Savin Baby Deers before first Mowing

[Tractorhead 9,064]

This become a Project of my Heart.

 

This year The neighbour Farmers ask me if i‘m willing to help them out, 

to check the fields before mowing to seek for Baby deers.

 

i agrred immediately.

 

We run about few hours and it seemed nothing is there.

 

Than they begin the first part of mowing carefully.

Once a Mower stops immediately but it was too late.

We missed one Baby Deer in the higher Grass and it became a victim of the Mower.

 

I was about 10 meters far and i swear, that should be the last victim in my Area.

 

So i begun with maximum force to develop a Solution with a Thermal imager and a Camera togerter 

as a Seek system for my Drone.

Yap such a solution can be bought for several thousands of Dollars.

( range is from 5000 up to more as 10.000$) what is completely out of my Hobbyist Budget.

 

i get a Seek pro Mobilephone Thermal imager, a Raspberry Pie, my FPV equippment and bring that all together to run.

it is not 100% finished now, but my first results give me a good Feeling.

 

I found few good sources to start with, added few things and try and coding, try and coding until Today.

Today‘s maiden flight was IMHO a fully Success.

it was all bound on quick and dirty, but i get a flight time of 25 min what is a dang good result.

Sadly the Thermal cams with high frame are hard to get. So i must dealing with a <9Hz version, what is very Slow,

but it works not too bad.

 

While i forgot to put a TF Card in the Videorecorder, i have no Pics of Videos.

 

The Way the thing goes told me i must continoue this Way.

now i will enlightened all the unneeded things, to increase the Flighttime.

Each gramms counts here.

 

few Pics of my Setup ‚til now after i disassembled it to improove the weight saving.

 

A 1500 mAh Lipo to  compare dimensions

the Seekcam mount and also the Video Cam mount together here is removed.

a new version i had actually on the 3D Printer will save another 20 gramms

 

The right Side shows the Raspi with SSD Harddisk and a 2 Way Video Switch, a Second 5V Regulator, a Video mixer and the FPV Transmitter

here without Antenna.

all squeezed in smalles Parts.without enclosures stick with 3M 2 side Tape.

 

 

The Gimbal and the High Res Video Cam with Full HD possibillity

 

 

An old membercard is used as insulatormount.

 

The actual weight is

 

Copter 980 gramms incl. 4500 mAh Lipo Battery

236 gramms of the whole Video processing Unit platform

 

That results in 1216 gramms gros weight Airborne.

 

the Bad was the Mavlink Telemetry Controller dies on the Session flying.

but the Drone itself make a perfect Job until this happens, it flies the path and returned save home.

For now the Invest was 500$ and a lot of hours Coding and testing

 

any others here on Redsquare with activity‘s  on the same issue?

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by Tractorhead

[roadapples 6,983]

I didn't understand most of that because I know nothing about drones. But I think it's great what you are trying to do..

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

Is the drone position fixed by the position of the mower while it is mowing?    Seems it would have to be scanning the area directly in front of the working mower to be effective.

 

[Stormin 9,981]

  I like that idea. That's the trouble with fawns. You can't see them and they don't move when they hear you coming.  

[Ed Kennell 38,158]

15 minutes ago, Stormin said:

they don't move when they hear you coming

Yes, a young fawn has no scent and will remain motionless when the mother is away feeding.       This is it's defense against predators.    Unfortunately it is usually fatal if they are left alone in a hayfield.   I have seen several deer that have had their ears clipped by a sickle bar.

 

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Here is a short Demovideo of the FPV System i actually running

 

 

 

No the Drone is not fixed, i plan to use Mavlink, an GPS located route to fly before mowing.

The plan is if they will mow, i fly in the morning before they do the Field to find thermal differences, than i can switch to the

Real Vide to see what it is.

 

If it‘s a rabbit they will flee but not the fawns as you fella’s know.

 

The next Step is a crosslink to Alarm the seekers, that they can save the fawn and continue mowing.

 

 

Yes, is seems i‘m on a good Way!

[JAinVA 4,619]

Years ago at my wife's grandparents farm we were out by one of the barns  and I noticed a pullet amongst the others that looked odd. It was standing with only one leg under it.  I asked her grand pa, whats with the chicken. He got to close to the hay mower. What do think of that son? Looks like someone  will be short a drumstick. He just laughed.   I can only imagine having to deal with fawns hiding in the hay fields. Maybe an old rigid hay rake towed ahead of the mower/

Edited August 1, 2021 by JAinVA

[Tractorhead 9,064]

2 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Is the drone position fixed by the position of the mower while it is mowing?    Seems it would have to be scanning the area directly in front of the working mower to be effective.

 

The biggest Problem to do that is the less flighttime of the Drones.

The  bigger and the better the camera is, the less is the flight time.

 

i working on a compromise the cheap Camera to find themal differences and than a Video review.

the focus and the alignment of the both Camerasystems is the next Task i have to solve.

but it works for now.

 

To have an idea 

basic flight time without anything is 45min, what is a heck of flighttime.

