At 8:00 am. of Nov. 26, 2019, Foxtech Technical team drove from company to an area in BaoDi for a mapping and surveying mission. The goal of this mission is to do 1 sq km area ground mapping, then provide a full pixel 1:150 DOM (Digital Orthophoto Map) and DEM (Digital Elevation Model), and an all-factor DLG (Digital Line Graphic), which will provide geographic information reference for clients that want to build a drainage system.

Customer Requirements:

The water system in the target mapping area is developed, there are rivers nearby, and the village is surrounded by pools. However, there is no sound drainage system in this area, and a large amount of sewage is discharged directly into the pools. In order to reduce water pollution, the local authorities decided to build a drainage system in this area.

Therefore, aerial mapping should be carried out before construction to obtain local surface information, spatial layout, building distribution, road layout etc. Then generate a full pixel 1:150 DOM, DEM and an all-factor DLG, provide sufficient geographic data information reference for follow-up implementation process.

Preparation before flight:

According to the KML/KMZ files provided by clients, technicians first investigated this area, systematically analyzed land elevation changes, terrain and building density etc. Then prepared for the route planning, and chose a good day to start mapping.

2 technicians from Foxtech participated in this surveying and mapping mission.

Mapping Equipment: GAIA 160s Hexacopter equipped with Map-01 mapping camera, RTK System.

GAIA 160S: a high efficiency battery-powered flying platform for surveillance, inspection and survey. Max take-off weight is 17kg. The Max. flight time with four 6s 16000mah li-ion batteries is 110 min. Gaia 160S hexacopter features good stability, reliability, quick response to commands, simple operation.

Map-01: with 24.3 MP effective pixel, 6fps continuous shooting, 30-1/4000 sec shutter speed, ±3EV exposure compensation. Connected with PPK/RTK system to ensure a centimeter-level accuracy .

Technicians planned the flight route through Mission Planner, the drone flew according to the S- type planned route. Based on the previous analysis of surveying and mapping area information, the values of the aerial survey parameters are set as follow:

Flight altitude: 100m; Airstrip spacing: 27.9m; Photo interval: 12.4m; Overlap: 80%; Sidelap:70%.

The overall check of the equipment is the necessary process before each mission. Technicians carefully checked each detail to ensure that the mapping mission would be quickly carried out after reaching the target mapping area.

On the day of departure, the weather was pretty good, which is suitable for surveying and mapping. At 8:00 in the morning, all the equipment was prepared, then the Technical team set out.

A lot of time was saved on the way because the mapping site is not far from company. Technical team drove about one and a half hours to reach the target mapping site, then checked obstacles in surveying and mapping areas around the target mapping site.

Select a wide,less crowded area as the done take-off and landing site. Then, technicians began to step by step prepare for the flight: set up RTK station, check whether the hot shoe signal can trigger normally, quickly assemble the GAIA 160S flying platform, check the datalink and remote control signal, set the shutter speed, ISO and other values according to the weather conditions of the day, check if the memory card is reset etc.

Everything is ready, GAIA 160S began to fly according to the pre-planned route. The RTK system was used in the whole process to ensure a centimeter-level accuracy of aerial survey.

The mapping flight lasted 120 minutes, flew two sorties.

After the flight, technicians used RTK ground station to take  sample of photograph control points in the mapping area. Technicians pre-processed the images to make sure that the image and the POS are completely coincident with the mapped area.

In this mapping mission, GAIA 160S equipped with MAP-01 mapping camera showed its accurate and reliable performance, which makes the whole mapping task much easier.

Post-processing:

In the post-processing stage, technicians used RTK POST System to process the differential data, made point cloud modeling with PIX4D. After a series of post-processing, technicians finally got a very clear orthographic map, with which the client is very satisfied.

DEM

                                                                                            DOM

      —END— 

Pablo Air is a Korean leading company with many years practical experience and mature technology in UAV. Focusing on the technology of formation flight, it has established technical cooperation with air force academy and army aviation school, and has accomplished several formation flying using large UAVs.

According to our agreement, Foxtech will display and sell our popular products in Korean through Pablo Air, and in return, we will provide a platform for them to promote formation flight and sell the related products. It means an official strategic partnership is established between the two large companies, and more joint projects and promising markets are awaiting.

(Kim and Young Joon(Left), CEO of Pablo Air, and Liu Songtao(Right), Deputy General Manager of Foxtech)

(It attracted plenty of Korean media attention through the conference)

Alliance Between Giants, Limit is No More

Pablo Air is planning a formation flying in Korea at the end of this month, to which some international media and professionals are invited to witness this grand event.

During the flying process, Pablo Air will have to operate 5 drones, which is loaded with 2kg goods, to cross 100km over the sea, and deliver it.The main purpose of this activity is not only to show their capability, more importantly, it is to examine the working performance of UAV marine transport. This island, the destination of this flying mission, is surrounded by reefs, thus making it impossible for ships to deliver goods and that is why UAV is the best substitute for that.

