Cameras
“Once a recording is completed, the camera
transfers the data without user interaction”
interest of the test flight. Once power is
detected, the camera is ready to record.
Trigger signals vary from store separation
signals in the UAV itself, to ground control
activation via a telemetry system.
A video stream in HDMI, HD-SDI or
standard video provides live view out of
the camera to ground station via the
telemetry system as well. Once a recording
is completed, the camera transfers the data
without user interaction onto the internal
non-volatile flash card and is ready for
the next shot.
CAMERA CONTROL
Using high speed cameras on drones comes
with different challenges. The camera
draws only 30 watts of power from the
drone, but will ideally have a built-in
battery backup. Operation time of the
camera can also be extended with a
“remote on” function. This allows the pilot
to fly the drone first to its position and
then to switch on then camera. After
booting up, the camera transmits live
images of what it records via the HDMI out
and the drone’s built in video interface.
Once the camera provides a live view,
the drone operator fine tunes the position
to get the most out of the recording. When
ready to start the test, the camera is armed
by another simple control from the drone’s
cockpit arming the camera. The operator
now awaits the “action on the scene” and
triggers the camera through the third
control button. Immediately after the tests,
the image data is dumped onto the built in
non-volatile memory. Upon the return of
the drone the operators then have
immediate access to the sequence for a
first analysis.
CAPABILITIES AND CHALLENGES
An interesting application is when a drone
records flight behavior of a rotary wing
aircraft from the outside. So far, this
required the use of two rotary wing
aircrafts side by side, the test aircraft, and
one for video instrumentation. With the
test spot observed by a drone equipped
with cameras side-by-side, engineers can
reduce costs and get slow motion data
quickly and reliably.
The challenge in both use cases for high
speed cameras in drones is to control the
recording without having immediate
camera access. This requires a camera
design with smart features and capabilities
of pre-programming a mission when
setting up tests. For the drone, a little
interface chip that slides in the ground
control helps piloting the data acquisition
by ground operator. What counts in the
end are crisp and clear slow-motion
recordings of such expensive tests for
in-depth analysis of test details. \\
Stephan Trost is the managing director of
AOS Technologies
High Speed Cameras on UAV and Drones
High Speed Cameras from AOS Technologies:
Flight Readiness with UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Drones
AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM // SHOWCASE 2020 153
AOS Technologies AG
Taefernstrasse 20
CH-5405 Baden-Daettwil
Tel. +41 (0)56 483 34 88
Fax +41 (0)56 483 34 89
info@aostechnologies.com
www.aostechnologies.com
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