Hi Lukasz,
> Basically, I don't even know where to start research. I've come up > with a list of considerations, but I'm sure there's much more that I'm > missing Have a look at that: http://www.sensefly.com/home.html > * Because of sensitive context, the UAV shouldn't look intimidating -
a more toy-like appearance is a requirement
Yes.
* How is the UAV controlled - remote or programmed flight path (i'm assuming the latter is rather advanced - and consequently pricey?)
Programmed flight path defined using google map.
* Can it carry a camera, and how is the camera mounted to ensure top-down viewing angles for successful image georeferencing later on
Modified (for remote control) compact camera. Provided with the setup.
* What camera would be appropriate for the intended use
The one provided.
* Based on a quick calculation, it looks to me that with a typical wide angle lens (28mm-equivalent) the side image is about half of camera distance (so in this case - elevation). This means that if I want to capture a 1x1km area, the camera should fly 2km above ground. This doesn't seem to be feasible both because of flight height and off-nadir angles, so it probably means a lot of smaller images and then stitching?
Have a look at their website for what can be done in term of resolution and covered area. They use stitching.
* Finally, just as a general guideline, the budget I'd have is rather fluid. If a workable solution can be achieved for a few thousand - great, but if something vastly superior can be done for 10k, I would definitely consider that as well
10k of what? ;-) They told me about 15 k€ for the ebee with stitching software.
However, in order not to get in over my head, I was thinking that a DJI Phantom which seems to be all the rage on the internet these days, fitted with a Pentax WG-3 (which has interval shooting mode) looks like a set that could provide genuinely useful results for under a thousand EUR - or am I completely off the mark here?
We may imagine cheaper planes that the above mentioned one. I just discovered 3D printed plane:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20737-3d-printing-the-worlds-first-printed-plane.html#.UeRWOawvjaI Éric _______________________________________________ HOT mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/hot
