Tag Archives: drone

Smart City “Other” Services

May 29, 2017 Wade Leave a comment

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Let’s look at some services that you may not think you may not have thought of; some may call them unusual. I think it’s good to look outside of the box and think of what’s coming or maybe a way to solve a problem that you didn’t think of. Here are some things that may not be on your radar.

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Drone traffic control and monitoring is something that will need to be implemented if Amazon wants to start a drone delivery service. I think that we need to start planning that now. Qualcomm is already testing drone control over LTE, which means it won’t be long until drones are able to be routed long distances, say a few miles. This will change the landscape for drone usage assuming the FAA can keep up with demand.
- The dream of cost-effective drone delivery is going to become more and more real for more than food and goods.
- Think of how we will get medicine to someone cost effectively and without worrying about traffic.
- What about emergency services looking over an accident in real-time? I mean before emergency service can even get to the site, the drone pilot is already assessing the situation so that when emergency responders arrive the know exactly what to do and where to do.
- What about tracking criminals? Suddenly we don’t have the expensive helicopters buzzing but the drones going after most criminals in real-time dispatched from the trunk of an officer’s car! How cool is that? Here is another tool in their arsenal to keep the streets safe.
- Widespread search and rescue in parks can happen immediately, no more waiting for approval to start the search, just deploy a cost-effective drone.
Autonomous vehicle tracking and routing is one more item that may fall into the hands of the city. Someone has to track and route the vehicles. It may be the city or something equivalent to Uber or a taxi company. Who will do it and how will it be done? Will someone like AT&T or Verizon pick up this service? I can tell you this; they won’t do it for free!

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Criminal tracking is one thing that has been done for years with the ankle bracelets. This will be greatly improved with the IOT systems that are being deployed. Law enforcement can track someone better than ever using this service. Who will own it? Chances are someone will manage the system and send alerts to law enforcement when they leave their designated area.
Vehicle tracking is one more thing that may or may not catch on. While you may find this funny, it is being done in Songdo, South Korea, https://publications.iadb.org/handle/11319/7721 where they track legal and illegal vehicles in real time If a vehicle is stolen, it won’t take them long to catch it in the city. They use RFID to track vehicles throughout the city where each vehicle is registered, and they can immediately tell legal or not Then track it on their CCTV system.
Video tracking is going to be more important than ever. Again, in the study of Songdo, they also speak of monitoring the city of unusual activity using CCTV throughout the city. Most cities have video today but are they using it to its fullest potential. This is where they need applications to have facial recognition for catching criminals and monitoring traffic to alert them of accidents and to alert them when a crowd gathers in an unusual area meaning that something may be wrong. Take it to the next level!
Selling data will be a valuable source of income. I bring this up again and again because I would think that no one knows the city as well as the people who work there and represent the city. I don’t mean the propaganda that you tell everyone. I mean the traffic patterns and where most residents go at what time of day. How they can tell what businesses will take off and which ones won’t. They know this just because they know the city, the locations, and how people will react.
Grabbing attention with a large Kiosk is what Palo Alto intends to do. They are quite advanced in their smart grid project and the investment into smart city projects. One of them is to put in a 52” Kiosk downtown for the locals and visitors to know what is going on. A bulletin board that no one can miss. To learn more about what they and other cities are doing go to http://smartcitiescouncil.com/article/how-one-citys-not-afraid-fail-attitude-making-it-smarter and see what’s possible.

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My point here is that we need innovation. There is so much that is possible if we can see it. If we can imagine it. Albert Einstein once said that “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution” Let’s play a part in that evolution.

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I have worked for large and small companies, and the one major thing they all have in common is that when they find something that works they stick with it. This is fine for a while, but eventually, you need to innovate again, use that imagination to create something great and new. Sure, we fail, but it could be on the way to something great, something bigger than us or what we imagined. Let’s do that together!

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Keven Gambold Explains Using Drones for Tower Work

June 14, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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Today, just for you, the Unmanned Experts CEO tells us why drones are a great tool for tower work. He explains how frustrating it is to wait for the FAA to open up the rules for drones so that the commercial work can happen on a widespread scale. How training really matters, and that you need to be trained the right way. You will appreciate his knowledge on drones for commercial use and the history of the FAA’s inaction over the last 10 years or so.

