Mark Rober - Amazing Invention- This Zipline Drone Will Change Everything

[RangeBob]

Mar 18 2023, 22 minutes
Rwanda, etc

http://y2u.be/DOWDNBu9DkU

[M1917 Enfield]

I wonder how they will work in a Canadian winter especially with extreme cold shortening their battery range and freezing rain, ice, snow etc. weighing them down or effecting their performance?

[FALover]

I wonder how they will work in a Canadian winter especially with extreme cold shortening their battery range and freezing rain, ice, snow etc. weighing them down or effecting their performance?

... or some dimwits thinking they are snow geese and start shooting at them.

[SIR VEYOR]

I wonder how they will work in a Canadian winter especially with extreme cold shortening their battery range and freezing rain, ice, snow etc. weighing them down or effecting their performance?

I’d expect about the same progression other drones have shown over the last decade or two…

[M1917 Enfield]

I’d expect about the same progression other drones have shown over the last decade or two…

I don't think many people who own expensive drones take them out to fly during winter and especially when a winter storm or even just when snow is the norm for 4 months of the year here parts of Canada.

Only time I see video of people flying drones is when the day is clear and not even raining let alone snowing or in freezing rain.

BTW, it was nice and sunny today here in the morning (still very cold although) and then out of the blue it started snowing and then turned to freezing rain for an hour or two with high winds and then later switched back to sun. Just weird.

[SIR VEYOR]

I don't think many people who own expensive drones take them out to fly during winter and especially when a winter storm or even just when snow is the norm for 4 months of the year here parts of Canada.
.

They do for commercial uses.

They may not fly during actual bad weather, but it sounds like ground delivery is stopping at hints of bad weather in some areas.

Just like helicopters, they can fly in crap you wouldn’t think they’d be able to.

[M1917 Enfield]

They do for commercial uses.

They may not fly during actual bad weather, but it sounds like ground delivery is stopping at hints of bad weather in some areas.

Just like helicopters, they can fly in crap you wouldn’t think they’d be able to.

My local UPS driver delivers during rain, sleet and storm. I don't hear of battery powered drones flying during winter conditions much. In fact a quick check on the subject from multiple commercial Drone makers offer up these hints for use in just cold weather let alone sub zero and snowing/freezing rain conditions -


"To keep things safe, fly with a fully charged battery and bring along extras if it's windy or cold out so you can replace them as needed. The battery's temperature should be at least 20°C when flying in cold weather. If you live in a particularly chilly place, make sure to warm up your batteries beforehand. When temperatures drop, your batteries will drain faster than usual due to reduced chemical activity. That means a higher likelihood of your drone shutting down mid-flight! Avoid flying in snow, rain, or fog
Flying your drone in wet conditions can cause serious problems for sensitive electronic parts. Even if you manage to keep it dry on landing, water may still get into the internal components and damage them beyond repair! In addition, snow can interfere with the sensors on a drone which makes it difficult for them to maintain stability while in flight."

https://victoryuav.ca/how-to-safely-...-cold-weather/


"The greatest inconvenience to flying a drone in winter is the cold temperatures’ effect on your drone’s lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries.

Cold temperatures reduce chemical activity in Lipo batteries used in drones, such DJI’s Phantom 4 RTK (P4RTK). This causes your drone to lose power faster—50% faster in some cases. In extreme cold conditions, your drone might even shut down mid-flight."

In addition to the cold temperatures, strong winds will negatively affect battery life, sacrificing flight performance. Your drone will have to work harder to fly against the wind to overcome the turbulence. So, even if your drone is able to handle the high winds, you still risk a crash if you let your LiPo battery levels drop too low.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Although it may seem obvious that you should skip flying in the rainy or snowy weather conditions, flying a drone in fog is not a good idea, either. Fog can trigger the drone’s obstacle avoidance sensors, making it think something is in front of it and thereby stopping the flight mid-mission.

You should skip flying in rainy or snowy weather conditions, which can hamper your drone’s ability to operate properly. Be sure to avoid contact with snow on the ground, too, as moisture can damage your drone’s motors. Use a pad or another elevated surface for launching and landing your drone after a snowfall.

Snowfall presents a unique hurdle when capturing topography with photogrammetric drone surveys. Photogrammetry works on the principle of using 2D images from different angles to reconstruct real-world features in 3D. To be able to identify those features, you need to be able to tell one photo from another.

