January 16, 2019 – DJI has concluded its investigation into the issue concerning some TB50 and TB55 batteries reporting incorrect power levels in late 2018. The current firmware (v01.02.0301), which adds a redundancy algorithm to the battery management system, has successfully addressed the small number of early Return-To-Home (RTH) or Automatic Landing (AL) cases triggered by initial conservative measures DJI implemented during its investigation.
After extensive testing and close performance monitoring, DJI has determined that the current firmware, issued in December, eliminates the need for another firmware update this month. DJI customers who updated their TB55 battery firmware after December can continue using their batteries with no additional precautions. DJI testing also confirmed that these mitigations provide additional protection for drones operating with old batteries and in low temperatures.
DJI remains committed to providing powerful and reliable drone solutions for its users around the world and will continue to explore and implement new measures that further improve product performance through future firmware updates.
Please note:
Pilots who are using drones of both the DJI M200 series and the DJI Inspire 2 with TB50 batteries may continue to receive an “inconsistent firmware” notification when using batteries updated with different firmware versions. This may lock the drone. DJI advises that pilots use batteries upgraded with the same firmware as this solves the compatibility issue in addition to improving overall user experience.
As with all lithium batteries, several factors affect the usability of your batteries, including age and number of total power cycles, external variables such as weather conditions, as well as factors in your control such as storage and handling methods. Please read our Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines and follow our updated user guidelines to help minimize potential disruption to your operations if you are flying a drone on older batteries and/or are conducting operations in extremely low temperatures.
16/1/2019 www.suasnews.com
SAM IS ....
Drone usage increases in UK construction
The number of construction companies using drone technology in the UK and Ireland has increased significantly, although more advanced digital/reality capture outputs continue to be underutilised
According to a survey by ProDroneWorx, the use of digital/reality capture information from drone technology continues to increase in the UK and Irish construction industries, with 52% of respondents now using the technology compared with only 33% in 2017.
ProDroneWorx asked senior figures within the construction, infrastructure and asset inspection markets about their perception, usage and understanding of the digital/reality capture outputs from drones. The response to this survey was impressive with 150 respondents taking part across the UK and Ireland.
Leading construction company Kier said: “The latest Prodroneworx survey demonstrates how far drone technology has progressed. Kier is working closely with Prodroneworx on some key projects to realise the benefits from drone technology, including progress capture, 360 photography and photogrammetry.”
Steven Hedley, Vice-President Technical at the CIAT said: “As regulation and licencing laws surrounding drone usage tighten, it is imperative that specialist drone operators continue to facilitate the development of drone technology and its integration with Building Information Modelling (BIM) within our industry to maximise benefits and minimise misuse.”
According to the survey, the top 3 reasons for adopting the technology are improved data quality (56%), time-saving (54%) and the reduction of risk (42%). Interestingly, fewer companies than last year are planning on utilising drone technology in-house, reflecting, perhaps the level of knowledge and expertise needed to deploy them.
However, the findings of this survey also demonstrate that drone technology is currently being underutilised. While 74% of respondents are using drone technology for photography and video, fewer than 30% of respondents are using the technology for value add services like aerial LiDAR, 3D point clouds, 3D modelling, digital surface/terrain models, orthophotos and thermal imaging.
Ian Tansey, Managing Director at ProDroneWorx, said: “In a world of very tight margins of about 2% in construction, and an increasingly competitive landscape, the use of digital/reality capture data gives firms a significant competitive advantage over their peers through improved data quality, reduced costs, increased productivity gains and the mitigation of risk”.
Drone / Unmanned Aircraft / UAS Podcasts from around the world
There is no preference indicated here, and please check regulations mentioned.
CAA on Air
On Air is a monthly podcast from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority featuring experts from across the aviation industry. Episodes are hosted by Jonathan Nicholson of the CAA and cover various topics, including the below, but also more General Aviation topics too.
The drone pilot whose maps are saving lives in Zanzibar
By Katie Prescott and Sarah Treanor BBC News, Tanzania
11/1/2019
Media captionAfrica’s drone mapping experts
A lack of accurate maps is a big problem in parts of Africa: for disaster relief agencies, local authorities and people looking for safe places to build homes. Could cheap survey drones and local volunteers help plug the gaps?
