THE CHANNEL
|
ISSUE 2 2014
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37
TECHNOLOGY
|
THE CHANNEL
In recent years, the use of unmanned aircraft systems for creative aerial
photography and videography has increased exponentially. A great alternative to
helicopters, at a fraction of the cost, these camera drones or multicopters provide
the stunning aerial shots that the audience has come to love and expect. We spoke to
Tom Hannen and Owain Rich, Innovations Producers of the Global Video Unit, BBC
World Service Languages, and Ahmet Cakan, Senior Broadcasting Technology
Officer at international video news agency RUPTLY, to find out about the uses of
these flying cameras and whether they have developed into a fully-fledged
newsgathering tool
CAMERA
INTHESKY
[OR] Quite early on we realised
that when we’re out in the field, we
always have to maintain the
copters. If something starts
malfunctioning abroad, it’s always
good to understand the technology
and the machine from a basic level.
We wanted to be able to fix
problems when they arose. When
you buy the copters off-the-shelf
and something breaks, it can take
quite a long time to get it repaired.
Does camera drone technology
have anything in common with
military drones?
[OR] It would be a misconception
to say that the technology is a result
of military development. The
technology leaps that made the
camera drones possible owe more
to mobile phone technology and
the availability of cheap
accelerometers and gyroscope
chips. These are the same things
you have inside an iPhone. The
copter technology has more in
common with the remote-control
toy helicopter scene than with the
military scene.
[TH] The word “drone” implies
autonomous flight, and we are
always in control of ours the whole
time they are up in the air.
What happens if operator and
copter lose radio contact?
[OR] When the craft loses contact
with the ground, it waits for a few
seconds and then follows its own
automated routine. It will hover,
wait for another 10 seconds and
will then go up to a “safe height”
above any objects. We pre-
programmed this height at 20
metres. And then it will come back
“home” with the help of a GPS
based system and land itself. It’s
great because it will always come
back to where it started off.
Do you need a permit to fly?
[TH] The UK Civil Aviation
Authority [CAA] has given us
permission to fly, and according to
their rules we can only fly in “line
of sight”. That means we have to be
able to see the craft at all times.
[OR] We have a EuroUSC
qualification. EuroUSC is an
independent company employed
by the CAA, which offers a pilot’s
qualification. The CAA rules say
that you can’t fly within 50 metres
of a person who is not under your
direct control. That means the
person has to know you are there.
The other rule says you have to be
150 metres away from any large
group of people. So we could only
film, let’s say a football match, once
the area were secured, if there were
no crowds and if all persons
present knew you are there. If a
hexacopter got out of control, it
could be very dangerous.
What does that mean for
newsgathering?
[OR] To us, the copter is only a
newsgathering tool in very specific
The BBC was among the first
news organisations in the UK to
use flying cameras and the first
to train in-house licensed
hexacopter pilots. Innovations
Producers of the Global Video
Unit in BBC World Service
Languages, Tom Hannen and
Owain Rich, built their own
hexacopter – why, when there
are many different models on the
market?
Getting unique
shots of the
Christ the
Redeemer statue
in Rio de Janeiro
