
1000W LED on a Drone [video] - modinfo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl1xYyGom1g
======
sschueller
$17k for a drone with 10min flight time? Ok, it can carry up to 20lbs which is
quite impressive. [1]

[1] [http://store.freeflysystems.com/products/freefly-
alta8](http://store.freeflysystems.com/products/freefly-alta8)

~~~
georgeecollins
By the way, the flight time to lift ratio of LiIon battery powered drones are
one of the reasons I know all those stories about Amazon using drones to
deliver are absurd. The drones would have power for two or three deliveries at
most. LiIon batteries don't have that long of a lifetime and they are
expensive. Not gonna happen with today's technology.

~~~
Retric
Last mile delivery is really expencive, if the drone uses 1$ worth of battery
life per delivery that's still reasonable costs. It's getting everything else
to work that's the problem.

Consider a golf course that can deliver cold beer out to the green via drones.
8 ice cold beers at ~10lb in a few minutes via cellphone app. A drone could
probably do that 5 times on a single charge, and swapping battery's is easy.
Charge 2$ extra per beer and it's both rather profitable and for now a unique
experience.

~~~
shostack
Exactly. What is it worth to have a fleet of these deliver all packages in a
multi block radius all within a few minutes? You can swap batteries quickly on
the base truck (and probably automate how that swap is done) and move on to
the next zone.

Saves massively on gas and people time (especially when self driving trucks
are mainstream) and in theory are the main way you might deliver packages in a
fully autonomous delivery setup.

------
kevindeasis
I'm starting to get really intrigued by the idea of programming quadcopters,
especially with this demo. I think I could impress the people I am teaching
programming with this type of projects.

I'd like to learn how to program a quadcopter and be able to fix the hardware
just in case something goes wrong.

However, my main problem is that I don't know where to start. I do not have a
hardware background.

Does anyone know some good resource? I'd prefer if it had nothing to do with
the scratch language

~~~
fest
The best (feature-wise) open-source quadcopter platforms are:

    
    
      * PX4,
      * ArduCopter (actually uses parts of PX4),
      * PaparazziUAV.
    

These pack a lot of functionality: really advanced sensor fusion algorithms,
position hold, waypoint/mission functionality, API for external control. At
least PX4 has (working) integration with physics simulator (very useful for
testing).

All of them are great starting points if you want to develop additional useful
functionality (e.g. package drop, autonomous mapping/patrol)- implementing
even the bare minimum pitch/roll/yaw stabilization functionality takes a lot
of effort.

The easier way to enter this domain is using an on-board/companion computer
(typically RaspberryPi/Odroid) to control the autopilot using high-level
commands (e.g. fly to these coordinates, activate that output etc).

Background: I have spent ~2 years working on (sadly) unreleased products in
this domain.

~~~
RealityVoid
I'm intrigued, are you able to say what kind of product did you work on?

Who's doing these kind of products? I've done some things with the PX4 and I
love it, the guys doing it are super smart. I've worked on some indoors
navigation stuff but I wasn't very experienced at the time and the project
turned into a mess.

~~~
fest
Sorry, I don't think I can give you a lot of details. Let's say that one of my
previous employers did a project which was supposed to be indoor quadcopter
for consumers.

Regarding PX4- completely agree. People working on it definitely have high
standards for software engineering practices and sense of responsibility.
ArduPilot guys are also doing very good job, especially regarding state
estimation (sensor fusion).

Indoor navigation is sadly not fully solved problem, at least for open-source
solutions. I have not tried it, but IMO the best option at the moment seems to
be Qualcomm's drone platform, as that has high-resolution, wide angle camera
and enough processing oomph for image processing.

PX4Flow did work on some surfaces, but did not work too well on highly
repetitive textures (e.g. office carpets). The image sensor, although is very
good (global shutter, large, sensitive pixels) had limited resolution and even
more limited was processor doing image processing.

The fusion of flow data was also quite unstable for ArduCopter and PX4 (they
both shared the state estimation code at that point). Some of the problems
were implementation issues (e.g. a few bad measurements caused the rest of
(now valid) measurements to be ignored) but some were fundamental ones. The
algorithms in use relied on constant distance between camera and objects on
scene (required for calculating velocity in uniform units) which was
unrealistic assumption indoors (e.g. flying near walls, over tables, etc).

~~~
RealityVoid
My experience mirrors yours, but I only worked on this for @ 5 months give or
take and didn't really have a big tech team to back me up.

The Qualcomm platform, as far as my understanding goes, still uses the
PX4Flow. I don't know what packages they have for vision but it uses ROS so I
assumed it had some ROS package powering it.

Px4Flow on its own is insufficient, but I was under the impression that it is
able to calculate velocity even with variable distance camera-to-surface, they
do have the ultrasonic sensor there and apparently, adding a lidar greatly
improves performance.

~~~
fest
Qualcomm platform has different camera and is directly connected to SoC, so I
doubt they share anything with PX4Flow.

PX4Flow can calculate velocity when camera-to-surface distance varies, no
doubt about it. The problem is when single frame contains features at various
distances (e.g. lidar/sonar measures distance to ground, but half of the frame
also sees table which is a lot higher).

------
spraak
I think someone seeing this from the ground, not understanding what it is,
might think it's a UFO

~~~
alkonaut
If you can't identify what the flying object is, doesnt that make it a UFO by
definition? ;)

~~~
david-given
I see UFOs all the time; I should really learn more about ornithology.

------
givinguflac
This is so cool. I would love to see a version of this with the ability to
follow you and avoid obstacles on it's own. Basically a kickass outdoor robot
flashlight. Probably not possible with current tech, but bonus points if it
can perch on a tree or something when you're staying in one area to act as a
fixed spotlight.

~~~
Beltiras
With the advent of nanowire-in-gel batteries, flight time might increase
tenfold.

------
juiced
This is great for search and rescue.

