Wednesday, February 1, 2023

My Old Friend the DJI M210

Figure 1: DJI M210 RTK V2 Aircraft Cameras and Transmitter

Overview 

As of this post, I have logged several hundred hours operating the M210 RTK V2 UAS alone (see Figure 1). Despite some of the drawbacks associated with this platform, I still heavily rely on it for the majority projects I am assigned. Therefore, the purpose of this post is to provide you following:

  1.  A Brief History of Da-Jing Innovations (DJI)
  2.  Questions and Considerations 
  3.  Personal experiences using the M210 RTK V2
  4.  Pros and Cons of the M210 RTK V2 UAS
  5.  Looking Ahead at Future UAS

A Brief History of Da-Jing Innovations (DJI)    

First, the DJI M210 UAS that I am referencing is the DJI M210 RTK V2. This is emphasized because there is a M200 and an M210 RTK model as well. Don’t quote me on this, but I think the technical name for the Matrice 210 RTK released before the M210 RTK V2 is called the M210 RTK V1. However every comparison Figure I see does not support my claim. Referencing Figure 2 are the Matrice 200 series models. It is my understanding that the M200 were released in 2018 and the M210 RTK versions were released in 2019. This makes the M200 series as a whole pretty old to the point that they are no longer being made available in some countries. Do not be suprised to see them discontinued all together soon. 

Figure 2: DJI Matrice 200 Series
Back in 2018, there there were few commercial enterprise UAS available. When the Matrice 200 series came out, it was almost unheard of to have aircraft with such precise gnss navigation systems. Although the advances safety features such its unique collision avoidance systems, ADSB-IN, and temperature regulated batteries were (at the time new) features that competition could not compete with, the multiple swapable payload options were a game changer in the UAS industry. Yes, other companies had alternatives that offered some of the same exact features, however competition’s prices were significantly higher. Combined with a huge variety of other DJI UAS, DJI has been able to dominate nearly 76% of the consumer UAS market to this present post. 

Like most technology we purchase overseas, it is extremely important to understand how the products are manufactured and how privacy and data security are consented. DJI has had a tumultuous reputation with the United States government since it’s entering the consumer UAS market. I am not exactly sure what caused the U.S. to be concerned about the early DJI aircraft, but I am sure that a DJI crash landing near the whitehouse was a significant factor that lead to lawmakers to question China’s involvement with DJI. After 2018, questions about data security  lead to investigations by the Department of Defense (DOD) to better understand how DJI’s aircraft interpret data we collect. 

To this day, the DOD has only analyzed two DJI UAS - the Mavic Pro 2 and the M600. Why those two aircraft? I have no idea. Maybe there was the most speculation of malicious activity for those two models at the time? Consider reading the “unauthorized report below” Why is it unauthorized? To answer that, consider readig the next two contradictory paragraphs taken from the verge which is linked below. 

After months of government bans on DJI drones, with lawmakers questioning whether the company was sending information to the Chinese government, the Pentagon has admitted that the drones being used might actually be safe (via The Hill), with a report saying that two “Government Edition” DJI drones are “recommended for use by government entities.”

However, on July 23rd, the Department of Defense (DOD) released a statement on the report, saying that its release was “unauthorized,” and reiterating its position that DJI’s drones “pose potential threats to national security.” (via Reuters) It says that its policy around the drones is unchanged, and that there is an investigation into how the “inaccurate and uncoordinated” report was released.

Questions and Considerations

To summarize the controversy behind DJI, the U.S government believes that DJI is using their UAS products to send information back to China. Is this a big deal to you? To me, as a DJI user, I am very disturbed knowing this, but I believe that the M210 RTK V2’s local area data encryption is a way limit potential data sharing. However, I am not stupid, and I understand that it is more than possible that data can be accessed by China other ways. 

Then I ask myself, are the projects that I work on involve U.S. government’s critical infrastructure? The answer to that is no. Then I also wonder, if the U.S. is concerned about DJI, then why hasn’t the Pentagon been able to inspect any other DJI aircraft? Furthermore, I was unable to find an explanation of how exactly DJI transmits data to China, so how does that work? Lastly, what else does China have access to but we seem to forget or ignore? Hint: it’s likely in your pocket and you text on it daily! 

