, a Boston-based creative studio, stumbled upon the idea of using UAS to capture footage for a property developer after Sean Tierney, interactive director, bought a Raspberry Pi and decided to build his own UAS—or “flying blender” as he puts it— using the Pi as his quad-copter’s brain.
After some experimentation, Tierney and his colleagues decided to invest in a six-rotor hexicopter and a GoPro DSLR camera to film footage for their clients. (They now use an Arduino-based board for the brain.) The video below shows a test flight to get views of the Fort Point area in Boston from over the water. The image at the top is the direct result.
As a result, Neoscape’s budgets have fallen and the sort of angles they can get have expanded. In New York, developers can scale a nearby building to get a birds-eye-view of their sites. But in Boston, Neoscape was dealing with “basically just a bunch of vacant lots,” says Carlos Cristerna, Neoscope’s head of visualisation. That makes getting a dramatic angle from up high a challenge.
Until recently, videographers would need to either hire a crane, which can only go so high, or rent a helicopter, which is an expensive proposition. With a UAS, it’s simply a matter of getting the machine out of a cupboard, taking it to the site, and letting it loose.It also means videographers can shoot things they could never before have dreamed of. Sweeping ascents in narrow canyons? Sure. The view from the yet-to-be-built corner office at the top of unfinished tower? Why not. Cristerna says Neoscape’s use of UAS has enthused his clients but that it has had no noticeable effect on expanding his business. Still, UAS affect the bottom line in a different way: They dramatically lower the cost of acquiring aerial shots.
Source: Quartz
Hmm, snorting around with a hexacopter within a half a mile of Logan International Airport seems like asking for trouble from someone . . .
You know that is illegal what he is doing. FAA has outlawed that commercial use in USA.
This is illegal on many fronts and if this guy gets an enforcement against him with civil penalties for multiple violations to the CFR’s. He would have wished he would have hired a helicopter to take those photos and the video. Operating within a half mile of Logan is a huge safety violation in its self!
Well Gents,
by the way I hope you guys saw the above video….. there is no way as a FAA insspector would I allow to let them fly there unit…. totally unstable, those guys need a little more!
this not 100% correct statement. There are no FAA rules about flying UAV or USA’s or better said laws in place for this. There are laws in place for flying in restricted air space and harming the public but not flying UAS or UAV’s below 400 feet. There are some privacy issues and flying over your neigbours yards…. and so forth.
Even making money or using them commerically is still not forbitten by US laws.
If you follow the couple of law cases covered by the press the FAA is or has always filed for endangering the public and not making money with flying UAS or UAV’s.
those are the real reason why Joe Public should not be allowed to fly them out of the box!
Every AMA member can and will tell you they are following some sort of rule or safety guideline to first of all fly them SAFE and not to get harmed or harm others….. This can not be said of the you tubers out there!
they need there 15min of fame! regardless of safety
I have to say I hope that the FAA or even the local states come up with some guidelines quickly as the UAS or UAV’s will be take off soon.
I have a dream…..
I would love to see some safety schools or flying schools to start up so that Joe public can learn what these things can do and should not do. After the class they should get a license.
Which they need to have if they want to fly in urban areas or around public events. this way the police or sheriff’s would or would not allow them to fly. As they do not have the time to watch them while they are fly. You have a license cool if you do not sorry get one SAFETY first.
my sense…….
It is important to give space to safe and appropriate use. Articles like this, while demonstrating enthusiasm, are not contributing to commercial UAS development in the United States. We are 20 years behind, feeling like a 55 pound 500 ft door opening is a breakthrough. I hope the judgment of the publisher improves…or at least offers appropriate commentary regarding content.