New Sensor Solutions & Drones in UK Classrooms

There have been some exciting developments in drone sensor usage this week, read on to find out how both tech companies and educational institutions are applying them to real world scenarios.

3D Vision for Drones

French technology firm Pixmap has unveiled a 3D, real-time localization and mapping technology which could greatly improve the autonomy of drones in commercial scenarios. Known as ‘Reality Capture’, this solution enables drones to comprehensively map the surrounding environment in a 3D, photorealistic manner which allows them to locate their position with “millimetric accuracy”, according to its creators.  

Learn more in our Drone Sensors Series

  Reality Capture enables drones to undertake tasks such as bridge inspections, energy surveys and build photo-realistic models in 3D, enabling offline diagnosis. It could also assist with commercial operations in constrained environments such as mapping the interior of houses, hotels and other structures. There is also potential for search and rescue teams, as the technology could enable the inspection and mapping of areas affected by natural disasters and accurately locate potential victims. With increasing demand for drones to become a part of commercial operations, this is certainly a solution to keep an eye on.

Tackling Light Pollution

An affordable, lightweight system that could change the way we monitor and control light pollution has been developed at Nottingham Trent University. This innovative idea is based on standard servo motors and a microcontroller, with the information it gathers being stored onto an SD card. Crucially, it’s light enough to be mounted on a drone, which allows it to monitor previously inaccessible areas, streamlining the process of data mapping. Their aim is to inspire young people to develop skills in electronics and computing which are not only required for sustainability but are also in great demand from the wider economy.

Drones to Feature in New A-Level Course

Students in the UK will be given the option to study the uses of drones as part of a new Environmental Science A-level. This new A-level course tasks pupils with the study of a range of issues including climate change, marine conservation, mineral supplies, renewable energy and also the controversial method of fracking for gas. The agricultural and energy sectors are finding more and more uses for drones and this will form the basis of the UAV-centric areas in the syllabus. Students will be taught how they benefit existing operations, for example, they will perform investigations using drones to monitor crop yields and infestations, examine how they can be used to track poachers and conduct surveys of natural resources. This exciting new qualification is scheduled to be taught as of 2017.

What’s Happening at Heliguy?

Summer is always busy for the team here at heliguy™, if we're not out testing the latest rigs, we're travelling around the country to attend a range of exciting industry events. You can find out what's going on in the near future below.

Getting Ready For the Farnborough Airshow

Heliguy is heading to the Farnborough International Airshow, bringing a one stop shop for all your drone needs to this fantastic aviation event. It will be great to head down to one of our favourite places in the UK, home to one of our three UK training centres, located at the Elvetham Hotel. Come along and meet the team on the 16th & 17th July, we’ll be at Location PU / DZ6.

Learn More About Hubsan

We’ve been getting hands-on with our new range of quadcopters from Hubsan and they’re certainly a lot of fun to fly. Great for indoors flying and to build confidence for beginners, these drones offer quality that won’t break the bank.

Visit our Hubsan Department Page for more information 

From 'nano' quads that allow for nifty stunt work, to larger models capable of 1080p filming, there's truly something for everyone. Find out more about our new range in this article which describes each of our Hubsan products in detail.

Another Great Course Comes to an End

We’ve just completed another fantastic PfAW course at our Newcastle HQ this week and would like to congratulate all of our successful trainees. Our next course is in Manchester on July 5^th and then we’ll be heading to Farnborough on July 19^th. Director and filmmaker Philip Bloom attended the previous course at the Elvetham Hotel, keep checking back for an interview with the man himself to find out what you can expect when training with Heliguy.