 

with the old gimbal and Actioncam together it drops down to 37 min. +115 grams of Payload.

i changed the gimbal to a lighter one ( expensive) and tune few things down.

i also reworked the inside of my Drone to save weight.

 

an additional OSD ( On Screen Display) will inform me on the Battery Status to estimate my Flighttime.

 

the whole flighttime with the complete actual Videoequipped Setup was 25 min.

i plan to strip it down til i reached 30-35 min.

 

That is a real hard Plan and still a lot of Work to do.

but i didn‘t give up.

 

let the fawns become a Deer and harvesting them after they had a great life!

 

 

 

[Achto 27,570]

I like what you're doing Stephan. Working on farms in my younger years I have run more than one fawn through a haybine. Not only a bit depressing but at times a real mess to clean out of the crimpers. 

 

Keep up your campaign. 

[Handy Don 12,216]

1 hour ago, Tractorhead said:

The biggest Problem to do that is the less flighttime of the Drones.

The  bigger and the better the camera is, the less is the flight time.

 

i working on a compromise the cheap Camera to find themal differences and than a Video review.

the focus and the alignment of the both Camerasystems is the next Task i have to solve.

but it works for now.

 

To have an idea 

basic flight time without anything is 45min, what is a heck of flighttime.

 

with the old gimbal and Actioncam together it drops down to 37 min. +115 grams of Payload.

i changed the gimbal to a lighter one ( expensive) and tune few things down.

i also reworked the inside of my Drone to save weight.

 

an additional OSD ( On Screen Display) will inform me on the Battery Status to estimate my Flighttime.

 

the whole flighttime with the complete actual Videoequipped Setup was 25 min.

i plan to strip it down til i reached 30-35 min.

 

That is a real hard Plan and still a lot of Work to do.

but i didn‘t give up.

 

let the fawns become a Deer and harvesting them after they had a great life!

 

 

 

Your plan, if I have this correct, is to fly a pattern over the field to locate the fawns before starting the mowing operation.

Will you then relocate the fawn and mow their bed or is the idea to flag the spot so you can mow around them?

 

In a year or two, you'll be able to buy what you want as obsolete and surplus hardware from the military for a small price!

[Tractorhead 9,064]

10 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

Is the drone position fixed by the position of the mower while it is mowing?    Seems it would have to be scanning the area directly in front of the working mower to be effective.

 

The biggest Problem to do that is the less flighttime of the Drones.

The  bigger and the better the camera is, the less is the flight time.

 

i working on a compromise the cheap Camera to find themal differences and than a Video review.

the focus and the alignment of the both Camerasystems is the next Task i have to solve.

but it works for now.

 

It becomes a little more complexity.

My final Plan is to use a Groundstation ( Laptop) what is connected via Mavlink to the Drone.

The Drone shall fly autonomous a pattern, what is before planed on the Groundstation by s GPS location Datas.

While flight i so be able to check the surrounding (Thermal Cam Screen and envoirement) and can have my prevoius attention

to the Thermal Cam.

 

In second, if i found a Thermal Hot Spot i have via Mavlink the GPS Data on the Groundstation and can mark them.

This marks can be doublechecked on second flight also with the before collected GPS Data.

If that Hot Spots still be active i can switch to the Visual Highres Cam and see what it is.

if there is a fawn, i will sent the GPS Data to the helpers, to save the Fawn to bring them out of the Danger Zone.

 

That Scenario reduces the overall FlightTime and improves the safety with a short Break to change Copter Batteries.

@Handy Don even if the Cameras later be available, they still be once very expensive and second restricted by Export Laws.

So actually it is still hard to get a high Frame Thermal cam here except for a reasonable Price.

As mentioned allready they started at 3000$ at least with low resolution.

 

i would wish to have a 640by 480 thermal with a simple Video output ( NTSC or PAL doesn‘t matter) for a price at about 1000$.

That will be a Pricerange i be able to spent for.

- I do that all as non Profit - 

 

I knew it‘s an ambitioned Task i started

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Enlightened Camera carrier fresh from the Printerbed,

I reduced it down to 18 gramms at all instead of 32 grams before 

here it is mounted and completely wired.

This mount is now made in a structural infill instead of full print ( crosshatch infill) with just 19% Material.

 

 

The Camera mount is actual still on the Printer.

it will also be made with just 19% infill for maximum stability at less weight

 I hope for another few gramms loss of weight.

 

Thinner USB C Cables are ordered, that i can remove the USB A connectors and remove insulation to save another several gramms.

 

 

 

 

there is still a lot of potential found, where i can save some weight....

 

 

 

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Update..

 

 

I did a Testflight with the complete Setup last Weekend.

 

Airtime over all 22min. - not pretty much.

Result of the Thermalcam is usable, but the FPV System needs urgently an improve with better Antennas.

Because of the Wight i tried to reduce Distortions with a separate 12V 1500 mAh LiPo Battery, what improves the signalquality massive.

The flipside - Airtime drops down to 12 min.

 

Result i need a bigger Copter with more Payload to carry the Extra weight of Batterycapacity.

I found a cheap Hexacopter what was able to carry 2Kilos of Payload - allready ordered.

