[Hackupy-discuss] OccuCopters

[Eleanor Saitta]

On 2011.11.19 14.14, Rubin Abdi wrote:
> So the discussion originally started on an SF art list I'm a part of.
> The general direction of the discussion went to helicopters being more
> effecient than balloons and quadcopters. Still trying to wrangle some of
> those folks in here.

So, blimps will give you more time in the air than either a quad or a
heli, but the downside there is really iffy performance in any kind of
wind.  Even a quad with serious GPS stabilization takes a fair bit of
skill to fly in a 10mph wind, and while a heli is more efficient, it's
much, much, much harder to fly, which means you're much more likely to
ram it into people.

The other issue is video stability.  Getting clean video at night
requires a stable platform, which if it's flying means it needs to have
some real mass.  Likewise, fast lenses that can shoot at night without
needing video lighting aren't light.  I think using drones as a way to
put a camera somewhere the cops can't reach it is a very good idea.  I
think that trying to actively fly them while filming at night is going
to be both less useful than we think and more difficult, if we're trying
to use hardware we can afford.

E.

-- 
Ideas are my favorite toys.

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