Personal Experiences Operating the M210 RTK V2

While acknowledging the moral dilemma with cybersecurity and government interest, I continuously communicate with colleagues, management, and clients to ensure they understand the pros and cons of the M210’s capabilities. As a user of the aircraft, understand that (as mentioned earlier) that I am very concerned about data security. In my experience so far, I cannot recall any moments that lead me to think that the information that I collect has been shared, but I could also not know in the first place. In terms of user experiences with this UAS, I have applied it to the following services.

  • Erosion Control
  • Environmental Documentation
  • Tower Inspections
  • Thermal Scans
  • Roof Inspections
  • Fracture Critical Bridge Inspections
  • Routine Bridge Inspections 
  • Timber Bridge Inspections
  • 3D Point Cloud Generation
  • Georeferenced Orthomosaic Mapping 
  • Assisted Survey Applications
  • Search and Rescue
  • Generic Full Motion Videos
  • Volumetric Calculations
  • Draining Studies 
  • Marketing Content
  • Utility Location  

My experiences performing the listed applications very due to the unique parameters of each project, but overall, I have had a 95% success rate. Could this rate have been better using a different aircraft absolutely, but good mission planning and understanding of the could have also helped improve the odds. One area that I struggle with is linear coordor mapping with this aircraft. In past projects I have been very successful, but in one project, I failed because I believe the camera was not effective captureing the particular control point targets. The aircraft’s flight times limits the scope of our project and ultimately our internal cost because the less time we are in the air, the more time we have to spend charging batteries and ultimately the customer. However, lack of flight time is pretty common for rotor craft such as the M210 RTK V2.

Unfortunately at the time, the M210n  RTK was in such a niche, there was no affordable aircraft like it (at the time) period. In my opinion, the M210 RTK V2 is excellent for inspecting structures such as bridges due to the fact that it is a rotorcraft and it’s payload configuration. When flying it underneath bridges, it doesn’t feel great, and will still loose signal even with the RTK connected, but the drift is manageable when anticipated! This shouldn’t need to be stated, but the ADSB In aka Airsense is not perfect, especially in areas with hospitals nearby. In fact, most medicvac operations operate in a private frequency (but that is a topic for a different discussion).  

Pros and Cons of the M210 RTK V2 UAS

The following pros and cons apply to my experiences using the M210 RTK UAS as a whole. To clarify I have experience using the aircraft, its transmitter and tablet configuration, the Zenmuse X7, XT2 and Z30 payload. Unfortunately I will not go into too much detail regarding the payload due to the fact that each sensor’s performance is greatly dependent on the mission parameters.

Pros

  • The aircraft’s failsafes and automatic return to home funchtions help me get me the most battery life while ensuring safety
  • The X7 is sharp despite being considered an older camera. It’s quality is cinematic and is extremely useful for mapping
  • The XT2 35 mm camera provides fairly impressive thermal imagery and daya. The visual comparison camera is extremely useful for side by side analysis. 
  • The Z30 has been extremely effective in keeping the aircraft and the target at a safe distance while capturing the amount detail we require 
  • The aircraft’s FOV camera is extremely beneficial in adding an additional layer of situational awareness
  • The autopilot is easy to use and works 99% of the time (occasionally there will be issues with electromagnetic interference 
  • The RTK has pretty reliable failsafe’s and will ever tell you it it has shifted which is great because its better to catch the shift and correct it rather than get back to the office and find out the hard way 
  • ADSB In will populate an aircraft icon on the map if it is within a close proximity of the UAS operations. This adds another level of safety for our mission
  • The crystal sky monitor is likely one of the better more clear tablets available. It’s quality isn’t perfect, but its better than a phone/tablet. 
  • The aircraft has flown well in winds above 10mph and in light rain/snow

Cons

  • I wish the M210 had a longer battery life. I think everyone wishes that, but charging time is expensive.
  • The battery quality is not great and in my opinion is over priced. There is some documentation about battery care, but it is honestly confusing and fairly unrealistic for some
  • The standard charger is flimsy and not ideal for field operations. The battery charging case is much better quality but more expensive 
  • The M210 RTK V2 is no longer being produced by DJI, so those that need that model need to go through third parties. 
  • The standard carrying case for the M210 RTK is ok but the top section hangs open which overtime will deteriorate
  • The tripod for the RTK transceiver is awful, but luckily the Antenna head is compatible with better tripods
  • Its not easy transferring data from the tablet to the computer
  • It is not easy connecting and understanding the RTK files to the computer 
Looking Ahead at Future UAS