So, if you decide to fly your drone after a snowfall, make sure there are enough breaks and gaps in the blanket of snow for your drone to distinguish features on the ground. Compare your measurements to a survey you took during clear conditions. Are the discrepancies small enough to justify flying your drone with snow on the ground again?

https://www.propelleraero.com/blog/t...one-surveying/


"Keep your drone flying safely by only flying if the following conditions are met:

Do not fly if snow, hail, heavy winds, rain or fog are forecast
Do not fly in temperatures below 0ºC
Monitor the temperature. Stop flying if the temperature falls below 0ºC
Ensure you have a strong GPS signal and avoid flying in ATTI mode during the winter months. Sudden gusts of wind can cause problems for even the most experienced pilots.

Avoid Snow
Winter is full of airborne moisture with the regular occurrence of rain, fog and snow – none of which are particularly friendly to the motors or sensitive electronics on your drone. You will also have to deal with moisture on the lens and your phone/tablet screen.

Do not fly through fog as you will lose visual line of sight. If you encounter rain or snow, land immediately. Be mindful of where you take off and land, as the propellers can kick up a fair amount of snow when they’re near the ground.

To prevent moisture damage from occurring, you should use a landing pad to stop your drone from coming into contact with snow and moisture.

Similarly, you should be prepared for propeller icing. Especially in the UK, you may think that icing won’t happen but in colder temperatures, there is a possibility. It doesn’t have to be below 0 degrees to happen either.

Icing is where there’s a build-up of ice on the propellers during flight which can result in prop damage and in extreme cases, a drone crash. Icing occurs due to a combination of cold temperatures and moisture in the air.

Flying in clouds or mist, combined with temperatures below 5 degrees may cause a build-up of ice. It can occur above 0 degrees due to the high speed of the propeller reducing the temperature. Monitor your drone during flight and if you suspect icing is occurring, land immediately and dry your aircraft. Also, ensure your drone is wiped down thoroughly and dry once you have finished flying."



https://coptrz.com/blog/winter-flyin...urvival-guide/


In fact I could not find even one commercial or pleasure rated drone company that recommends flying your drone in below -15 Cel. temperature as it not only dramatically lowers their performance by 50% or more but in most cases it also ruins the batteries to the point they never fully recover. And none recommended flying while it was snowing or in heavy winds and all said ice forming on the drone is the worst thing besides impact damage that can happen to the blades and motors as well as it's sensors. Most do not even recommend flying them in anything more than very light snow or rain.

The biggest issues with drones and Canadian cold weather is heavy snow, ice and below zero temperature.

[Stealthfall]

They do for commercial uses.

They may not fly during actual bad weather, but it sounds like ground delivery is stopping at hints of bad weather in some areas.

Just like helicopters, they can fly in crap you wouldn’t think they’d be able to.

large or instrument flight rules capable helicopters also have anti-icing capability, most drones cannot accommodate that. that picture of a heli de-icing a windmill that happens to rotors, propellors and wings when flying in conditions where there is condensed moisture in the air and the surface temperature is below zero.

Below 5 is a bit of a transfer from full scale stuff where engine intakes will accelerate the air in a venturi like fashion and reduce the temperature so your intake and engine can ice up above 0c.
so a glow or gas powered RC plane may experience carb icing, but electrics wont notice. since air is constantly moving and mixing you might find a spot were the local temp is below freezing.
but the square cube law is in effect, a tiny amount of ice on a drone might be catastrophic, where a smaller manned aircraft might not even really notice

[SIR VEYOR]

-30C is shutdown lower limit for most of the ones I’ve been around. No de-icing equipment. They fly and monitor. Certain conditions need to be present for icing. Even then, it’s monitored along with visibility and other stuff.

Just don’t see why drones are stuck on the “creationist” path on this board and not allowed to consider evolution theory for them…

[M1917 Enfield]

The actual drones that the OP started talking about (Zipline Drones) even say on their webpage they rely on 3d terrain mapping sensors to chart their flight path from sender to receiver so if is is snowing, freezing rain or heavy fog and the onboard sensors can not work properly because of this or snow covered terrain then that aspect of their design will not work. Plus they say they are linked into weather forecasting so they can avoid or return to base when bad weather is imminent.

So when we have snow storms lasting for days or weeks in Canada and all the ground is covered in snow they will not fly or be able to track the earth of obstacles that their sensors can not see through and your needed delivery is delay while they are grounded until good flying weather returns.

Even large commercial aircraft are regularly grounded in northern countries because of bad winter storms or heavy fog, snow and icy conditions yet trucks are still out doing their jobs. If you have to rely on a service that only works in near perfect conditions you will end up disappointed as a customer and will look for better options.

There is a good reason that this US based company has only deployed their service to countries with no winter as we are accustomed to (like in Africa, their main customers), no matter how some may want to fantasize that they can somehow work well in.

Anyhow lets wait and see as there is no productive outcome in dreaming of the day when some think amazon or others are going to be using drones to deliver their packages in year round weather conditions like trucks and vans currently do.