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He also goes in the proper way to handle lessons learned, in other words, writing them down isn’t enough, you need to implement changes. Something that I am guilty of, documentation without action. Action matters. Training does matter, knowing the rules matters. And yes, you can use drones for tower inspections legally, today. He could do it 24 hours after you call him to do the inspection!

Keven is a great guy, someone who can articulate his points about drones for commercial use very well. I really enjoyed talking to him and I think you will learn a lot from what he tells us. He is candid and honest when he talks about drones and regulations here in the USA.

I would like to thank Keven for taking the time, and getting a new phone, and for his openness and honesty on this call. I also want to thank him because my recorder crapped out 10 minutes into the call and I had to start over. Being the professional that he is, he not only started over, feeling the Déjà vu but he gave an outstanding interview! He is just a fascinating guy!

I met Keven through Kathy Brand at Tower Safety and Instruction who partnered with Unmanned Experts to provide drone training for tower workers. I think that it’s a great idea to have 2 leaders in their respective industries work together to provide certifications for people who see this as the new way to get things done efficiently, safely, and cost effectively. Tower workers will find ways to make this a safe alternative to climbing for simple inspections and for site surveys. Now that this is going to move ahead and the FAA is going to clear the way for commercial use soon, I hope, we can make a new viable tool available for the tower industry.

The Wireless Deployment Handbook eBook that covers professional carrier end to end deployment of LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS showing you the proper way to plan for deployment then execute.

Unmanned Experts not only will fly missions for you but they are also offering training. They partnered with Tower Safety and Instruction to offer drone training for tower workers who meet the qualifications. At this time, you need to have a manned pilots license and drone training to fly legally. Tower Safety and Instruction understands that some people want to get a head start in drone training, so they developed this partnership to have people properly qualified for drone work at towers and to make sure that the students understand the rules and regulations before doing commercial work. It is very important to be certified in the work before doing any tower work. I am a firm believer that you need to be certified before going on a tower site. Working with drones is no different.

Learn more at http://www.unmannedexperts.com/ and there is a training available at http://www.beflightready.com/ if you’re interested.

The FAA has a site for unmanned aircraft systems at http://www.faa.gov/uas/ if you want to check that out. Go to http://www.faa.gov/uas/civil_operations/ to learn more about commercial applications. If you want to see what Section 333 holds, go to http://www.faa.gov/uas/legislative_programs/section_333/ to learn more.

So let me know what you think, email wade4wireless@gmail.com when you think of something to say!

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

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The NATE Drone Initiative

March 9, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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I wanted to give you an update on the NATE Unmanned Aerial Systems Committee. I was lucky enough to attend a meeting at NATE Unite with this group and it was open to all who wanted to go and got up at 6:30AM in New Orleans to attend. That’s right, it was at 6:30AM, in New Orleans in a conference room. I am an early riser so it was not big deal for me, but some people had a hard time making it. You know who you are!

I would like to thank Todd Schlekeway for arranging this and for all the committee members for being so open with the information as well as listening to the input of the crowd. He did a great job of pulling this together.

A good crowd showed up, especially for 6:30AM, I believe there were more than 30 people there

First, some history. The committee was formed back in October of 2015 and consisted of:

Greg Emerick (Sentera; Licensed Pilot)
Jim Goldwater (Bob Lawrence & Associates)
John Paul Jones (Tower & Turbine Technologies, LLC; Licensed Pilot)
Phil Larsen (HAZON Solutions; UAV Pilot and Student Pilot)
Jimmy Miller (MillerCo, Inc.; Licensed Pilot)
Todd Schlekeway (NATE)

So this early morning meeting was to inform the public the progress of the committee. The meeting opened up lighthearted enough with introductions and someone said they just wanted to know what a drone was, you know who you are!