In the present, there are more non M210 RTK options, but are they worth it? One obvious UAS that offers better seensor options, has a longer flight time and is fairly priced is the DJI Matrice 300 RTK! Will DJI Release a 310 version of the Matrice series or continue to release more medium sized foldable aircraft such as the M30 and M30T? What about other non DJI aircraft? Autel seems to be expanding their fleet of UAS, and as of this post, we have recently purchased An Atuel Evo 2 Pro V2 for our marketing projects. (See Figure 3) Do Autel UAS have the same security concerns as DJI? No, however their headquarters are in Shenzhen China, but the aircraft are manufactured in Washington State. 
Figure 3: Autel Evo 2 Pro V2 UAS
What about larger enterprise UAS such as Harris Aerial or Freefly robotics? (see Figure 4 and Figure 5) Personally, these seem to be condiserably good options for those seeking industrial enterprise UAS however, U.S. made UAS are in short supply as well. Although I believe someone will create a UAS that will be affordable and fufill all our needs, we have a long way to go. In the meantime, I look forward to more UAS in the general industry because they can help us when used properly! 
Figure 4: Harris Aerial Gas Powered UAS
Figure 5 Freefly Alta UAS

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Appreciation Post: I-69 UAS Video

Overview
I find great interest in watching unmanned aerial systems (UAS) videos as they offer an opportunity to observe flying maneuvers, media effects, and transitions. The video linked above features a majority of imagery captured with UAS and skillfully integrated with animations and still shots. Although I was not involved in its creation, I believe it to be an excellent example of how UAS can be used to enhance the awareness of large infrastructure projects.

With that said, I have a few critiques that I would like to share.

Figure 1: Critique items

Assumptions
Based on the video, it appears that the UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) utilized an orbit maneuver, as well as general tripod maneuvers, to capture footage of the project. There were a few instances where the aircraft appeared to change direction, and a couple of camera pans were used. In order to create the before and after transitions, it is likely that a saved waypoint mission was utilized. This would require the pilot to have a good understanding of the project, as predicting how the target will look before it is built can be challenging. The advantage of using a saved waypoint mission is that the aircraft can be flown at the same altitude, speed, and direction, making editing the transitions significantly easier.

Conclusion 
Overall, the UAS content in the video effectively highlights the assets and progress of the project. As someone who has worked on marketing projects on a smaller scale, I can appreciate the amount of effort required to edit the footage into a cohesive less-than-five-minute video. Video editing is an equally important skill, and the use of icons, map animations, and effects in Adobe Premiere Pro are details that bring the series of small videos together, completing the still videos and drone content.

Thursday, January 5, 2023

INDOT and Purdue UAS Report

Aknowledgements

It may sound cliché, but my appreciation for research publications didn't truly blossom until I was part of a team that created one. The credit goes to the two authors, Sarah and Brian Hubbard, who are not only extremely knowledgeable in their field but also approachable and inspiring individuals. Their expertise in the industry proved invaluable, and they managed to make the research process an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Working with them was undoubtedly one of the highlights of my early aviation career, thanks to their positive and honest attitude, coupled with their direct and realistic feedback.

Overview 

When I started research, I was a teenager in college at Purdue University, Part 107 was not law, and it was uncertain whether Purdue would offer UAS as a major! Despite this, I was absolutely obsessed with learning about aviation law, UAS technology, and photogrammetry. After taking a few aviation related classes, I met Sarah Hubbard and earned the privilege of doing research for her and Brian Hubbard while balancing a college job to pay the bills, a time-consuming leadership role as a resident assistant, and a video production job creating UAS training content for a private startup. (more about that in a different post.)

What was my role in this Report?

My role in the report was to learn about how UAS was being applied to Department of Transportations (DOTS) because back then, government entities were using Certificate of Authorizations (COAs) to experiment and operate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) legally. For four years, I tracked the applications of UAS in state DOTs and developed criteria to prioritize use cases most beneficial to INDOT’s needs. Throughout the information collection stages of the report, I experienced the before and after affects of Part 107, was introduced to some of DJI’s earliest aircraft (which probably do not fly today) and provided consultation and recommendations to INDOT before they had a UAS program. (this wasn’t that long ago but I feel old!)

Is the Content in the Report Old?

As much as I do not want to admit, one can argue that I lived through some historical moments that still affect us today. Looking back at this report in 2023, although the referenced aircraft are old, many of the specific applications have been implemented and are part of INDOT's UAS program. If you are interested in learning about what UAS applications we recommended for INDOT, open the report below. 