Khadija Abdulla Ali is an unlikely drone pilot in the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar.
Conservatively dressed and from a traditional Muslim background, she is a member of the Zanzibar Mapping Initiative, which since its inception in 2016 has become a poster-child for how African nations can approach the urgent geospatial challenges they face.
She never dreamed that her career would look anything like this.
“I worked so hard. I was working 24 hours a day taking pictures, processing the data. My family wondered what I was doing it for, but it’s so worth it.”
Image captionDrone pilot Khadija Abdulla Ali says mapping her local area has been “so worth it”
Behind these drone flights is Zanzibar’s charismatic Minister for Lands, Muhammad Juma Muhammad.
An architect by training, he’s grappling with urban growth and the needs of the tourists that prop up the local economy. Sprawling settlements are in no-one’s interest on this idyllic and space-conscious island.
“In Africa, we don’t create space for human beings,” he says. “To walk in the street in Zanzibar you have to negotiate with cars. We need to have pavements, space for children to play, for the old, for disabled people.”
He believes maps can engineer social change.
“We want to get to the stage where we can plot our hospitals on the map, where we can issue building safety certificates, where we can tell people where the local schools are.
“We might even be able to start taxing people on their property because we have a better sense of who owns what now.”
Image captionMuhammad Juma Muhammad believes better maps can improve people’s health and wellbeing
Edward Anderson, who looks after urban planning and disaster reduction for the World Bank, says such survey drones are a nimble, low-cost solution.
“Traditionally, you would use satellite imagery but it’s not that effective in the tropics because of cloud cover and it’s not very high resolution,” he explains.
“Or you’d use manned aircraft. But that’s not something you can do every six months because it is too expensive. Just mobilising the plane can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
The Zanzibar Mapping Initiative is the largest drone mapping exercise in the world, but the project was inspired by one across the water in Dar Es Salaam, in mainland Tanzania, which is partly funded by the UK’s Department for International Development.
Here, the need for better maps is acute because the city is one of the fastest growing in the world, absorbing a thousand people a day.
Image copyrightEDWARD ANDERSONImage captionThe World Bank’s Edward Anderson says mapping drones are cost-effective
The last census in 2012 estimated the population to be 4.36 million – now it is nearly six million and rising.
Authorities can’t keep pace. And as many of the areas where newcomers settle don’t appear on a detailed map, officially, they don’t exist. Nothing is known about them.
Consequently, they lack basic amenities, such as sewers and rubbish collection.
Osiligi Losai, a community leader in Kigogo, a suburb of Dar Es Salaam, surveys his domain with a sense of helplessness.
“Houses are going up like mushrooms,” he says.
Sitting between two rivers just off a dual carriageway, a population of 70,000 people has settled from all over Tanzania in this 2.5 sq km (1 sq mile) area, building their own housing in whatever space they can find.
This includes river banks, making the homes increasingly vulnerable to flooding.
“The water comes up to here,” Mr Losai says, gesturing over his head. “People die in these floods.”
Image captionOsiligi Losai holds up one of the drone maps showing the risk of flooding in his district
As a result, deadly diseases like cholera are a constant threat.
“Mapping is the basic tool for any development,” says Mr Losai. “Even if you go to war, you need a map of your enemy. If you don’t have a map it’s difficult for you to plan, to organise, co-ordinate, so things are completely random.”
So locals are using drones to map the locality.
“Now we’re engaging the community to make maps so the people feel a sense of ownership in them,” says Mr Losai, “and they’re more willing to listen to us when we tell them not to build somewhere.”
But both drone mapping projects have found that an aerial photo can only show so much.
You also need boots on the ground, labelling what the drones see and flagging up issues, such as blocked drains.
Image copyrightWORLD BANK/ZANZIBAR MAPPING INITIATIVEImage captionDrone mapping projects acknowledge that ground-based intelligence is also crucial for accuracy
“You collect the data and then you’ve got to do something with it,” explains John Kedar, director of international engagement for Ordnance Survey, the UK’s national mapping agency.
“Creating a map takes a lot of skills. There is a massive challenge in many parts of Africa developing skills to create digital mapping that is then used by governments and businesses.”
Even the biggest global technology companies, such as TomTom, say they need local help to complete their maps.