Deploy with the Wireless Deployment Handbook eBook that covers professional carrier end to end deployment of LTE small cells, CRAN, and DAS to show you the proper way to plan for deployment then execute without the mistakes.

This is something they are addressing with the FAA. The FAA is currently overwhelmed by all of the applications and registrations and complaints around drones. They are everywhere and not everyone likes them. The key thing is to make sure that the tower industry uses drones responsibly and legally. Professionalism will be a big part of drone usage.

While I was told that the FAA is on board, the want to move ahead, but they don’t have the manpower to do anything at this time.

Todd called up a document that is being created by the committee to outline what NATE believes the policy should be for the tower industry.

There was a demo of Tower Tracker Pro at NATE! Did you see it?

They talked about how they are going to focus their message around training and education. Everyone already knows the value of drones, the reduced number of climbs, the real-time video, the pictures, the GPS information that can be grabbed. We all know the obvious benefits. What more people don’t’ know, outside of the committee members, are the rules! That’s right, there are so many rules that the drone pilots need to follow when using a drone for business. Education is the key to making drone usage safe and professional.

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I want to congratulate NATE for doing a great job with the progression of drones in this industry. I believe that the carriers, tower owners, and tower crews will all benefit from the usage of drones in wireless work. I am hoping that we can make this happen on a wide scale. I think that once the FCC points out to the FAA how valuable drones will be in the tower industry for site inspections and OSHA points out the value in safety audits then the FAA will push the tower industry to the front of the pack for the drone decision-making.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention! Keep the faith!

See ya!

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NATE Unite 2016 Drones On

March 4, 2016 Wade Leave a comment

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One thing that I wanted to see is the progress of drones in the wireless industry, Guess what, NATE is pushing the drone education. I put it like that because the FAA can’t keep up! They don’t know how to handle this new industry. In my opinion they are not addressing the tower industry’s needs fast enough. I am hoping that the FCC will help them understand the role drones will play in tower safety and inspections enough to work with the FAA move ahead with the education of the drone industry.

There was a drone session where Todd Thorin of Sioux Falls Tower talked about what he has done with drones so far was great to see. However, one thing to think about is what the FAA will allow so we need to take heed before just flying drones. However, Todd did more testing for drones that we should document. He tested drones near dishes, broadcast antennas, cell antennas, almost every frequency of antenna. He has valuable feedback that we really should share with the industry so that we know how drones will react. This is a learning process for all of us, so let’s learn from his experiences. For those of you who don’t know, Todd put out a bunch of videos on YouTube, here are some samples:

Badlands https://youtu.be/BdFU-7eO20Q
Up in the cold sky again https://youtu.be/mQW5XZaJnXk
An Exclusive Club https://youtu.be/incEjBhWcZQ
In a Towerhands World https://youtu.be/0tpZx6Y-JKM

In the session Todd had some great videos from his flights to show how we can use this in the industry. All these structural engineers and tower owners who won’t climb are able to use this dates to review the actual heights, mounts, positions, and all the problems on the tower. By the way, if you’re a contractor that took shortcuts on the tower and then lied to the owner, (you know who you are), don’t expect to work for that company when they see what you have done, thanks to drones! Drones will expose the problems that truly exist on the tower because now owners can look at the tower from a new perspective. How cool is that? If you remember at the FCC DOL Tower Safety Workshop Richard Cullum of Crown Castle Tower mentions how they used contractors and they had to take the word of the contractors as to what they did, so this seems like a solution to prove if they really did things right or if they just lied to get paid! Crown Castle should do this today!

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Todd was able to resolve tower issues. He told a story of where a contractor and the tower owner had a dispute over how a mount was installed near a lamp. They argued and eventually the tower owner called Todd to take pictures. Well, this made the owner aware of so many more issues. For instance there were several problems on the tower with equipment not mounted where it should have been along with problems with some of the mounting on the tower. I don’t remember all the drone pictures showed the owner all of the real problems with the tower, all the mistakes on the tower that were building up. This was a situation where the owner lost faith in the contractor so they brought in a third-party that could check on the tower at a very reasonable price and present unbiased pictures and videos to present to both sides. This really helped the tower owner see what was really going on up there where he relied on contractors to tell him or take pictures 3 or 4 feet from the tower. It was an eye opener. I really hope this is something that we can use for pre-climb inspections as well as close out packages at some point. I also think this would be a great tool for safety inspections and to be used when training climbers. There are new tools coming out for the training perspective where the climber wears a body camera or a camera on his climbing helmet, but I will talk about that in the future.

