Orbit UAS - January 2014

2013 was a year of fundamental change for microdrones, which aims to revolutionize Unmanned Aircraft Systems for commercial use and inspire utilization.

The year began for microdrones by unveiling plans for the md4-3000 at the IDEX and CeBIT trade shows. The biggest product line of microdrones, which can carry a maximum payload of 4kg, is expected to go into production next year. Also revealed were the platform enhancers of open interface “mdSI²” and the SDK “mdFlexControl” to ensure a high degree of flexibility for the user and also for the product line itself. See for more information at the microdrones website - press releases md4-3000.

The company transitioned from its product announcements to embarking on its biggest adventure yet with it Alps Crossing through the legendary Gotthard Pass between Hospental and Airolo in Switzerland. The 12.2 km flight in 22 minutes, 26 seconds demonstrates the robustness of the md4-1000 and validated microdrones’ distance flights through waypoint navigation to the Unmanned Aircraft System community. The onboard video garnered more than 57,000 views as of Dec. 17. While in the Alps, microdrones explored a new concept of integrating a laser scanner module on an md4-1000. The project revealed high precision results and scanned 50 x 100 meter section of the Reuss River was achieved in less than 2 minutes.

Production of a laser scanner microdrone began immediately and the system was unveiled at Intergeo in Essen, Germany, in October. Announced at Intergeo were microdrones’ partnership with Applanix to integrate direct georeferencing, mapping solution for the md4-3000 and a partnership with Phase One to add its iXR 80-megapixel camera as a payload to the md4-3000.

Clear and quality imagery is no stranger to microdrones or its partners.

The company entered the film industry in the summer when its filming partner Slimartists entered into an agreement to become microdronespicture, which has offices in California and Germany, is a pioneer in the industry with its 3D aerial shots. The filming and editing experts at microdronespictures achieved great success this year with the release of Universals Amazing Africa (Wundervolles Afrika).

As the year came to an end, microdrones and DHL announced the Paketkopter at an event in Bonn, Germany, where an md4-1000 delivered an estimated 20kg of medicine to a pharmacy across the Rhine River. The last mile service for the Paketkopter was tested over a week and the delivery of 40 parcels through programmed, waypoint flights avoided the congested roads delivery drivers normally face when crossing waterways.



The company also earned its ISO 9001 certification for quality management at the end of the year.

Also for Orbit GT, official reseller of Microdrones, was 2013 a fundamental year of change. We were glad to present the official release of our Orbit UAS Mapping Software dedicated for the MD4-200, MD4-1000 (and upcoming MD4-3000) system of Microdrones.

The Orbit UAS Mapping solution is an all-in-one, high precision, low altitude mapping solution ready-to-use and proved to answer real land surveying tasks. UAS Mapping covers all pre- and postflight requirements to setup and automate highly precise mapping and survey projects with flexibility towards spatial resolution and vertical accuracy that will result in more accurate data and analyses.

Please visit our website
Software download (for trial purposes) and Sample Data are available at the website downloads
All information regarding the software can be found at our knowledge base

For our latest Magazine, go to the Orbit GT October Magazine

(1) Battery connections

As a result of high-extensive use of the flight batteries the battery connectors, the connections inside the housing and the front of the housing, may detach. Similar to this, a physical impact can detach connections. Please check your batteries before each flight! If the charger refuses to charge your battery, this points towards a faulty connection or a blown fuse inside the battery. If you note any irregularities on your batteries, please immediately contact Orbit GT. We will check the battery and can upgrade each pack to a more solid version. Flying with damaged batteries is extremely danger, and will not be dealt as warranty.

(2) Triggering with Sony Nex-7 cam

As a result of light reflection, the IR-triggering of the Sony Nex-7 cam can fail. For a proper operation the IR trigger must be fully shielded by a matt black tape. Upon delivery we have provided your device with this tape. If the tape has been damaged, please replace. A failure of the IR triggering will causes errors in a succesfull execution of a waypoint flight. Contact your support at Orbit GT for more information about this issue.

(3) Battery capacity

Batteries are limited in their life time. Be aware that after a high amount of recharging (>300), batteries don't have their full capacity and need to be replaced. If you have more questions about this battery issue, don't hesitate to contact Orbit GT.

(4) Fly behaviour

Turbulence, thermal currents, fall winds, inaccurate yaw direction, etc. may temporarily disrupt a flight, but not a full flight! If you get the impression that your md-device not always runs smooth, the approach and landing is hard to control, … take notice to this.

Each microdrone is equipped with a correction filter (Kalman) to fusion all inputs of the acceleration, torque, magnetometer, barometer and GPS sensors. Because every drone has its own little quirks and the sensors also have tolerances in their accuracy, mostly due to manufacturing variations, the filter model needs to be adaptive. When the md-system is flying, its behavior is observed at all times, slightly altering the filter model to accommodate the drone’s “personality”. When an incoming signal deviates too much from what the filter model expect, the md-system will normalize or ignore inputs. However, the filter model only works in flight! In other words, if your md-system stays on the ground with spinning propellers for an extended period of time, the filter model is altered in a way that it reflects a standing drone instead of a flying one. When your md-system finally lifts off, it has an unfitting filter model for flying. In other words, the attitude is not calculated with the needed accuracy, the correctional maneuvers are not as accurate as they should be resulting in the fact that your md-system is flying bumpy. The strange and often periodic movements of the drone further increase the misshaping of the filter model making matters even worse over time. Therefore it is important to prepare and take off swiftly without many delays or interruptions. If you need more information about this, don't hesitate to contact Orbit GT.


(5) Legal Permission Belgium

Due to the lack of legislation, the UAV industry was forced to unite and work together to find solutions to enable an increasing industry. The association in Belgium working on this topic, was founded under the name 'BeUAS' and is established to the interests of the unmanned civil aviation sector. BeUAS wants to build a positive image and this should enable the industry to flourish. Orbit GT is long-time member of this association. For more information about the today legislation in Belgium, you can contact Orbit GT.


(6) Flight Training

Be aware to update your flying skills at all time. Especially nowadays in winter times when you have a minimal of possible flight hours, be sure to train and do the neccessary flying. If you start flying again after a long time, you can always contact Orbit GT for an update of your flying skills and maintenance of your equipment.