“I strongly believe in the power of crowdsourcing platforms where you work with voluntary or freelance contributors who collect information,” says Arnout Desmet, head of TomTom’s mapping division.
Google is using artificial intelligence in Lagos to map roads, addresses and businesses from their Street View imagery, and adding buildings to the map from satellite pictures.
But its Street View project only applies in seven African countries. And like TomTom, it relies on local people to fill in the gaps through its Local Guidesprogramme.
Apple’s maps are made from satellite images, which is fine for navigation but not for more detailed use. And several African countries are missing from its Standard Maps list – Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti and Zambia, for example.
For many mapping companies it seems there just isn’t a commercial incentive to cover Africa, which is why governments, local communities and open source data are so important.
The UN has created an Africa mapping initiative aimed at integrating population, housing and other social data with geographical information.
It hopes that better “geosocial” maps could save lives.
In Dar Es Salaam, for example, hospitals are starting to use the maps created by the World Bank’s drones to mark where cholera patients are coming from, so they can spot where outbreaks are happening.
“Mapping is simply a tool – a means to an end,” concludes the World Bank’s Edward Anderson.
“Our end is sustainable urban development and an understanding of the unseen implications of this pace of growth.”
SAM IS ....
Traffic Management research to open pathway to commercial drone operation in the UK
A new DfT research and development project led by the Transport Systems Catapult will lay the ground work for a safe working environment for commercial drone use in the UK, enabling safe sharing of airspace with traditional aircraft and beyond line of sight operations of drones.
The project will explore a future Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Traffic Management (UTM) framework that could help to enable future service providers, operators, manned aviation stakeholders and regulators to participate in the intelligent control of airspace. Today, numerous services seeking to support the commercial use of drones are being developed independently of any agreed framework. This makes a consistent approach to traffic management difficult, which is stalling progress in the sector.
Recent research by PwC suggests that the drone industry will be worth £42billion to the UK by 2030 with over 76,000 drones in use, with a third by the public sector. However, the TSC recognise that the window of opportunity is small and urgent action needs to be taken to develop safe, regulated environments in which drones can operate. This will allow businesses wishing to operate in the sector to push forward with new products and service offerings.
The TSC will work alongside Altitude Angel, ANRA Technologies, Cranfield University, NATS, Satellite Applications Catapult and Thales UK and to develop the requirements and validation methods for a UTM framework. The outputs from the project will be made public via a white paper.
Speaking about the project Mark Westwood, Chief Technology Officer, the Transport Systems Catapult, said:
“There is an industry-wide consensus that drone technology will be impactful, disrupting the remote sensing, infrastructure inspection, surveillance, emergency response, and transport and logistics sectors over the next decade. To enable the UK to maintain a pre-eminent position in this space, there is a need for a focused initiative to generate a safe operating environment with reduced barriers-to-entry. We are bringing together leading industry companies and experts to make this happen, opening the door for the emerging drone industry in the UK to flourish”
Paul Febvre, the Chief Technology Officer, Satellite Applications Catapult said,
“Satellites are already used for reliable positioning and communication to provide safe Air Transport Management systems on a global scale. We anticipate that the emergence of drones brings both challenges and tremendous opportunities, with the integration of advanced terrestrial and satellite systems required to support the revolution in air-space operations.”
The TSC will be organising “Drones: Solutions and Opportunities for the UK Transport Industry,” on the 6th March in Milton Keynes. To find out more about this free event click here
From: SUASnews, 9 January 2019
SAM IS ....
Government response to future of drones in the UK consultation
Outlines the decision to give the police greater powers to tackle drone misuse and better protect airports.
I should like to make a statement about the action the government are taking on our future policy on drones.
The disruption caused by drones to flights at Gatwick airport last month was deliberate, irresponsible and calculated, as well as illegal. It meant days of chaos and uncertainty for over 100,000 passengers at Christmas, one of the busiest times of the year. Carefully planned holidays were disrupted, long-expected reunions between friends and relatives missed. Families were forced to spend hours at an airport, not knowing if or when they would reach their destinations – completely unacceptable and utterly illegal. I pay tribute to all at Gatwick and other airports who worked very hard to make sure people did get away, albeit belatedly, for their Christmas breaks, and I thank all those in the defence world and the police who worked hard to get the airport back together again, and of course Sussex police are now leading the investigation into this criminal activity.