Dave Culler also talked about what Hazon Solutions has done. They showed video of work they have done for utilities. They showed video of utility tower and line inspections that they have done. It really is impressive. They were called out to inspect the equipment after a storm because the drone team could deploy quickly and get access to areas that would have been a challenge for any crew. So this way they immediately know where to send the workers to do repairs on problems that may not be noticed from the ground. One example was the cotter pins that were starting to work their way out of bolt that would have caused a high power line to drop, and the utility company dispatched teams immediately to do this repair. By the way, they don’t use just a HD camera, but a 4K camera to catch all the details.

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Hazon also brought up the use of LIDAR on the drones to make 3D images of the towers. I think this is a great idea but there are now more and more options coming out for 3D modeling of towers and utility lines. LIDAR is a system that can make 3D models of whatever you are catching. It is very accurate in its model, help you identify the accurate AGL and to the detail where you can catch missing washers.

Remember that drones have so many rules to follow. If you plan to use drones, then plan to be educated to do things properly and to make sure that don’t fly over people that have no idea what the drone is for. The utility companies have a system down where they put out flyers to explain when they will be doing something with drones. They let the people know ahead of time and educate them why its being done.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

See ya!

Listen–> iTunes or Stitcher

Remember that OSHA is working hard to keep your job safe!

OSHA cares!

OSHA explains,(if you click here), complaint information and whistle-blower protection.

To report an emergency, fatality, or imminent life threatening situation please contact our toll-free number immediately: 1-800-321-OSHA (6742)

Reach the OSHA Complaint web site for non-emergencies by clicking here!

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will?

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Drones Invade Wireless

August 3, 2015 Wade Leave a comment

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So today let’s talk drones for wireless work. I see many possibilities for drones to really play a big part in the deployments. So, I have a few scenarios that I would like to play out.

Optimization!

Optimization drones, a thing of the future? No, here today and being used now! I thought I heard everything but now Nokia, (whom is taking over Alcatel-Lucent) is working on using drones for LTE optimization. How cool is that? Boy, Rajeev Suri must be a cool guy to authorize the use of drones! Nokia has been using them for tower inspections in the Middle East and now there is talk of using them for optimization. While they are not doing it here in the USA it is being done. It is only a matter of time before we see it here. Can you imagine how efficient testing will be when the drone can do all the tests? Don’t believe me that it’s being done? Go to this link! You will see that they are doing it in Dubai! If interested in looking it up the web look here and here and here.

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Optimizing drones would have GPS tracking and RF devices, probably smart phones on it to track coverage and performance. Basically a Smartphone that would transfer data and track the upload and download speeds automatically. Then it would send the information up to the cloud so some server could work with it to make adjustments as needed, or the adjustments would be made manually, most likely version at this time. Knocking down the coverage teams to one guy and a drone and automating the process. Now these files are huge, so make sure the data plan can handle it or make sure you have Wi-Fi access. They may just relay it back down to the engineer’s laptop so that person can put it all together.

How great would this be to not have to deal with traffic? This could really be more efficient with the addition of small cells, oDAS, iDAS, and mini-macro sites being deployed because you could concentrate the optimization with the hassle of walking, driving, and trying to hit all of the areas. I know most of the carriers are trying to automate this as much as possible by using PCMD data so who knows how much this will be needed beyond deployment in the future.

Inspections!

