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Startups&Tech
Tue9June20151:29pm

HimalKotelawala
StaffWriter
Drones,droneseverywhere.
Okay,notreally,butalmosteveryhighprofileeventinColombothesedays,fromconcertstobeachpartiestopoliticalrallies,seemstobeliterallybuzzingwiththe
unmistakablesoundofradiocontrolledflyingmachineshoveringominouslyabovethecrowds.ThesemachinesoftencomewithaGoPro(orsimilar)camera
mountedatthefront,forabirdseyeviewoftheproceedingsthattheeventorganisersproudlyandprominentlydisplayontheirFacebookpage,posthaste.Butjust
howsafearethesecontraptions,andhowexactlydoesonegoaboutflyingonewithoutgettingarrested?
Tofindout,wemetwithdroneenthusiastWimukthiBandarawholikestogethishandsdirtybuildingandtinkeringwiththesemagnificentbeasts,both
professionallyandasahobby.Heownsafirstpersonview(FPV)racingquadcopterthathebuilthimselfandiscurrentlyintheprocessofbuildinganotherfor
aerobaticsandtraining.Allinadaysworkforthisselfconfessedelectronicsjunkie!
Forme,itspurelyahobby,andmorethantheflying,Ilovetheprocessofbuildingthesemachines.Itsalltheelectronicsandprogrammingthatgoesintoitthat
excitesmethemost,hesays.

Isitaplane?Isitabird?Isitaradiocontrolledmulticopter?

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Hexacopter,preassembly
WhitherSLCh
Theworddrone,popularisedbymainstreammediainrelationtoautonomouspredatordronesusedinwarfare,hasmadeitswaytoeverydaylexiconto[sometimes
Relations?
inaccurately]describeanytypeofunmannedaerialvehicle(UAV).Wimukthispecialisesinmultirotoraircraft,ormulticoptersastheyreknownamonghobbyists,
averyspecifictypeofUAV.

IslandOfSpice

Theysharethesamebasicprincipalofhelicopters.Ipersonallyrefertothembythenumberofrotorsused.Forexample,ifthreerotorsareused,itsatricopter
OfSriLankas
quadcoptersusefourrotorsandhexacoptersusesix,andsoon,heexplains.
RadiocontrolledUAVshavebeenaroundfordecades,sowhatisupwithoursuddenobsessionwithdrones?
Itsallintheflightcontroller,saysWimukthi.

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HambantotaN
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Inthepast,therewasntenoughcomputationalpowertoputaflightcontrollerinsuchasmallspace.Thecomputersjustwerentfastenough.Amulticopteris
inherentlyaerodynamicallyunstable,unlikeanRCplanethatcanglide.Thiswouldjustfalloff.Thecomputerkeepsitstable.About2000timesaseconditllcheck
itssensors,changethespeedofthemotors,etc.tokeepitstable,heelaborates.

Batteriesandmotors
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Wimukthiwaskindenoughtoletthiswritertakeoneofhisveryexpensivetoysforaquickspinathisworkplace,andrestassured,itwasanimmenselyexhilarating
Features
experience,asshortlivedasitwas.TheFPVquadcopterwassurprisinglyloudforsomethingthatranonelectricityandthethrustgeneratedbythefourrotorsand
Economy
theresultantwindwasliterallyandfigurativelyhairraising.
Environment&Wildlife
FPVquadcopters,explainsWimukthi,aregenerallyusedtoseethingsfromthemachinesperspectiveandcangiveyousomethingveryclosetothesensationof
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actuallyflyingthroughtheair.
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Toachievethis,FPVcoptersuseacombinationofanonboardvideocamera,avideotransmitterandvideogogglesthatyouwearwhileflying.Oneadvantageof
FPVflyingisthatyoudonthavetoworryaboutorientationoftheaircraft,forexamplewhenyoureflyinglineofsight(LOS),youalwayshavetoreorientwhen
youturntheaircraft,ifyouturnitinawaythatitsfrontisfacingyouthenallthecontrolsarereversed.SinceFPVallowsyoutoseewhattheaircraftsees,you
alwayshaveperfectorientation,hesays.
Aerobaticsisadifferentanduniquewayofflyingmultirotorcopters,whereyoudohighspeedmaneuversandflipsinrapidsuccession.Needlesstosay,this
requiresatremendousamountofpractice,andtheaircraftitselfhastobespeciallybuilttobeveryfast,lightandresponsive.
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Watchoutforfallingdrones
Flyingmulticoptersisnotsomethingthatshouldbetakenlightly,warnsWimukthi,astheycanbequitedangerousinuntrainedhands.Atitsmaximumspeedof120
km/h,evenrelativelylightcopterslikehis400gramFPVquadcouldcauseseriousinjuryifitweretofallonorcollidewithanunsuspectingpasserby.Thereisalso
arealandeverpresentdangerofthebatterydyingmidflightbutthankfully,Wimukthisradiocontrolcomeswithabuiltinwarningmechanismthatgiveshim
enoughtimetolandhisdronesafelyshouldthiseveroccur.

