{"id":2737,"date":"2017-02-08T13:51:48","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T13:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/?p=2737"},"modified":"2017-02-08T13:51:48","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T13:51:48","slug":"quadcopters-at-swarthmore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/2017\/02\/08\/quadcopters-at-swarthmore\/","title":{"rendered":"Quadcopters at Swarthmore"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can get amazing video and still shots that previously would have required a full sized helicopter or significant crane and boom equipment with current quadcopter drones (small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in the parlance of the FAA).\u00a0<\/span>Current guidance systems take advantage of GPS positioning and smart controls to provide a very easy to use and stabile system at the professional level of these aircraft. \u00a0These are much easier\u00a0to fly and get great shots with than the cheaper toy drones\u00a0that have become extremely popular commercially.\u00a0Example videos: Swarthmore from the air above Parrish Beach<\/a>, The beach at Shoreham, NY<\/a>,\u00a0Youtube footage – Ithaca, NY<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Please join us on February 24th, for the Academic Technology Workshop, Swarthmore’s Quadcopter<\/a><\/strong>. \u00a0Sign up on the\u00a0Campus Calendar<\/a>\u00a0for the workshop.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Aerial view of the southern part of the Swarthmore College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately, Swarthmore is within the extremely controlled “Class B”\u00a0airspace<\/a>\u00a0surrounding Philadelphia International Airport, so only folks with a certificate that the FAA implemented in August, are allowed to even request authorization\u00a0to fly in the airspace above campus, and that request process can take weeks. \u00a0However, we expect to be able to facilitate that process in the near future, and to be able to provide the supervision needed to support such flights above the College grounds. (See this link\u00a0for the\u00a0New FAA Rules on Drones<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/a>
Solar panels to heat water for a residential dwelling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More importantly here at Swarthmore, there are ongoing discussions right now about what the College’s policies should\u00a0<\/span>be around drone flights on and above campus. These discussions are involving folks from safety, privacy, liability, technical and user perspectives, and we expect to see a comprehensive statement soon. \u00a0In line with that, there will be a short flight request form that will provide a single clear point of contact for those who would like to request permission to fly above the campus.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beardsley<\/a>
Beardsley Hall roof<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However you can still fly on private property where you have permission. \u00a0Some examples include inspecting roofs and roof mounted solar panels, monitoring ecologically interesting areas and construction projects. We hope to be able to monitor the BEP related demolition and construcdtion starting this summer!<\/p>\n

\"3DR<\/a>
3DR Solo Quadcopter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Swarthmore ITS currently has a 3D Robotics (3DR) Solo Quadcopter that can be borrowed by qualified faculty, staff and students for use in academically oriented projects. The Swarthmore ITS Quadcopter is a 3D Robotics Solo, outfitted with a GoPro Hero 4 Black video\/still camera and a stabilizing gimbal\u00a0<\/span>designed to keep that camera steady as the quadcopter navigates. \u00a0The gimbal also allows the operator to move the camera angle between 0 deg (straight down) and 90 deg. straight forward viewing angle. \u00a0The Go Pro Hero 4\u00a0<\/span>Black can film in resolutions up to 4k, and can take both wide angle, as well as narrower angle video and still shots, controlled by the iPad, iPhone or Android device to which you have linked it. \u00a0Both the quadcopter and the remote control have separate 1 GHz processors to allow for smart operation, and ease of use, and the quadcopter will exhibit amazingly smooth flight and stability, even in the face of significant wind conditions during flight. It operates with the GPS satellite system to maintain position and to return to home, should the connection between the quadcopter and controller be lost. (3DR Support site<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to learn more? \u00a0Contact Doug Willen in ITS (willen@swarthmore.edu).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/a>
Aerial view of the north side of the Swarthmore College Campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You can get amazing video and still shots that previously would have required a full sized helicopter or significant crane and boom equipment with current quadcopter drones (small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in the parlance of the FAA).\u00a0Current guidance systems … Continue reading Quadcopters at Swarthmore<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":2752,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,113],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2737","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-academic-technology","8":"category-facultystaff","10":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/ClothierSproul.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/ph2nPL-I9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2737"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2768,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2737\/revisions\/2768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.swarthmore.edu\/its\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}