So for the inspecting towers it was obvious that they would put cameras on the drones and document what they find. Of course it would take a drone with a camera and a good pilot to make sure that they get the proper pictures. This would entail getting the right pictures and following the close out or site survey plan. You save the time of having a climber go up in the air. You get the documentation in one quick shot with one person on site. You get all of this in a timely and safe manner. Even the FAA is getting on board with it. Can anyone do it, maybe? I am actually a fan of making sure they are certified so that you don’t have some clown out there buzzing the college girls. If they have their certification to lose then maybe they will be careful and professional. Remember, I worked in the field, I know all the complaints I had to deal with when my crews said or did something stupid. The FAA article is here. This is where some GoPro cameras would really come in handy to monitor and record all that is being done. You could grab a snapshot from the video and then you’re done.

Now, on any of this you need to take video and record your results. I would like to think that Field Dailies will come out with a package to help us out. They already have close out packages. I am an affiliate of Field Dailies but I think they are great regardless. So if you go to http://www.fielddailies.com/field-solutions/ you will see that you can go right from your smart phone to the cloud to complete the closeout package. All in one shot while in the field it will be ready for you. I am a fan of efficiency and they made it really efficient. So go in and request a demo and let them know that Wade sent you. What do you have to lose? Just think if you have a drone to go out, survey the tower, then from your laptop or Smartphone you get the pictures and upload them from your truck, then you are almost finished! Imagine how much time you would save and how efficient you would be? Wouldn’t that be great?

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I also like using the drones for safety inspections out at sites while work is being performed at the site. However, it seems that no one in the industry shares that excitement. I would say that less than .001% of anyone out there has any interest in doing safety inspections. Teaching safety is something that everyone is on board with, but no one wants to measure the results. The only measurement we have is when someone dies. Why would anyone care when it cost money and then reality would set in that not everyone is trained properly or responsible, but that is another story.

Future Ideas!

I also think that we could use drones to test microwave paths. This has not been cleared but it seems like the best use of drones. Again, you would need clearance and you would need to get FAA approval. So far we don’t have it because, as I understand it, you can only fly over people that know what is going on for business. Now it seems that for fun you can fly anywhere any time, but there will be a crackdown on some of this. It also seems that public safety can fly them anywhere they wish and take pictures. But for tower work, we will wait for the FAA to approve it. Once they do how cool would it be to fly a 2 mile link to make sure there is nothing in the path? I think that would be the greatest to verify a path. If a building goes up then you know right then! Trust me, I used to do path calculations all the time and I used to drive paths to be sure they were clear. I also did some spotting to verify LOS but it gets harder on long paths and many times the tower owner doesn’t want anyone on their tower unless they are inspecting or installing. So then you drive the path. If only I had a drone to fly the path.

What about small cell and DAS inspections? I think that you could knock out streets at a time by flying the drone about 30 to 50 feet AGL and then going around the streets. You could also verify the paths from the pole to a building, so you could plan out your build in an urban area, if the FAA would allow you to do it. These are populated streets. If you were disciplined then you would not interfere with any air space but you need to let the local authorities know what is going on because they would see it as a threat. That is until Amazon gets the approvals to make deliveries using drones. Then we can need traffic control.

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Certification!

As far as the drone pilots go, I really think you need to be certified. I just think that the pilots should take the flying seriously. Like I implied above I don’t think we should have some prankster who looks at it as a fun time and not a serious job to be out there acting stupid, that’s all. If you ever worked in the field then you know what I am talking about. I think that this will create new business out there and make all of the above services more efficient and cost-effective.

Why should professionals fly drones? Here’s why:

http://factually.gizmodo.com/drones-fly-too-close-to-airplanes-25-times-a-month-1668266409

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/04/24/drone-plane-vancouver-video_n_5209476.html

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/drone-seen-flying-in-path-of-landing-planes-at-vancouver-airport-1.2693601

What do you think?

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

I am putting a small cell wireless deployment handbook together, it should be out soon. It will be geared towards deployment but a good reference overall. It will have most of what I post but also some extra notes is it. If your interested, feel free to sign up for my newsletter below.

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Tag Archives: drone

Smart City “Other” Services

If you test CDMA and LTE UE equipment, check out the deal on the Anritsu ME7834L here!

Resources:

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Be smart, be safe, and pay attention!

Hubble Foundation helps the families of climbers in a time of need and beyond with financial support and counseling!

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