Link to INDOT and Purdue UAS Report

Monday, January 2, 2023

How Enterprise UAS Offer Value to Civil Engineering Projects

Overview                                                                           Contents in the following poster highlight a few practical applications offered using commercial enterprise Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for civil engineering specific projects. The poster is picture heavy because it is intended to be blown up and used as a background for in person demonstrations because the pictures serve as excellent visual cues and talking points. Unlike most research posters, this was created entirely from data collected by USI Consultants and put together by myself.  By clicking on the pdf, you can zoom in to read more about why we use UAS for certain applications, and how UAS adds value to projects and ultimately the people in need of solutions.

 Click the Pop-out Icon on the top Right Corner to Enlarge this PDF

Friday, December 23, 2022

Happy Holidays From USI

                                                See Alan Cry and Then Have to Get Back to Work 

Oh boy, looks like the marketing team decided to spice things up for the holidays! Instead of the usual holiday stuff, they came up with a brilliant idea: have our brave colleagues taste some fiery hot sauce and film their hilarious reactions!I was one of the unfortunate souls who took on this hot challenge. Let me tell you, I felt like i was conbusting in the inside! I mean, I can barely handle a flaming hot Cheeto, let alone a sauce with the following stats:

 Figure 1: Sauce Stats

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Can UAS Themal Data Add Value to Bridge Inspections?

Overview

Many know that thermal equipped UAS are useful for infrastructure inspections, but few know how they add value compared to traditional inspection methods. In the case of concrete deck inspections, thermal equipped UAS can be an extremely valuable tool because the collected data can expose deficiencies often invisible to the naked eye. I am not going to spell out how exactly this translates into cost savings, but the value can be in the tens of millions depending on the structure scanned.

Secret Hints About UAS Thermal Ops 

From a deliverable standpoint, the product is a preventative maintenance plan. To get to that point, be prepared for a big investment in a specific thermal camera, take more than one thermography training and have design and structural engineers in your office. If you get that far, make sure your thermal imagery has visual reference imagery, invest heavily in computer software, and make sure you have the aircraft and camera settings dialed in.

Oh yeah, make sure you can legally the area of interest in the first place!  At this point, I have provided more than enough hints about how thermal offers value to concrete bridge deck inspections including the document below that I created with USI Consultants. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly.  


 Click the Pop-out Icon on the top Right Corner to Enlarge this PDF

Sunday, September 4, 2022

What The XT2 Can Do For You

Overview

Taken from DJI’s Website, the Zenmuse XT2 is a side by side visual and thermal sensor that allows us to pick up thermal energy emitted from a surface. Depicted in Figure 1, this camera is compatible with the DJI Matrice 200 and 300 series and offers a plethora of capabilities including live heat tracking, temperature alarm, isotherm measurements, etc..., 

Figure 1: Diagram of XT2 Sensor by DJI 

How XT2 Video Offers Value to Inspections

 In the case of bridge deck inspections, side by side visual and thermal video can be extremely useful in gathering preliminary data about the condition of a bridge deck. If you click on Figure 2, you will be directed to a YouTube Video I captured which shows the video recorded from the XT2 looking straight down at the bridge deck. Credit to USI Consultants for allowing me to share this video. 

Figure 2: Link to Example Video 

Why is Properly Formatted XT2 Video Important? 

For the sake of not giving away all our secrets, I will answer this question vaguely. Overall, videos created in this format allow us to see EXPLOIT INVISIBLE DEFFICINCIES quickly. Is this the most perfect accurate way to assess a bridge deck condition, no because there is so much more that can be analyzed from Radiometric JPEGs that can be captured by the XT2. However, for a 10-minute flight, video from the XT2 significantly reduces fieldwork. 

Are There Cons to Recordings Taken from the XT2?

Yes, since the XT2 is two cameras in 1 sensor, the frame rate and the frame sizes need to be scaled and trimmed with fairly expensive video editing software. This limitation can be addressed with a solid QC/QA program and thermography training.  Thermography training is also vital to the mission planning and further data analysis which can be done with additional UAS software that I will not go into detail in this post. 

Conclusion

Knowing how to use the XT2 and the thermography software needed to edit and, understand and in some cases interpret deficiencies is vital to successful bridge deck inspections. If you have any questions about our workflow we would be happy to share with you more information. Please reach out to USI Consultants by clicking on Figure 3 below. 

