Mavic Air with Seek Thermal (Previously: Can I fix the gimbal into one position?)

[andrew.lindsay]

FYI: There is a great thread already going HERE on "Thermal Imaging on the Mavic Pro".

 

[mad monkey]

There's an ad on the bottom of some of these very pages with a prey mantis talking about IR camera. Attachment for. Mp

 

[andrew.lindsay]

There's an ad on the bottom of some of these very pages with a prey mantis talking about IR camera. Attachment for. Mp

It's interesting to me that there is no concern for balancing / weight distribution.

 

[andrew.lindsay]

One more step completed. I extended the legs. I didn't want to cause issues with the down-looking sensors, so I conducted a simple experiment to see if I could determine what I needed to know. I launched the MA and hovered about 4 feet off the ground. Then I slowly passed a large flat solid object a foot or so underneath the MA and watched for when the MA reacted. It only reacted when the object was within the boundaries of the legs. I concluded I could extend the legs straight down and be okay as far as the downward looking sensors were concerned. However, I did add a bit of outward angle, just to provide more stability when on the ground. Although it added a little more weight, I used hot melt glue to attach the extensions. This will allow me to make modifications if needed. I made both indoor and outdoor test flights. At my level of piloting ability I could not notice any performance issues. There were no issues with landing. The drone remained upright on uneven ground, even when I put it down with a little lateral motion. I'm happy with the outcome.

The phone should arrive this weekend. I ordered a pair of reading glasses with a 6.0 correction. They should arrive tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some time to work on the front assembly with the mirror and lens before the phone arrives.

It's coming together! I'm getting anxious.

 

[andrew.lindsay]

MAIDEN FLIGHT SUCCESS!

This evening I conducted the maiden flight for the concept of the Mavic Air carrying a Seek Thermal Compact Pro in a manner that allows for the drone pilot to view what is being recorded by the Seek Thermal as it occurs.

For those that are just skipping to this point in the thread, the stock landing gear extension was modified into a frame that holds a Galaxy S4 (the lightest Android phone that supports the Seek software), the Seek Thermal camera, a mirror (to reflect the S4 display to the drone's camera, and a reading glass lens (for focus). Hot melt glue holds the assembly together. This is the concept assembly and it is considerably heavier than needed. Once any issues are resolved with the assembly, the hot melt glue will be removed and the assembly held together by lighter adhesives. Note that the flight was brief. It was raining and I didn't want the drone to get soaked.

Although it was a brief flight, I consider the test a success. The Mavic Air flew sluggish, but okay. I expect that to improve when I lighten the assembly. I expect that I can easily cut an ounce, perhaps two. It was very easy to move the Mavic's camera down to catch the image from the S4 or up to view normally what is ahead of the drone. The compass calibrated normally. The S4 was run in airplane mode, but the Seek software was still able to use the phone GPS to integrate with its recording. I'm hoping for drier weather tomorrow, so I can try a more extensive test, but so far I'm quite encouraged with the results.

You can find the maiden flight video here.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Fantastic!

 

[Air Beetle]

very cool