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| -rw-r--r-- | drone-notes.txt | 89 |
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diff --git a/drone-article.txt b/drone-article.txt index fb4d14a..b5a2053 100644 --- a/drone-article.txt +++ b/drone-article.txt @@ -1,59 +1,32 @@ +Amazon and Google are planning to use drones for deliveries in the surprisingly near future. If that still sounds like science fiction to you, consider this -- aside from regulatory permission -- there's nothing stopping anyone else from doing the same. -Mike Lord quotes: -It depends on what you're trying to do... flying is an important part of composing shots +Which is to say that the startlingly fast technological progression of consumer drones has already very nearly made it possible for your local coffee shop to send a drone to drop a latte off on your third floor windowsill. -Nothing is ever going to be able to tell you what things looks like when you're up there. you don't know what the interesting shot is going to be until you're up there. +As we [predicted](http://www.wired.com/2015/01/autopilot-tech-total-game-changer-drones/), the last year has seen an explosion of automation tools and software upgrades for all kinds of drones, most centered around automating various aspects of drone flight. We've seen waypoint and point-of-interest based navigation from DJI, which allow [Phantom]() owners to program flight paths with the flick of a finger across a map. Figure out how to attach a latte payload and you're not far off a drone deliver coffee shop. -waypoints -- set waypoints and then go back, smoother flying between points, +Other drone makers like Yuneec have been busy creating both software and hardware aimed at making it easy to have a drone tag along behind you, which means we're probably not far off Justin.tv, the drone edition. I had the opportunity to play around with Yuneec's Typhoon Wizard -- basically a remote control for "follow me" flights that ditches the more complicated video interface for a control that's considerably slimmer and less conspicuous -- and found that it isn't that hard to wander around with a drone 350 feet above you recording your every move. -allows you to pan the camera while the drone does the flying (course lock -- point the drone in a direction and it stays in that direction, gives you the ability to have a continues tracking shot, while you manipulate the camera to keep an object in the center, i.e. flying by a property) +At this point there are two obstacles to both drone delivery services and ubiquitous clouds of drones in the skies above us -- battery life and the risk of collisions. -I don't feel comfortable having so little control. As a photographer I don't see any advantage to not being able to see what you're doing. All of this just trying to cut corners when you're trying to learn to fly a drone. Just go out and practice and learn how to fly your drone. +As good as some of the waypoints tools and following software is, from what I've tested none of it is capable of replacing the pilot just yet. That drone headed for your windowsill is far more likely to smash your window than gracefully set down a cup of hot coffee. Still, just a few years ago it was impossible to get your hands on a drone, let alone program one to fly where you want it. -Point of interest stuff is cool, you can fly up and away while circling. +While the dream of a delivery drone for every business will likely be crushed by government regulations, if the current pace of innovation continues, the technology will be there very soon. -To get the highest quality shots you're always going to want one pilot and one photographer. +That's great news for professionals working with drones. Frank Kivo, a videographer with [Concierge Auctions](http://www.conciergeauctions.com/), which frequently uses drones for real estate photography and videos, tells Wired that "these automated and new system implementations are extremely helpful and useful, depending on the industry you're working in". Kivo's work sometimes involves filming large parcels of land, which can be automated by programing in waypoints ahead of time. Waypoints can also be useful for even larger scale land surveys such as scouting oil rig locations, data transfer (like retrieving images from a remote wildlife cam) and even search and rescue efforts. -Solving problems that don't exist. +Others are less sold on the automation. Mike Lord of [Barrelman Productions](http://www.barrelmanproductions.com/) tells Wired that, for photography at least, "nothing is ever going to be able to tell you what things looks like when you're up there, so you don't know what the interesting shot is going to be until you're actually flying." -The course line and course lock allow me to do things that I could not do before. +That's something Kivo echoes, saying, "The one downside of automation is you cannot teach automation emotion... there is no way to teach a waypoint system to capture the beautiful sun flares that come into the camera for that split second." -evolve the follow me feature, something with a wristband perhaps. If you're snowboarding you don't want to carry anything. +"You need to know," he adds, "when to break out of the automated flight system." -Collision avoidance and situational self awareness. Avoiding crashing is still the hardest part of flying and none of the automation so far addresses that. One of the most fun parts is flying it and you;re always going to be more adaptive and smarter than a series of waypoints. +Lord praised some of DJI's new automated systems for striking the right balance between automating and leaving the pilot in control, like the new point-of-interest feature and the course lock feature, which holds the current flight path. With the point-of-interest feature Lord says it's easy to "fly up and away while circling and shooting photos, which previously would have required a second person to do well." -As a photographer I want things that give more more control and make the drone more responsive to my input, I don't want to just send a robot up in the sky. +Both Kivo and Lord were most enthusiastic about the various avoidance detection systems being developed. "I can't stress enough how much avoidance detection is a huge plus," says Kivo who had the opportunity to test the collision avoidance system in Monster-X's heavyweight drone in the Bahamas. "With a tropical storm forming, we were constantly getting blown around and with a common consumer drone, we would have lost it, I'm sure." +While lightweight Phantoms may never hold up in tropical storm winds, a collision avoidance system would at least keep them away from the palm trees. As it stands, most automation still requires the oversight of a skilled pilot. +For Lord, that's the way it should be. "the fun is flying ... and you're always going to be more adaptive and smarter than a series of waypoints." -I asked about sending the drone back, and she comes at me with this. What -do you think? It is interesting, or do you just want it out of your life? +Indeed for many, perhaps