Figure 3: Link to USI Consultants Website

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

UAS and Stormwater Applications

Overview

Local, state, and federal agencies have utilized UAS for items such as stormwater management, environmental compliance, and safety inspections. From a general documentation perspective, UAS is a tool that can provide reliable and repeatable observations which (when processed correctly) can easily show changes of subjects over time. Rather than list the multitude of applications UAS offers to stormwater asset management, the following YouTube video does a good pretty job highlighting practical value derived from UAS services. Note: the first 20 minutes are useful, the last 20 minutes are not related to stormwater.  

See Practical UAS Stormwater Applications Here

Bonus Content 

Below is a flyer I created demonstrating how using photogrammetric mapping can allow end users to monitor stormwater assets that are new, missing, or yet to be geotagged. In the case of deveopling communities, areas with heavy construction, or areas impacted by natural disasters, you would be suprised to learn how many stormwater assets become "rediscovered" from UAS imagery alone. Using engineering and GIS software, a high resolution georeferenced digitized map delivered from UAS  becomes vital to future planning and deveoplement because it greatly reduces site visits, misjudgement and ambiguity. 
 Click the Pop-out Icon on the top Right Corner to Enlarge this PDF

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Calculate Assets Rapidly With sUAS Technology

Overview

By creating a workflow involving strategic mission planning, fairly sophisticated UAS remote sensors, photogrammetric software, and data analysists, we have the ability to provide estimates for the total volume of an asset (or multiple assets) significantly quicker than traditional methods. To be blunt about this subject, many UAS people with photogrammetry software can estimate a volume with various degrees of confidence, but at USI we have a QC/QA program that can provide more confidence in our findings to ensure the information we provide is specific to the unique parameters of the mission and each invividual client expectations. Linked below is a PDF that showcases some of the projects I have flown and the services we offer at USI Consultants.


 Click the Pop-out Icon on the top Right Corner to Enlarge this PDF

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Creating Animations to Visualize Changes in Assets

Overview                                                                                                                                        Approximately my 2nd Commercial UAS flight working at USI Consultants, I was tasked with flying a photogrammetry mission to compare changes in earthwork for a project located in Hamilton County Indiana.  Since employees were nice to me being the “new guy”, I used a previous successful mission as a template and tweaked some of the settings to fine tune the specific parameters of the mission I was tasked with flying. 

Unique Mission Variables                                                                                                  During this time, Covid-19 was at its peak, and it was significantly more contagious because there were no vaccinations to prevent the spread. Nevertheless, we wanted to show the client the changes from our touchless assessments as well as deliver them a quantity for the earthwork they moved. 

Opportunity to Showcase Video Animations                              Video animations have their place for marketing purposes but are typically not worth the time making for engineering projects. However, in this case, we had four elements that made this project unique. 

  1.  A previous flight with that captured the same subject
  2. The ability to use animation trajectories from photogrammetry software
  3. The need to visualize a change 
  4. The need to provide a quantity 

As a result, I created a side by side video animation that could be shared with everyone needed to see the site changes which ultimately saved time, lowered cost, and in this case eliminated the need for unnecessary exposure to Covid….One might argue that Covid exposure is low when being outside since this was an outdoor project, but imagine if a crew had to stop to get gas on the way to the site or needed to take 5 additional vehicles….could the exposure risk be exposed? Would the travel cost be reasonable still? Below is the link to the animation with the mentioned elements. 

Video: Stockpile Animation Generated from UAS Data

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Trip To Tanzania

Overview 
A few months ago, I was selected to by a sustainable volunteer program to travel to Tanzania Africa this December. In preparation for the trip, I have been learning about the culture, the laws, and the travel requirements that I will have to adhere to during my adventure. Since I am a UAS student, I am particularly interested in how Tanzania is using UAVs to serve it’s people. Therefore, this post is about Tanzania’s UAS applications.

Table of Contents
Part 1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fighting Malaria with UAS
Part 2--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Delivering Blood with UAS
Part 3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Intercepting Poachers with UAS
Part 4----------------------------------------------------------Utilizing Local Resources to Construct a UAV Airframe
Part 5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tanzania Aviation Law
Part 6-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conclusion

Fighting Malaria with UAS
Depicted in Figure 2 is a DJI Agras MG1-S spray UAV in Cheju, Tanzania. Taken from an article in Forbes Magazine, this specialized platform is designed to fight malaria which is responsible for killing 80,000 people per year. according to malariaspot.org. As being considered one of the first UAS based biological control applications in the world, could a UAS with operating limitations make a faster more cost-effective spray then manual spraying efforts?  For more information, click on the figure to be directed to the article.