~~~
robryk
I expect a drone with a low light and/or thermal camera to be immensely more
useful for SAR.

~~~
FoeNyx
That also reminds me of an interesting research paper last year about a
"Machine Learning Approach to Visual Perception of Forest Trails for Mobile
Robots".

( [http://robohub.org/drones-recognise-and-follow-forest-
trails...](http://robohub.org/drones-recognise-and-follow-forest-trails-in-
search-of-lost-people/) or directly
[http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7358076/](http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7358076/)
and probably available on sci-hub )

~~~
derefr
Imagine "smart" thermal-imaging goggles that don't just show you what they're
filming, but rather spray light out and capture _that_ image—along with the
angle it and position was shot at—then send it to a server, where it gets
photo-stitched together with what everyone _else 's_ goggles are filming to
create a globally illuminated 3D model—which is then what gets sent back and
shown in each person's goggles. Anytime a person—or drone—"saw" part of the
landscape, it have an effect for everyone else analogous to removing fog of
war in an RTS game.

------
WhitneyLand
Really nice project showing a combination of technology and artistry. I wonder
if it's the same guy doing the drone customization, and also producing and
directing the film.

------
anotheryou
A shot with fixed aperture turning the light on would have been nice.
Preferably with some street light for comparison.

------
Numberwang
I like the videos. Did he ever mention what drone he was using?

~~~
baddox
Yes, at the beginning.

[http://freeflysystems.com/alta-8](http://freeflysystems.com/alta-8)

~~~
Waterluvian
He must work for them because this video was half an ad.

------
yq
I have seen RC helicopter powered by 2-stroke gasoline engine. I wonder why
there isn't any Drone use that engine, it basically provide more fly time,
more lift power and short "charge" hours.

~~~
duskwuff
Balancing and maneuvering a multirotor requires fast, precise control of power
output. It's difficult to get that from a gasoline engine.

~~~
RealityVoid
Simple, add a variable pitch propeller. There are people that did it.

~~~
photogrammetry
If you think adding variable pitch propellers to a multirotor is "simple,"
you're sorely mistaken :-)

~~~
baddox
There's not much point in debating what "simple" means, but it has certainly
been done. There are collective pitch multirotors that are mass produced,
marketed and sold to recreational customers, and quite stable. Granted, most
of these still use electric motors. The point is for 3D flying, not the
potential longevity of a combustion engine.

The first commercially available one I know of (no longer produced):

[http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/legacy-product-support-
curti...](http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/legacy-product-support-curtis-
youngblood/attachment/stingray-500/)

A knock-off of the Stingray:

[http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__77122__Assault_Re...](http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__77122__Assault_Reaper_500_Collective_Pitch_3D_Quadcopter_Mode_2_Ready_to_Fly_EU_Warehouse_.html)

A big exception: this thing is massive and works with nitro and 2-stroke
engines:

[http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/legacy-product-support-
curti...](http://www.curtisyoungblood.com/legacy-product-support-curtis-
youngblood/attachment/stingray-500/)

------
buro9
One could use a bicycle lamp easily enough and I suspect it would be smaller
and lighter than the DIY setup shown.

[http://www.lumicycle.com/mountain-bike-lights/summit-
range/s...](http://www.lumicycle.com/mountain-bike-lights/summit-
range/summit-2016.html)

That lamp is 1,100 lumens on standard high power, lasts over 4 and a half
hours at that brightness. And if needed, there is a boost mode that gets you
1,650 lumens but only for a couple of hours.

This is for the smallest battery, a 2.6ah that weighs 220gms.

And if you're wondering, yes my bicycle has insane lights. 2 of those and then
a 605 lumen dynamolamp giving 3,905 lumens on a bicycle. Yes,I chose tight
beam and aim at the ground about 10m ahead, unless I leave the city when I put
one wide beam lamp on and raise it a little.

~~~
peter_132
1k lumen need about 10W electricity if produced by white LEDs. This drone has
about 50-100k lumen

~~~
FoeNyx
On a side note, it might not be a good idea to directly glare at powerful
LEDs.

French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety noted
[1] some points that might not be photo-biologicaly safe, the main points
being:

> spectral imbalance (significant proportion of blue light in white LEDs);

> high levels of radiance (high brightness density per surface unit emitted by
> these very small sources)

In the french version of their report, they refer to luminance [2] rather than
radiance.

The spectral imbalance photochemical risk seems linked with cumulative dose of
blue light, so there is also a risk with low but long exposure light LED
screens. It also perturbs circadian cycle (flux or redshift might help in that
case).

See also a previous HN discussion about a warning from the American Medical
Association about the spectral imbalance in LED streetlights [3].

\--

[1] [https://www.anses.fr/en/content/led-%E2%80%93-light-
emitting...](https://www.anses.fr/en/content/led-%E2%80%93-light-emitting-
diodes)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminance#Health_effects](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminance#Health_effects)

[3]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11992946](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11992946)

------
amelius
What is its size and weight? How long does it fly?

Edit: I watched the video without sound.

~~~
Someone
Both drone and lights last for about 10 minutes, according to the voice on the
video (about 35 seconds in)

------
joepater
wait, do you mean 1000 lumens?

------
gnipgnip
A Servo ? Some reason for why a relay wasn't used ?

~~~
Raed667
The only time I used a servo to flip a switch was because I was too lazy to
modify a completed set-up.

------
photogrammetry
Hate to say it, but the narrator's sticky, overly glossal voice is painful to
listen to.

------
ommunist
Brilliant work, just awesome amount of skill and attitude in action. Mind the
app for LED control interface.