even most, the main appeal of drones is the actual flying. It does take practice to get good, and collision detection systems could help take some of the potential bank-breaking risk out of learning, but ultimately flying a drone is fun and trying to automate it all away is solving a problem that doesn't exist. As Lord told me, "I want things that give me more control and make the drone more responsive to my input, I don't want to just send a robot up in the sky." -If you do want to look at it, I don't think there's necessarily a review -in it. But maybe a trend story? Something about how much easier flying is, -where you just press a button? I dunno, maybe that's old news. But with -Parrot's push-button take-off/landing, 3DR Solo's "follow me," and now -this feature, it seems like this is all moving quickly toward total -automation. It might be pushing it to try to make a news story out of it. -But I dunno, you know all this stuff better than me. Is that old news? - -You can also say yes to the add-on, try it out and use it for your -business, then I tell them that you don't want to write about it. - -But maybe it won't fit in the hippie-van. - - - -Great, I'll ask her to ship it to Holman Ave. - -Maybe that's the trend story: the next big step in drone tech is obstacle -detection. You just need 2 or 3 interviews with people who have skin in -the game, and you can write a tidy story about the challenges the experts -are dealing with. - -I know it's not the type of thing you were super-stoked on before you -started just doing reviews, but it's an easy one. We did this in January, -but maybe there's new news and we could provide an update: -http://www.wired.com/2015/01/autopilot-tech-total-game-changer-drones/ - -Anyway, I bet you'll think of better ideas after you fly this! diff --git a/drone-notes.txt b/drone-notes.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6a97955 --- /dev/null +++ b/drone-notes.txt @@ -0,0 +1,89 @@ + + + + + +In a parallel universe there's a version of this piece that uses pot delivery as it's example. + + +When I was kid we had to go to people's houses to buy our drugs. Like animals. + +has the same idea. Prices are dropping and more and more variety of models are coming onto the market. Drones that fit in your palm? Check. With cameras? Check. Drones that follow you down the slopes? Check. Drones that can fly circle interesting things + + + +Mike Lord quotes: +It depends on what you're trying to do... flying is an important part of composing shots + + + +waypoints -- set waypoints and then go back, smoother flying between points, + +allows you to pan the camera while the drone does the flying (course lock -- point the drone in a direction and it stays in that direction, gives you the ability to have a continues tracking shot, while you manipulate the camera to keep an object in the center, i.e. flying by a property) + +I don't feel comfortable having so little control. As a photographer I don't see any advantage to not being able to see what you're doing. All of this just trying to cut corners when you're trying to learn to fly a drone. Just go out and practice and learn how to fly your drone. + +Point of interest stuff is cool, you can fly up and away while circling. + +To get the highest quality shots you're always going to want one pilot and one photographer. + +Solving problems that don't exist. + +The course line and course lock allow me to do things that I could not do before. + +evolve the follow me feature, something with a wristband perhaps. If you're snowboarding you don't want to carry anything. + +Collision avoidance and situational self awareness. Avoiding crashing is still the hardest part of flying and none of the automation so far addresses that. One of the most fun parts is flying it and you;re always going to be more adaptive and smarter than a series of waypoints. + + +---- + +Frank Kivo quotes + + + +I actually had a chance to get out with Lance Knowles and George Mosko of Monster-X to try out their new avoidance detection system in the Bahamas. It was so helpful. With a tropical storm forming, we were constantly getting blown around and with a common consumer drone, we would have lost it, I'm sure. + + + +Waypoint automation is extremely helpful for covering large parcels of land. When we take on properties of 300-600 acres, it would be a blessing to plan a flight path ahead of time. This would help us get our survey shots in and also use these to plan our more intimate shots, which we will either gather on the ground, or with tighter flying with a drone. + +I think these automated and new system implementations are extremely helpful and useful, depending on the industry you’re working in. I know that many folks in the oil and energies industries have hired full-time drone operators to survey and secure large pieces of land they may have a well on. These operators solely rely on waypoints and geographical data to make their surveys. + +The follow me system, to me, is sort of a biography tool; only useful in high octane sport activities or for an overkill "selfie." In a professional filmmaker tool kit, it doesn't make sense. We stay behind the camera, we don't have it follow us. + +The one downside of automation is you cannot teach automation emotion. There is no way to teach a waypoint system to capture the beautiful sun flares that come into camera for that split second. You need to be able to know when to break out of the automated flight system, capture what you need, and then have the ability to resume your flight path. That would be a very cool feature implementation. + +----- + +I asked about sending the drone back, and she comes at me with this. What +do you think? It is interesting, or do you just want it out of your life? + +If you do want to look at it, I don't think there's necessarily a review +in it. But maybe a trend story? Something about how much easier flying is, +where you just press a button? I dunno, maybe that's old news. But with +Parrot's push-button take-off/landing, 3DR Solo's "follow me," and now +this feature, it seems like this is all moving quickly toward total +automation. It might be pushing it to try to make a news story out of it. +But I dunno, you know all this stuff better than me. Is that old news? + +You can also say yes to the add-on, try it out and use it for your +business, then I tell them that you don't want to write about it. + +But maybe it won't fit in the hippie-van. + + + +Great, I'll ask her to ship it to Holman Ave. + +Maybe that's the trend story: the next big step in drone tech is obstacle +detection. You just need 2 or 3 interviews with people who have skin in +the game, and you can write a tidy story about the challenges the experts +are dealing with. + +I know it's not the type of thing you were super-stoked on before you +started just doing reviews, but it's an easy one. We did this in January, +but maybe there's new news and we could provide an update: +http://www.wired.com/2015/01/autopilot-tech-total-game-changer-drones/ + +Anyway, I bet you'll think of better ideas after you fly this! |