Delivering Blood With UAS
Sounding more like a vampire program than a UAS program, a UAS collaboration consisting of Wingcopter, DHL, and the Deutache Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbit (GIZ) have utilized a vertical take off and landing platforms (VTOL) to deliver blood and medical supplies to difficult to reach areas in Tanzania. Similar to efforts taken by Zipline, this method of UAS operation can help doctors save lives because instead of taking 4 hours to transport medical supplies, a Wingcopter can make the delivery in 20 minutes. To learn more, click on Figure 3 and you will be directed to their promotional video. Within it, notice how the doctors appear to be holding a transmitter upon landing of the aircraft. Why do you think they are doing that?
Figure 2: Link to DHL Wingcopter Video

Intercepting Poachers With UAS.
Taken from Drone blog.com, Tanzania has an anti-poaching initiative that involves flying UAVs over national parks, reserves and other protected areas to help security track and intercept poachers. Depicted in Figure 5 is Super Bat Da 50 UAS in front of the UAS crew and security personal. A product by Bathawk Recon this system can not only stay in the air for 8 hours, but it has several  sensors that claim to be able to easily track poachers before they arrive to the animal heards. Could this be an effective tool to combat poaching? Or is this another example of overrated technology taking advantage of Africa?
Figure 3: Superbat Da 50UAS 
Utilizing Local Resources for UAV Airframes
Taken from spectrum.com, Figure's 4 and 5 depicts Bornlove Ntikha using bamboo for the frame of his DIY UAV. Ntikha wants to show that UAVs can be built out of locally available materials which can help others learn how to construct UAVs themselves. Although this technology still requires a motherboard, a transmitter, batteries, and motor components, it is remarkable to see this take flight. If a sensor can be integrated to this platform and the UAV can be programmed to fly autonomously, nobody will care about the type of airframe as long as the UAS can perform missions safely and produce deliverables. Could this method of constructing UAVs be applied to more local Tanzanian UAS projects?
Figure 4: Bornlove Ntikha Working on a DIY UAV Using Local Resources
Tanzania Aviation Law
I am not an expert on Tanzania’s aviation law, nor am I an expert on how to interpret it, however if you are curious to see what UAS policy’s I have created a bullet list of Tanzania’s UAS laws that I could find online. In other words when regarding flying in Tanzania, you should consider the following:
  • UAVs weighing Unser 15.5 lbs do not require a permit to fly
  • UAVs weighing over 15.5 lbs require a special permit from the Ministry of Defense
  • UAVs require insurance no matter recreational or commercial operation
Furthermore, according to drone traveler.com, Tanzania categorizes UAVs by weight and by purpose:
  • Class 1: 0-11lbs
  • Class 2: 11 – 55lbs
  • Class 3: 55 lbs and more
Interestingly enough, it appears that there are also categories of operation as listed:
  • Category 1: leisure and sport
  • Category 2: private use except leisure and sport
  • Category 3: commercial use
Within operation category 2 and 3, it is my understanding that UAS operators must have a pilot’s license and be 21 years or older.  If you are someone that wants to bring your UAV into Tanzania to fly, the TCAA appears to accept Part 107 licenses as an acceptable means of documentation, but you will have to do a fairly significant amount of preplanning and communication with the TCAA before you lift off. Furthermore, it appears that you will need to pay of $200 as well. Nevertheless, it is very interesting to learn about UAS law in a different country. This makes me wonder what kind of rules UAS operaters coming to our country must abide by. Lastly, Tanzanian UAS resources can be found here:

Conclusion
Although it each UAS application in Tanzania is powerful, interesting, and can hopefully benefit the greater good, I favor Nikha’s story the most because he is an example of Tanzania’s self sufficiency as it will hopefully be able to one day create UAS technology rather than contract out to other countries. Nevertheless, each article as well as the Tanzanian government’s efforts to regulate the UAS operations within the country demonstrate that UAS has the potential to grow in Tanzania.Gif of Bornlove Ntikha and his DIY drone.
Figure 5: Bornlove Ntikha Assembling his DIY UAV