For Galen and Zach, the physics majors in the group, flying the drone came with ease. It took a few flights of trial and error for them to get the UAV to fly exactly how they wanted, but within minutes they had it flying around the room, landing on different platforms, and hovering in one place at ease. For Isabel, Phillip, and Katrina, the Industrial Design and Writing majors, flying the drone wasn’t as simple. For the beginners with UAV flying, there were many flights ending under tables, chairs, crashing into coffee mugs and even other group members (everyone is unharmed). As Katrina put it, “it definitely isn’t as easy controlling a UAV as it is a car in Mario Kart.”
After the flight runs, we were able to see why Fred warned us about flying safety. There were many areas he discussed but one he highlighted and emphasized on was the environment. We had to make sure that we were flying in a controlled area, which we found slightly overprotective at first. After actually taking the UAV out and getting some practice in, we saw why this was so important. We will definitely need to add practicing into our schedule in order to be ready when the time comes to fly outside. We all agree that flying the UAV takes more skill than we would have guessed. However, with some practice and persistence, we can master the skill, create our UAV to use photogrammetry, and capture a persuasive and engaging 3D model of the historical Municipal Building.
By: Katrina Aducci