2019 – Taking Autism To The Sky, Inc.

Thank you to all the participants and volunteers that made our 2019 season such a great success. We had both a beginner and an advanced group with slightly different curriculum for each. The teams used lots of new technology this year and worked in both large group and small group activities in various “station” at venues throughout the Madison, WI area over the course of 4 summer Saturdays (6/15, 6/29, 7/27 and 8/3).

Session 1: Orientation and Indoor Flying

Our first session was spent time getting to know each other via an ice breaker and then rotating between several stations including; 1) learning about the drones we planned to fly outdoors, 2) practicing flying in the gym, 3) learning to fly on the simulator, and 4) building landscapes in our augmented reality sandbox. About half of the TATTS team members were returning participants. Yellow shirts are co-pilots (beginners), green or red shirts are pilots (more advanced TATTS members), and blue shirts are volunteers.

Session 2: First Outdoor Session

Our second session was our first opportunity to get outside. We spent time reviewing what we learned during our first session and then split into groups to practice flying on the simulator and finally getting to fly outdoors. Flying included individual flying and team flying with a headset. Activities during the team flying were pilot and co-pilot communications about what they see and “hide and seek” where the flight team needed to find a TATTS volunteer hiding somewhere on the property.

Team meeting
Simulator practice
First flight outdoors
First flight outdoors
Team flying – one flies, one navigates
Team flying – one flies, one navigates
Team flying – one flies, one navigates
TATTS team member shows his own drone to the team
TATTS team member monitors the Quantix while in flight
Team members review the photomosaic from the Quantix flight
Aerial image of the pond on the farm – algae bloom beginning
Aerial image of the farm where we are
Aerial image of young corn
Aerial image of young corn
Aerial image of young corn
Quantix Aerial Imagery
Quantix Aerial Imagery

Session 3: Second Outdoor Session

Our 3rd session was another outdoor opportunity focused on flying drones and reviewing imagery. We started the day with a team meeting where we reviewed imagery from previous outings. 2 TATTS members showcased their personal drones and flew them in conjunction with the others that the organization has. We finally had the opportunity to have our “pilots” fly our fixed-wing Quantix drone over the fields where we were. What an experience that was as it is fully automated once in the air!

Team meeting. One TATTS member demonstrates his personal drone
TATTS team reviewing photomosaic. We discuss what we can learn from the image and what patterns exist
Flight simulator
Preparing to launch the Quantix
TATTS team reviewing pre-launch sequence
TATTS team reviewing the flight in real time
Flying
Flying
Flying
Aerial Imagery
Photomosaic of full property
NDVI computation from photomosaic
Aerial imagery of the house where the team meeting was held
Aerial imagery of the field we’re in

Session 4: Final Session

Our final session gave TATTS members the opportunity to really show their skill. We spent time on the simulator, brought back the augmented sandbox to build the landscapes we see from the drone, and spent a lot of time in the experience of flying. We flew the Quantix again and saw first hand what RGB and near infrared imagery looks like and how to compute NDVI and what it tells us about vegetation health.