World Leader in Professional UAV Autopilots
XPONENTIAL (AUVSI for those of us who have been around for a while), has come and gone for another year. 2019 was just as busy as previous years. The same core exhibitors were there this year as in past years and there is a fair amount of churn at the periphery. Lots of small companies …
This past September, Airware surprised everyone by suddenly closing. The surprise was heightened by the fact that, only a few days prior, they had announced the opening of their Tokyo office and a partnership with Mitsubishi. When I first heard of Unmanned Innovation, later to be known as Airware, they were just one of a …
The bi-annual Farnborough International Airshow wrapped up a couple weeks ago. I've lost track of how many MicroPilot has attended. It’s certainly more than 15 years since we attended Farnborough for the first time. The highlight of the flight demonstration portion of this year's show was a loop by a C-130 Hercules. This certainly upstaged …
Flex is your enemy. It's important that your drone's airframe is rigid. The motors on a drone are very powerful with very fast response times. An airframe that isn't stiff enough will allow its arms to flex, which in turn changes the orientation of the motors. This makes control more difficult and it will increase …
There is an odd museum just off the autobahn between Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Normally, museums have a curated feel about them; this one feels more like a bunch of stuff. There's a Stuka dive bomber sitting next to a giant pipe organ. There is this bizarre frankencar named Brutus, created by dropping a massive 46-liter …
Watch the temperature. All sensors sense what you want plus temperature. This means you should be careful to avoid any sudden change in temperature. While your autopilot will adjust for changes in temperature, accuracy will decrease while the temperature is changing. For example, if you have air vents that allow increased air flow as the …
Your compass is junk. Well, maybe not complete junk, but it is one of the most delicate sensors on your drone and is prone to interference. It is important to keep compasses away from any potential interfering magnetic fields. Cables carrying large currents and motors are prime sources of magnetic fields. Also, be careful about …
A door to door salesperson dropped by MicroPilot the other day. This a very rare event at MicroPilot, and not just because the drop-in sales business is dead. It's also because at MicroPilot, we want to be able to fly outside our building, so we are in the middle of nowhere - or at least …
Most people who run a business love that business. It’s like one of your children. Running a business is pretty demanding; it would be hard to rise to that challenge if you weren't deeply invested in that business. Unfortunately, when you care very deeply about something, it’s hard to judge it objectively. More unfortunately, it …
Some time ago, there was a fly away in Australia that was reasonably well documented in the online media. Given that there is always something to learn from every accident, I will provide my thoughts on this one. I will apologize in advance for any incorrect conclusions I have drawn from the limited facts …