A while ago, FOXTECH GAIA 160HY-Hybrid Hexacopter set a world record by flying continuously over the sea for 100km(54nm), which earned its way in the global market, including Pablo Air. So Foxtech became their first choice when they were thinking about organizing this activity. After a deep understanding of Foxtech was achieved, so was the cooperation.

(Test flight for Pablo Air)

Reviews From Pablo Air: Foxtech Has Enjoyed a Good Reputation in Korean in the Field of UAV.

Pablo Air has been in the line for quite a long time, so they are much of a professional in terms of identifying UAV corporations and their products. According to what the sourcing representative said, “Many drone users from Korea choose Foxtech because we got high-quality products and high-credibility service.”

And that is the very reason why Pablo Air decided to be in a partnership with us in the first place.

As a matter of fact, not just Korea, we have many loyal fans that are from different countries like India, Britain, Russia. They are the “propellers” of our “drones”, and it is because of them that we are able to achieve success.

(Test flight out in the Field with clients from Korea, Thailand and Russia)

Learn more about FOXTECH GAIA 160HY-Hybrid Hexacopter at: 

https://www.foxtechfpv.com/gaia-160-elite-hybrid-drone.html?tdsourcetag=s_pcqq_aiomsg

At 2:00 am of July 8^th, when people were soundly asleep, the tech staff of Foxtech arrived at the destination, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China after a seven-hour long driving distance. All of the early arrival was for our client, whose aerial mapping project of mapping the natural gas pipeline in local mountainous area had been in due date, which made it urgent. After a four-hour short rest in a hotel, Foxtech tech marched on to start mapping with a Nimbus VTOL and a mapping camera MAP02.

The region is located in the east of Taiyuan, where it is 1,200 m above sea level, with natural gas pipelines laid underground. What we did was to obtain the geographic information within the area of 21 km * 0.3 km aboveground and providing our clients with a demo, which also serves as data support for those who inspect and maintain functions of pipelines.

Pic: Working Area 21 km * 0.3 km

The project was a large scale ribbon-area mapping, which required a constant change of measuring point. For that, Foxtech tech team worked laboriously under a scorching sun, dripping sweat while searching for the suitable measuring points in a furnace of 70 degrees. Being in a burning hell as they were, they had no intend to rest. Meanwhile, the rough terrain and high altitude made it even harder to map and survey. The following pictures reproduce the scene:

△ The surface temperature reaches 70 degrees, which withers the grass alongside the road. 

△ Techs are too busy working that they get sunburnt, while they makes it a priority to cool down the drone.

△ The high altitude was one of the challenges of the project. The picture above shows that Nimbus was originally designed for a height of 300 m, while under the circumstances, it needed performing at an altitude of 1,600 m because we were at a height of 1,300 m, which added some difficulty to it. Nevertheless, it had once succeeded in completing its test flight at an altitude of 4,500 m, so it would not be a problem. And the whole process went smoothly as expected.

△ Rugged mountain paths. Sometimes we even need to drive on a steep mountain of 45º.

△ Another challenge we encountered often was the drone being blocked by tall and erected objects like trees or power lines. The area that we performed test-flight was surrounded on three sides by mountains. Although the wind direction was favorable for us to take off, it made it more difficult to land. After careful consideration, our team decided to fly along with the wind because we were running out of time. At the beginning of the test flight, they gave a rough estimate of the wind speed so as to switch to multirotor mode ahead of time. Eventually, it landed in a perfect way in spite of some obstacles.

△ People whose jobs are mapping and surveying are doomed to miss meals frequently. So are our tech, who just have some cookies for lunch most of the time. One time it got worse: the one who was responsible for buying meals got stuck with work and it happened to be no storing food in the trunk. They ended up with extreme hunger for hours.

△ A generator is prepared to charge the battery, which is one of the preparation work for mapping and surveying that they always keep in mind, though sometimes they forget to have meals .

△ The topography of the area is complex, with hills to its right, fields in the front, valleys to its left, under which a septic tank is built, reeking of shit and rotten plants, thus making it an unpleasant site to carry out their task. In a tough environment like this, our tech still kept their eyes on the flying process to make sure it was on the right track while swatting flies from time to time.

△ This picture seems to be delivering the smell through screen. The testing site was near the septic tank. With high temperature, the smell got worse. Our tech staff went through “biochemical attack” for hours, and it really was an ordeal and a test to their willpower.

△ The road in the area was mostly dirt road, soft and uneven. Sometimes it was hard to find a place to take off and land. Therefore, they put a mat under the drone to allow it to take off steadily. However, there were more challenges to it. The weather was so unpredictable that it rained shortly after a gale. So it would be proper to apply the phrase “sun-scorched and rain-drenched” to the mapping personnel. Despite all that, the Foxtech team were as scrupulous as ever, giving estimates, making preparations and adjusting strategies. After the rain stopped, they picked up where they had left without causing any delay.

