Hi Everyone,
For this week's assignment, I have selected the DJI Inspire 1 for my candidate aerial quadcopter and the
Hubsan X4 quadcopter as my FPV racer.
I will first talk about the DJI Inspire 1.
I selected the DJI Inspire 1 mainly for its prominent feature as the industry leader for introducing 4K video format and photography capture. The DJI Inspire 1 is also very unique in that it allows for dual operators to control the flight operations independently of the video or photography capture. This allows each operator to focus on the quality of their respective scope of responsibilities to ensure a quality product is produced. While researching this system, it led me to think about how it could be a good candidate for my development research project which has to deal with aircraft structures and maintenance inspections and how UAVs can complement and speed up the process.
The DJI Inspire 1 also provides a very interesting navigation concept which is independent of GPS signals. This would be useful in an indoor environment where GPS signal may not be available. The DJI Inspire 1 uses a vision positioning system which essentially relies on two sonar sensors and one monocular camera to detect the surface ground below it and serves as an extereoceptive sensor to help stabilize its vertical distance in relation to the ground. This would be very useful for low-level flight indoors.
The DJI Inspire 1 is designed with high quality carbon fibre to reduce its overall weight and has impressive specifications such as a maximum speed of almost 50 mph. It is also robust enough to sustain operations in moderate to high winds. The main downfall of its system design is the duration of the battery life which permits operations of only up to 18 minutes. This also results in a total cost of about $3000 which will only target enthusiasts and professionals market segment.
All in all, the DJI Inspire 1 is a high quality and high end product that will cater to those who need the 4K video and photography capability, which would be ideal for someone who may be considering incorporating this system to ..let's say aircraft maintenance inspections via UAVs.
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| DJI Inspire 1 Quadcopter |
The second quadcopter that I would like to discuss is the Hubsan X4 H107D FPV Racer. I chose this due to its low-cost to entry and undoubtedly, the drone would result in a catastrophic end given my inexperience to the FPV Racing environment. This FPV Racer does not boast any remarkable sensors such as the DJI Inspire 1 but rather gets the job done which consists of a small frame, 640 by 480 resolution video to help the FPV operator navigate thru their FPV goggles. The small body and no-frills design gets te job done via its frontal sensor and as long as you are not expecting to use this as a video of photography capturing device, then you will have your expectations met as an entry level candidate to enter this world of FPV drone racing. The battery life is quite impressive which is rated at approximately 30 minutes of operation fly time. The video range is limited at 100 ft which is sufficient for more on-site FPV Racing meetups and given its inability to sustain much weather conditions, it is recommended that indoor environments be the preference. The total upfront cost is under $200 and would entice a very broad range of enthusiasts willing to modify their assemblies or the beginner who wants the quadcopter "ready to fly" straight out of box. After having researched this hobby, it was reminiscent of the star wars chase scene through the woods and has definitely peaked my interest to get my feet wet in this sport!
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| Hubsan X4 H107D FPV Racer |
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