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

After i did a lot of tests, i was not satisfied with the Flight improvement.

The maximum i could reached was just 22min of Flighttime with my Quadrocopter.

 

The things was allready ordered, when i found a great Deal.

a Hexacopter for just few Bucks, used but in great condition.

 

So the last weeks i upgraded and converted the Whole Hexa to an real UAV.

 

 

 

 

 

the first fully autonomous flight was very impressive.

with Fully charged Battery‘s and Laptop as Ground control Station i tried the first Maidenflight with wet Hands

allway‘s able to recapture the Control while it flies it‘s mission.

Successfully Landed i recheck all the Systems, they worked like a charme.

 

Than the second Mission

The Wooden Box under the Hexa is only the Batterycase for 15Ah Batteries for the Hexa

and a separate Battery for the gimbal and Videolink.

With that Setup ended with a Grosweight of 3 Kilo Airborne and that results in a 1h Flighttime.

 

Even a new Highres and Highframe Thermal- Camera is allready in Plan.

That thing is horribly Expensive but it reduces the Weight again down at 260 gramms and have allready  

options i must firstly built on my system.

 

My mission „Save the fawns before Mow“ is on the best Way to become Success.

The result was dang impressive.

 

 

i was able to fly 2 large Missions completely without troubles at all it was a flight of 8Km distance.

Only the actual Thermalcam was too slow to be useful with 9Hz Framerate.

 

Waiting for the upgrade...

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Update:

 

while the whole Equippment with the Hexa was too much for a quick reaction, i reworked few new Dronez.

 

My first invest was a High frame Thermal camera.

it has a resolution of 388x244 pixels what is enough for a fawn saving.

followed by a Crashed Yuneec Q500

 

 

The dronez was firstly the „Master“ , now i use it just for dedicated search

thanks to my 3D printer, a Mount for the Thermalcam was quick built.

 

 

firstly i tested it with the MK58, a video link based on Wifi, but that sucks.

a 500ms delay is not really usable for that, also the maximum reachable distance was dang short.

after 200m i loose the signal.

 

so i change it over to a Analog video transmitter on 5,8 GHz and mount aside the transmitter another 5“ screen

with an integrated VideoRX. A Helicoil Antenna extend my reachable distance to nearly 1,2Km.

 

   

the hot spot was a rabbit at evening daylight 

 

 

Dang! Problems solved.

 

after that flying Monster with it’s 1,7Kg takeoff weight and 15 min of flighttime i played along with another Toy.

 

i got a great offer for a small GPS Drone what should be able to fly 28min out of stock for a real reasonable price.

 

It is a HS720e what fits in my Hand

520 gramms easy it appears to be able to reach the given time, but i was not a believer in sales promises.

 

i ordered it but it has the same disadvances with the Wifi link.

same technic, same trash.

 

Out with that wifi junk  quickly implemented another Analog Video TX, built a Thermalcamera mount and ...

 

  

 

  

Few holes in the case for better air circulation because fpv tx becomes hot

 

 

 

 

 

I was ready for Takeoff.

 

i was curious how it will perform because the takeoff weight grows at +80 gramms.

That is dang heavy for such a small copter but we will see..

 

 

it fly like a pro!

 

i solved the first Testflight with a fully loaded battery and start a timer on my iphone to get a feeling for the flighttime.

26min continousely - Whow that is great!

 

That thing is dang cool, can be placed in a pocket, but it also have a dis,

there is no gimbal just a tilt servo, what means on windier day‘s it is just usable as a estimator for Hotspots, 

but in that case it is perfect. With its about 68Km/h flight speed it is also usable on higher winds instead to the yuneec.

 

 

 

 

This Picture shows a Rabbit in 25m height.

Dang cool - isn‘t it?

 

Actually i use the both, the small drone for a quick hotspot finding and later the yuneec Monster because of its dampened gimbal

as guide to bring the helpers as close to the fawns and save them.

 

this year we saved until 2 Mowings 4 fawns at all and mowing season has just begun.

i be happy and glad it work that Way.

 

 

So to all Pilots, allway‘s happy landings.

[c-series don 8,690]

At the farm I used to work on we had a setup with a bar that stuck out about ten feet in front of the tractor and was the width of the mower. Hanging from the bar was a series of old tire chains. They would drag through the tall grass and spook fawns to get up and run (or try to!) It actually did work. A new manager came and decided it was going to take too much time to install. It would usually take no more than a half hour. He sent a new guy out to mow and you can guess what happened. 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

I hope you don‘t have the same regulary‘s than we have here.

How do you call that „thing“? a manager?

 

Here he is not more than an Idiot - no more no less.

Contamined material here was not further usable as Animal feed and must be trashed by law.

So in worsest case 3 or 4 Bales must be trashed, The machine must be picked out of the harvest and 

completely cleaned out before it goes back to the harvest in the best case that means a 3 hours loosing.

 

If any official control see a contaminated material, the whole harvest must be dumped.

So what benefit is better half hour to mount the Chains or 3 hours + for the other option + dead animals.

Managing equations here would give him the „ bye bye Card“ and a friendly kick in the Butt.