Orion Drones

Weather and Passive Learning

Rain. Worst hay fever ever. Watched rockets launch and astronauts cavort, and monitored the peregrine falcon nest cam at the Cathedral of Learning in Pittsburgh. Here is the weather report from today that affects the birds Ecco and Morlea featured in Figure 1a and 1b with their clutch of eggs. The peregrine falcon has adapted superbly to urban environments. The are developing nocturnal habits because of their relationship with human civilization and yummy pigeons.

Flights Indoors During Harsh Illness

Flights. All indoor this week due to inclement weather and erosive health conditions brought on by the gremlins that lurk in pollen. I punked out and bought a Ryze Tello EDU to use to teach programming with Scratch. Everybody knows about that block code. People ‘transition’ to Python during grade school, but there are lots of other programming resources for specific utility and different audiences, too. Tello is made by DJI. DJI was instrumental in the UAS IPP program focus of developing LAANC, but they get in hot water with the feds, so their equipment is unavailable for any of my paid work. I have them numbered in boxes, Figure 2, for swarm management. It would be great to have a hundred of these, said a Rockefeller, probably.

This is a drone I can definitely afford to allow my kids to destroy. It comes with mad spare parts, a USB Micro-B charging cable, some activity boards, and more. Here is my maiden and first crash, with no damage to the aircraft. Figure 3 is a tour of my old broke-down Pennsylvania rental, very too much cozy. Two packs later I was scoping entire floors. Luckily the app supports VR, so I can use some goggles with these, too. I have a pair charged and ready for this afternoon.

So, this is the drone I will use to create programmed flight maneuvers to bother my cat. That’s the entire focus of my company, to design systems that perplex cats. I so pale. Hands red. All joking aside, I look for gainful employment, churn out blog posts, teach, and tend to children. I have momentum, but little potential. That is why I share. I need to work with others somehow. I spend a lot of time in a room with loud kids when I would prefer quiet rooms and long hours of concentrated, organized production, broken by intense guitar practice, and development of healthy habits. When I get those moments, they are sweetened by my longing. So, I make my own gravy. Still gravy runs deep.

I miss college profoundly. That’s probably why I spent nearly a decade enrolled in colleges. Research, critical analysis, getting your own methods and sparkly bits a chance to develop into something more pleasing, getting the back of a witty hand or two. Pump and probe. Pump the books, probe the world. Adhere to virtue and give it a whirl. Give back and keep going. So, thanks, doctor, for helping me through my personal trials this Spring.

3D Printer

It is raining PLA. I printed a Klein bottle, so that works. I tossed it onto the ground, and it did not break. I think I got a stew going. I printed a tiny model of an actual building in Brownsville that is plastered with a brand-new Coca Cola mural. I can pull the mural from an image and make it a decal for the model. I am having zero trouble with the printer. Snap cases, mounts, and drone models are still on order. However, I have equipment on all the furniture. I am renovating the shop this summer because I ran out of room to work, and that should make it easier. “Renovating” the basement means getting a big table and a rolling cabinet for tools.

Verticals Youth Empowerment Center

How It’s Going: Drone Cinematography Sessions Are FULL

The three days I participate as a volunteer instructor are as follows: April 28th, May 5th and May 12th, 2022. Those are Thursdays, all day events. I take a lot of inspiration from the stars above, so let’s get there.

… at the core of the Artemis Accords is the
requirement that all activities will be conducted for peaceful purposes,
per the tenets of the Outer Space Treaty.

NASA

Verticals Community Learning Center

Verticals is a local community development center that gives kids a choice of after-school programs that enrich young lives and provide a sense of pride in community. A link to the group is provided. Some school districts pony up transportation.

I signed on as a drone coach and provided some media resources. I teach students:

• How to fly recreational drones with basic and advanced maneuvers.
• How to orient oneself to internal and external factors that allow for safe and reliable air travel.
• Get the soon-to-be mandatory – and EASILY OBTAINED – TRUST flyer certificate from the FAA, online for free.
• How to plan, film, edit, and share a video you make with drone footage and free apps.
• Provide information about industrial drone applications and vocational considerations.

This module was planned to integrate seamlessly within a larger ecosystem of courses in technology applications, physical well-being, and business development. These are hands-on tangible experiences that have lifelong value.

Local Resource in Action

Community groups will have some authority to determine the nature of its flight operations in local airspace come this fall 2022. As long as a responsible pilot is connected to the group, the area can develop flight operations that best suits the needs of the group. A FRIA is basically a drone academy.

Topics in the Verticals Youth Empowerment program include artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, drones, digital fabrication, coding, media production, design studio, blockchain, and crypto. Courses in the topics are presented alongside fitness and wellness resources. The center director is retired NFL pro-football player William James, who stepped off the gridiron and into a new life arena.

Verticals Youth Empowerment Center is designed to stimulate young minds, give parents an inclusive environment in which to socialize, and to offer youth a sense of pride in themselves and their community. There are other facilities in the works.

I assist a class in the workflow of a drone cinematography project they create and produce. I provide material to be used at other Verticals locations. I find a perspective on life that elevates us.

Tello programming in Python:

The Tello is a small indoor drone manufactured by DJI. I enjoyed the crisp handling, clear picture quality, and some sensors. It has some decent features such as toss launch, 360 degree flips, and autolanding.

Tello Programming Algorithm

The algorithms we will use: Altitude, Range, Subject-oriented Orbit

Up and down, land

Up, forward, turn 180 degrees, return, down, land

Up, forward, stop, combo full CCW (left stick) + slight Right (right stick)

– drone moves

Machine Learning in Tiny ML

Three modules and a text file.