I am clear that, when caught, those responsible should face the maximum possible custodial sentence for this hugely irresponsible criminal act, and I want to assure the House that my department is working extremely closely with airports, the Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police to make sure our national airports are fully prepared to manage any repeat of what was an unprecedented incident. I spoke personally to the heads of the major UK airports before Christmas, and later this week the aviation minister, Baroness Sugg, will meet them again for an update on progress. In the meantime the Ministry of Defence remains on standby to deal with any further problems at Gatwick or any other airport if required.
This incident was a stark example of why we must continue to ensure drones are used safely and securely in the UK. Today (7 January 2019) I am publishing the outcome of our recent consultation, “Taking flight: the future of drones in the UK.” We received over 5,000 responses to that consultation reflecting a broad range of views. Those responses underlined the importance of balancing the UK’s world-leading position in aviation safety and security with supporting the development of this emerging industry. The government are taking action to ensure that passengers can have confidence that their journeys will not be disrupted in future, aircraft can safely use our key transport hubs, and criminals misusing drones can be brought to justice.
The UK is where technology companies want to build their businesses, invest in innovation and use science and engineering to bring immense benefits to this country. Drones are at the forefront of these technological advances and are already being used in the UK to great effect. Our emergency search and rescue services use drones on a regular basis. Drones can also reduce risks for workers in hazardous sectors such as the oil and gas industries, and this technology is also driving more efficient ways of working in many other sectors, from delivering medicines to assisting with building work.
However, the Gatwick incident has reinforced the fact that it is crucial that our regulatory and enforcement regime keeps pace with rapid technological change. We have already taken some big steps towards building a regulatory system for this new sector. It is already an offence to endanger aircraft. Drones must not be flown near people or property and have to be kept within visual line of sight. Commercial users are able to operate drones outside of these rules, but only when granted CAA permission after meeting strict safety conditions.
However, we now intend to go further. Today’s measures set out the next steps needed to ensure that drones are used in a safe and secure way and that the industry is accountable. At the same time these steps will ensure that we harness the benefits that drones can bring to the UK economy.
A common theme in those 5,000 consultation responses was the importance of the enforcement of safety regulations. The government share that view. The majority of drone users fly safely and responsibly, but we must ensure that the police have the right powers to deal with illegal use. We will therefore shortly be introducing new police powers. These include allowing the police to request evidence from drone users where there is reasonable suspicion of an offence being committed, as well as enabling the police to issue fixed penalty notices for minor drone offences. Those new powers will help to ensure effective enforcement of the rules. They will provide an immediate deterrent to those who might misuse drones or attempt to break the law.
My department has been working closely with the Home Office on the legislative clauses that will deliver these changes. It is of course crucial that our national infrastructure, including airports and other sites such as prisons and energy plants, are also adequately protected to prevent incidents such as that at Gatwick. We must also ensure that the most up-to-date technology is available to detect, track and potentially disrupt drones that are being used illegally, so we have also consulted on the further use of counter-drone technology. Those consultation responses will now be used by the Home Office to develop an appropriate means of using that technology in the UK.
Of course, aviation and passenger safety is at the heart of everything we do. While airlines and airports welcomed our recent airport drone restriction measures, they also asked for the current airport rules to be amended in order to better protect the landing and take-off paths of aircraft. We have listened to those concerns, and we have been working with the CAA and NATS to develop the optimum exclusion zone that will help to meet those requirements. It is important to stress that any restriction zone would not have prevented a deliberate incident such as that at Gatwick. However, it is right that proportionate measures should be in place at airports to protect aircraft and to avoid potential conflict with legitimate drone activity. We will therefore introduce additional protections around airports, with a particular focus on protected exclusion zones from runway ends, alongside increasing the current aerodrome traffic zone restrictions around airports. Drone pilots wishing to fly within these zones must do so only with permission from the aerodrome air traffic control. We will amend the Air Navigation Order 2016 to implement these changes.