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Atfullthrottle,ifyourhandaccidentallymakescontactwiththerotors,theresachanceyourfingerswillgetchoppedoff.Itusuallydependsonthepropellersyou
use,butyoucanstillgetcut.SomeoneelsewasflyingmyquadonceandtheylostcontrolofitandIhadtocatchitwithmyhand,saysWimukthi.

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Wimkuthiadvisesalldronepilotstoavoidusingtheautopilotfeatureandtolearntoflymanually.Theautopilotusesanarrayofsensorstodoitsjob,makingit
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HeevenhasthescarstoproveittherearecutsalloverWimukthisfingersfrommorethanoneaccidentinvolvinghisracingquad.
pronetoaccidents,whereasthepuremanualmodeonlyusesonesensorwhichreducesitspointsoffailuresignificantly.

HambantotaN
Thissensor,knownasagyroscope,informstheflightcontrolleroftheangleofthecraftand,saysWimukthi,apilotskilledinmanualpilotinghasamuchbetter
chanceofrecoveringafailingcraftthananovicewhosonlyusedtoassistedpiloting.
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Arethesethingsevenlegal?
FlyingandowningmulticoptersisperfectlylegalinSriLanka,accordingtoWimukthi,aslongasyourequipmentmeetsgovernmentregulationsandyoudontfly
theminrestrictedareas.
YouonlyneedapprovalfromtheAirForce/DefenceMinistryonlyifyoureflyingitpublicplacesinurbanareasorrestrictedareas.Itstotallyfineto
flytheminyourbackyardifyoulike,hesays.
ThecompanythatWimukthiworksforhadtoobtainAirForcepermissiontousetheirgigantichexacopterattherecentlyheldBradbygameinColombo.
TheTelecommunicationsRegulatoryCommission(TRC)hasissuedregulationswithregardtotransmissions,anditismandatorythatyourequipmentmeetsthem.
Thereisapowerlimitforamplifiers.Anythingbelow200milliwattsislegal.Allofthesecoptershavelessthan200mWtransmitters.Thequadusesa2.8GHz
frequency,forthecontrol.Thevideolinksusuallyuse5.8GHz.ThosearethebandsthattheTRCregulates,saysWimukthi.
Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthisequipmentdoesntcomecheap,andflyingandmaintainingdronesissomethingofalongterminvestment.
Itsanexpensivehobby,especiallytheinitialinvestment.Youneedtoknowwhatyouredoingoryouwillgetscammedbysnakeoilvendorsjustlikewithany
otherhobby.Andyouhavetoinvestinthemcontinuouslysinceitsinevitablethattheycrashatsomepointsometimesmultipletimesadaywhenitcomesto
racingmultirotors.Youneedtospendmoneyonrepairsandpropellers(lotsandlotsofdamagedpropellers),saysWimukthi.
IfyoujustwishtogetatasteofmulticoptersyoucanbuyacheapquadcopterliketheverypopularHubsanX4foraround$50andthendecideifyouwanttoget
intobuildingthemyourself.However,buyingareadymadecoptercanbetwotothreetimesmoreexpensivethanbuildingoneyourself,saysWimukthi,although,
sometimes,itcouldbetheotherwayaround,asmostenthusiaststendtoupgrade.
ThehexacopterthatWimukthibuiltforhisemployerisanimposingpieceofhardwarethathasseensuchseriousupgradesandcanbespottedatvariouseventsthat
thecompanyprovidesmediacoverageto.
Itspurelymadeasavideoplatform,tobestableandwiththeabilitytocarryalargepayload.Itfeaturescamerastabilizationtoreducecamerashakeastogiveyou
thesmoothestpossiblevideooutput.Weuseittocreatehighlightvideosforspecialevents,butthepossibilitiesareendless,saysWimukthi.
Withtheadventofpeace,notwithstandingtherecentmediafrenzyoverafallenPhantom,anynegativeconnotationspreviouslyassociatedwithradiocontrolled
aircraftsareslowlybutsurelydisappearingfromthepublicconscience,anditlooksasthoughdronesareheretostay.Thedaythatmulticopterswithcompact
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camerasbecomejustasubiquitous(andirritating)asselfiesticksmaynotbefaroff.
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Maximumthrusttakeofftest.Totalweightoftheairframeis2.5Kg,maximumthrust8Kg,reachedanaltitudeofaround300mwhenIbroughtitback
Environment&Wildlife
down.Noteofcaution:Highaltitudeflyingwithmultirotoraircraftisextremelyrisky.Riskfactorsincludehighwindthatcancarryawaythecopter
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(Whichyoucanseeonthisvideoitself,whereIhadtodoanextremecorrectionoverthewaterarea),lossofvisibility,andlossofradiocontact,allof
whichcanleadtoyourpreciouscopterbeingdestroyedfromafreefall.
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PostedbyWimukthiBandaraonFriday,March27,2015

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