| Пишет summerbrid ( @ 2012-05-07 14:21:00 |
The news was picked up by several websites, with a few highlighting Otter Tail County because of its rural nature. “What Are They Going to Do With a Drone in Otter Tail County?” asked one headline in information technology reporter Nextgov.Armstrong provided a straightforward answer.“What we were using it for was aerial photography and to gather data,” he explained.The department started using the remote control plane in the fall of 2006. A simple model available in retail, the plane had a GPS device and a camera attached, and it was set up to fly over a certain area of land and take pictures at preset intervals.We were young, we used variety of waste products as a mode
The pictures were marked with GPS signatures and then put together to create a mosaic of the land. The information gleaned from the mosaic was used for typical GIS procedures, like mapping an area or scouting out a potential ditch route to look for obstructions. The plane was also used in a search and rescue operation with the county sheriff’s office and its posse.“It was a very economical and good way to collect data,” said Armstrong.Armstrong noted that using aerial pictures is nothing out of the ordinary for the department. The plane was simply an alternative to much more expensive aerial photography, in which a manned aircraft uses high-tech cameras to capture similar information. Such procedures can cost thousands of dollars, while the aviones rc(RC plane) could buzz over 40 acres of land in about 20 minutes.The department stopped using the plane in November of 2007. The FAA originally granted the county the ability to use the plane but later said that the plane’s usage needed to stop until the county filed for a certificate of authorization.The county’s application was initially denied for a variety of reasons. The FAA required a new certificate to be filed every time the GIS Department wanted to fly over a different piece of land, a licensed pilot had to have control over the plane, and all observers of the plane needed to get airman’s physicals. Essentially, Armstrong said, the FAA held the county’s RC plane to the same standards as it would a Predator drone that patrols the nation’s borders.
“It was decided that the ability to do this economically, quickly … (was) being lost in all of the requirements,” he said.
“We were flying the aircraft the same way you and your son would grab an airplane from Hobby Lobby and fly it in the park,” he said.’
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