I want to address some of the rather ill-judged comments that have been made by Labour Members. Let me remind them of three things. First, the event at Gatwick airport was a deliberate criminal act that can carry a sentence of life imprisonment. We can pass new laws until the cows come home, but that does not stop people breaking them, and the law is as tough as is necessary to punish the perpetrators of an attack such as this. Secondly, this was an entirely new type of challenge. It is noteworthy that, since the events at Gatwick, we have been approached by airports around the world for our advice on how to handle something similar. Thirdly, the issue was solved only by the smart and innovative use of new technology. For security reasons, I am not going to give the House details of how this was achieved, but I want to extend my thanks to the Ministry of Defence for moving rapidly to put a new kind of response into the field.
There is no question but that lessons have to be learned from what happened at Gatwick. Passengers have to be able to travel without fear of their trips being disrupted by malicious drone use. Airports must be prepared to deal with incidents of this type, and the police need the proper powers to deal with drone offences. We must also be ready to harness the opportunities and benefits that the safe use of drones can bring. The measures I have announced today in response to the consultation will take us forward on that front, and I commend this statement to the House.
Published 8 January 2019
SAM IS ....
New police powers to tackle illegal use of drones
New legislation will give police officers the power to land drones, search premises and seize drones and will require users to produce the proper documentation.
police to be given additional powers to land, seize and search drones
government to work on expanded use of technology to detect and repel drones in sites like airports and prisons
exclusion zone extended around airports where drones are banned from flying
from November 2019 drone operators will be required by law to register
The government is moving forward with plans to give police new powers to tackle drones misuse and abuse, with the publication of their response to the drones consultation today (7 January 2019).
Following over 5,000 responses to the consultation, new legislation will give police officers the additional power to land drones and require users to produce the proper documentation. The police will have the power to search premises and seize drones — including electronic data stored within the device — where a serious offence has been committed and a warrant is secured.
The Home Office will also begin to test and evaluate the safe use of a range of counter-drone technology in the UK. This crucial technology will detect drones from flying around sensitive sites, including airports and prisons, and develop a range of options to respond to drones, helping to prevent a repeat of incidents such as that recently experienced at Gatwick.
Important safety proposals being taken forward include better protection for our airports by significantly extending the area around airports and runways in which drones are banned from being flown. This builds on the government’s changes to the law last year which made it illegal to fly a drone above 400 feet or within 1 kilometre of an airport.
Drones have the potential to bring significant benefits and opportunities, but with the speed of technological advancement comes risk, and safety and security must be our top priorities.
That’s why we are giving the police powers to deal with those using drones irresponsibly. Along with additional safety measures these will help ensure the potential of this technology is harnessed in a responsible and safe way.
The police will also be able to issue fixed-penalty notices for minor drone offences to ensure immediate and effective enforcement of vital rules. Fines of up to £100 could be given for offences such as failing to comply with a police officer when instructed to land a drone, or not showing their registration to operate a drone
PwC completes its first stock count audit using drone technology
In a global first for the network, PwC UK has undertaken a stock count audit using a drone, as part of a wider drive to harness emerging technologies to enhance audit quality and efficiency and transform the audit process.
Hemione Hudson, head of assurance at PwC, commented:
“Technology is an enabler for positive change and this drone-assisted stock count is an illustration of how we are using technology to enhance audit quality and efficiency. It’s just one
example of the benefits that come from bringing our technologists from across PwC together with our auditors.
“Drones are just one of a number of technologies that could improve audit quality in different ways across different sectors. But maximising the benefits of emerging technologies is reliant on having the right people with the skills to interpret the resulting data. We are constantly investing in attracting the best people into our business and training them in new technologies to ensure our audit quality continues to improve.”
About the drone stock count:
The drone, which was manufactured and operated by UK drone company QuestUAV, was used to capture over 300 images of the coal reserve at one of the UK’s last remaining coal-fired power stations, Aberthaw, in South Wales, owned by one of Europe’s largest energy firms, RWE.
The images from the drone were used to create a point cloud ‘digital twin’ of the coal pile in order to measure its volume. The value of the coal was then calculated to within 99+% accuracy based on that volume measurement.
Figure 1: Aerial image of the site
Figure 2: The ‘digital twin’ created of one of the coal heaps, showing the points measured by the drone
Figure 3: The images captured by the drone are processed using photogrammetry, where the images are ‘stitched’ together and compared to determine how many points they have in common with one another.
