Working with Our First Autel UAS

Figure 1: Autel Evo 2 Pro V2

Overview

After retiring the DJI Phantom 4 Pro, from our fleet here at USI Consultants, we decided to purchase a non  DJI platform to learn about the pros and cons of a UAS that has similar but different functions, capabilities and quirks. Since we were unsure whether an Autel product would be a comparable replacement, we did not want to spend any more money than what we paid for the Phantom 4. As a result, we purchased the Autel Evo 2 Pro V2 depicted in Figure 1.

What is Autel Robotics? 

Autel Robotics is a UAS company founded in 2014 that is one of the more prominent rivals to DJI (Da-Jing Innovations). This company produces a vast number rotorcraft consumer and enterprise UAS. Although several of their UAS products are assembled in America, their software Chinese based and their headquarters are in Shenzhen China. See Figure 2 for a brekdown of similarities and differences between Autal and DJI. 

Figure 2: Similaraties and Differences Between Autel and DJI

References from Venn Diagram: 

    Figure 3: Autel Dragonfish Video

Figure 4: Autel World Headquarters

Figure 5: DJI world Headquarters 

Figure 6: Autel foldable UAS Compared to DJI foldable UAS (Image yaken from TecRadar)

Figure 7: Autel Ceo Hongjing Li

Figure 8: DJI Ceo Frank Wang

User Experience with the Evo 2 Pro V2 UAS 

I paid approximately $1,800 for everything shown in Figure 9, and I found that the accessories are generally reliable considering the price point. However, my biggest disappointment so far is with the remote controller. In my opinion, the latency between the controller screen and the aircraft is terrible. I'm currently researching this issue because I hope it's not a common problem. I'd like to believe that Autel doesn't intentionally sell remote controllers with such poor latency to their customers.

Figure 9: Autel EVO 2 Pro V2 UAS Bundle

The Autel Evo 2 Pro drone offers a fair battery life, phone connectivity, and camera quality, along with a remote controller. It also boasts smart features, mapping capabilities, and flight log tracking, similar to a DJI aircraft. However, its radar map is great but limited in scale compared to DJI.

Despite this, the drone's foldability and mapping capabilities make it a great choice for creating Orthomosaic deliverables for engineering designs. Regarding smart features, some work well while others are overhyped and impractical. Nonetheless, the Autel Evo 2 Pro's aircraft, camera, failsafes, and smart features provide excellent value for its price.

Preliminary Conclusions

Overall, the Autel Pro V2 kit offers a reasonable price point and its aircraft and camera configuration deliver reliable performance. Personally, I have found the Autel Evo 2 Pro to be a solid choice, despite my initial mistake in purchasing the remote controller. Nonetheless, I remain open-minded and intend to thoroughly investigate whether a software update or tutorial exists to address the latency issue.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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