest of the business to get them highly focused on achieving our goal—more of a skunkworks type of atmosphere for attacking this problem.” In addition, he notes that the business model which has been successful for SRC requires a different approach for a commercial venture such as Gryphon Sensors. “You really have to make more investments. You have to take more risks. You have to be very price sensitive and you

have to be quick and nimble,” Albanese explains. “Sometimes government contracting doesn’t train you that way. It’s extremely difficult to sell commercial items from within a government business framework.” Could the relationship with SRC prove to be a two-way street in which Gryphon Sensors technology has military applications? While Albanese says there are no plans for the subsidiary to sell to military markets, he didn’t rule out the possibility. “If you’ve establish something as a commercial product, move the intellectual property into SRC and then they modify it—enhance it for military application—it’s a much easier path,” he says. Over the long term, Albanese envisions UAS with onboard sensor systems providing the ability to avoid obstacles in close proximity and maintain separation in more heavily trafficked areas close to the ground. “As computing power grows, you could have deliveries scheduled in an urban area,” he says. “You could be flying many UASs simultaneously, keeping proper separation, making sure the airspace is clear of commercial aircraft. But you still have to worry about emergency response teams—helicopters and that sort of thing—to make sure it’s free and clear.” There are other issues on the UAS horizon that have yet to be tackled. For example, Albanese says he was contacted by a motion picture studio complaining about private UAS operators recording its scenes during movie production and posting them

on the Internet—the ultimate spoiler. “When you detect the UASs in that environment, what do you do about them?” he asks. “There are lots of things you can do. There aren’t too many that are legal right now. Jamming is not looked at very favorably by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission).” UAS have also demonstrated the potential to create more serious security issues, another area in which Albanese sees opportunities for Gryphon Sensors. “In France, they’ve already had at least three incursions into nuclear facilities by UAS,” Albanese notes. “Chancellor Merckel of Germany had a UAS fly right up to her podium. The threats are there.” Albanese sees potential for Gryphon Sensors technology in UAS precision agriculture. “You could have a mobile ground-based system that essentially goes in and clears the airspace so you could determine where to irrigate or where to spread fertilizer or pesticides,” he says. Other UAS areas of interest to the company include search and rescue, package delivery, news gathering and law enforcement. Still, Albanese is realistic about the remaining problems and the amount of time required to solve them before UAVs are in widespread use. “The economic engine of the United States is going to drive this to fruition,” Albanese emphasizes. “These vehicles have tremendous use, but they have to be safely integrated.”

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