△ A group photo of the Foxtech team

Summary

This project was carried out in the mountainous area of the east of Shanxi Province, where there were natural gas pipelines laid underneath. The area is a ribbon-shaped region of 21km * 0.3km. The average altitude is 1,200 m to 1,300 m. Apart from that, the surface temperature can go as high as 70 degrees. In conclusion, the region has the most unfavorable working environment, with uneven roads, changeable weather and complex terrain, all of which puts a restraint to our trial. But the foxtech team didn’t hold back. Instead, they went up there, overcame what they were facing and accomplished the Herculean task by showing intelligence, courage and perseverance. What’s more important, our client is more than satisfied because there is no single POS point lost, and the image is of high quality and definition.

The equipment that are involved in this mapping project are as follows: a Nimbus VTOL, a mapping camera MAP02 and a PPK. The combination of the three gears provides clients with a result of high precision and accuracy, keeping the deviation under 10cm. Nimbus is a self-developed long-range VTOL, featured with highly-integrated design, which makes it easier for people to assemble, to deliver, to learn to use it and to put into commercial flight in a short time. Therefore, it enjoys a good reputation of being a cost-effective model in mapping and surveying.

                                                                                     DEM(part of the picture)

                                        DEM(part of the picture)

THEA 160 is a battery-powered agriculture hexacopter, compared with the THEA 130, the pesticide tank capacity and spray width of THEA 160 have been greatly improved to meet the operational needs of users in different industries. THEA 160 pesticide tank is 16L, the spray width is 5-7 meters, the operation efficiency of THEA 160 is about 1.82-3.3acre per flight.

(Note: The working efficiency in one hour may be different due to the different proficiency of operators and the different distribution speed of pesticide on the ground.)

THEA 160 adopts the Cutting-edge industry materials, features high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and longer service life; the fold-able design makes it convenient for transportation; supports expansion function like mist sprayer, seeding module etc. The THEA 160 is equipped with a microwave fixed-height radar, which can realize terrain following function, and can be applied in variety of environments and terrains, like fields, crops, forests and orchards etc. In addition, THEA 160 agriculture sprayer can achieve full-autonomous flight, AB point flight, Continue to fly at breakpoints and other functions.

Multiple Configurations-Meet the complex farmland environment operation requirements

In the actual plant protection operation, every sprayer operator will encounter problems like  irregular shape of the field, the terrain is uneven, there are obstacles in the field, or the take-off and landing area is not suitable etc. The THEA 160 can display the real-time data to monitor the flight status and ensure a safe flight. Thea 160 can also provide terrain following and autonomous obstacle avoidance functions to ensure the safety of the drone. In addition, the THEA 160 also retains a variety of manual modes, which allows pilot to switch at any time during the operation to adapt to complex operating environments.

Radar, FPV camera and searchlight- Safer and more autonomous operation

THEA 160 is equipped with a millimeter-wave obstacle-avoidance radar, when performing autonomous flight, the radar can detect the obstacles in front and automatically stop at a set distance to ensure safe operation.

In addition, the THEA 160 is also equipped with an FPV camera and a searchlight. The FPV camera can transmit the image in front of the drone to the remote controller in real time. When the THEA 160 is stopped due to the obstacle, it can be remoted to avoid the obstacle referring to the image and the staff doesn’t need to go to the scene, and the searchlight can be used for illumination in low light situations, that makes the operation more safe.

Good penetration, Efficient operation

THEA 160 has a simple structure, small volume and low consumption, uniform and stable in the wind field. It is good to spray pesticides on the surface of the whole crop to better exert its effects! The down-wind-pressure field is uniform, stable and penetrable, which can spray the pesticide to the crop surface and display a better pesticide effect .

Classical Series , Full-featured

THEA 160 and THEA 130 are two important products of the THEA series agriculture sprayers. Both of them fully consider the actual operation requirements in terms of functions, and maintain the same pace to meet the increasingly diverse operational needs of the industry users:

1. Support "GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou satellite navigation System" to improve flight reliability.

2. Real-time monitor the battery capacity, support low-voltage voice alarm

3. Real-time monitor the amount of pesticides. When there is no pesticide in the tank, the ground station supports voice alarm.

4. Microwave fixed-height radar, support terrain following flight

5.Android mobile phone ground station, easy to use

6.PC ground station, full voice broadcast

7. Real-time data display, monitor the flight status

8. Support route planning, automatic flight operation

9. Support AB point flight

10. Support one-button take-off and landing, greatly improve the safety

11. Provide high pressure ceramic nozzle, adjustable spray speed and even spraying

12. Support breakpoints and continue spraying, support automatic return while without pesticides or at low voltage.

13. Support irregular land planning

14. Support set obstacle points, plan routes to avoid obstacle areas

15. Support setting alternate landing sites to facilitate large-scale land operations

16. Support mist sprayer, seeding module, multi-purpose drone, controllable cost, and low investment.

THEA 130 and THEA 160 Agriculture Sprayer are now released! The pesticide tank is 10L and 16L respectively. The maximum working efficiency per flight is15 mu and 20 mu respectively, and the functions of autonomous flight, fixed height and imitating flight are carried out. Both of them fully consider the needs of the actual operation, can meet the

complex farmland environment operation requirements. Welcome plant protection users to consult and buy! Welcome to consult and purchase!

For Purchase and details please contact: carrie@foxtechfpv.com