Aerial Advantage: The quickly evolving world of drone video

Drone specialist Dr Jonathan Johns opens up the world of unmanned aerial imagery and looks at the performance advantages it can deliver. Report courtesy of Seahorse Magazine.

Increasingly the use of drones at sea in a sailing environment has become more popular, however do we truly understand their value, potential and associated risks? Many high profile racing campaigns are now utilising drones, primarily in a covert way because of the powerful quality data they produce. Drones are regularly being flown to amass data in various ways and for a number of uses; here we look at this trend in more detail.

To achieve success at the highest level, today’s grand prix sailors are accruing as much data as possible to enhance performance, make adjustments to settings and trim, find the edge on the competition and ultimately win. For some sailors, however, performance and winning is not everything, however read on as this story has a few twists. In simplistic terms we now have the ability to see exactly how a rig and sail function together on any point of sail in almost any prevailing conditions; from more obvious concerns such as sail shape to exactly how a rig reacts, are we using too much rig tension, or not enough?

We have all been there, laying under the boom to take pictures up the main or up the mast to examine rig set-up. We have bounced around on the foredeck looking at headsail luff curve, and leaned to leeward examining the slot. This data is compromised by taking ballast off the rail, and therefore the boat is not sailing to its optimum, this results in consistently poor data and therefore poor results. Next option to get those vital shots is the RIB support, bouncing along camera in hand, the value of which again is compromised. Options exhausted we continue on with guesswork, being an overrated commodity in our drive to climb the fleet. Or perhaps not. Drones capable of 70 knots are available to provide the next true advantage.

Over the last year many top sailors and campaigns have been using aerial cinematography. Rob Greenhalgh, who probably needs little introduction to most readers, is a talented and successful sailor over multiple disciplines from monohulls to multihulls, offshore maxis to foiling Moths. His view after utilising drone footage was, ‘Amazing quality offering a whole new perspective. Used wisely it has immeasurable value; every serious campaign should consider this option in detail.’ For a moment briefly consider other sports and their use of HD video, whether it be a TMO (Television Match Official) in rugby or any sport’s analysis program in fact. The clue lies within the word analysis.

HD video of your sailing from the air offers a unique and honest perspective of so many of the factors that bring success, many of which have previously been difficult or impossible to define accurately, or cost prohibitive. Crew positioning, reaction times, manoeuvres, starts, mark roundings, tactical choices, can all be monitored and analysed. Combine these and overlay footage with data such as boat speed, GPS position, wind speed and direction, almost any factors that affect performance, and all of a sudden your results are even more powerful.

Today we are now utilising headsets which enable hands free communication between our drone crews and the boat crews to further maximise the return. Recordings are taken from onboard, we overlay this on the footage in real time and get yet another tool to analyse the decision making process of the sailing team based on options shown via aerial footage. A very powerful tool for analysis.

The bottom line is, a performance advantage is now available. Drones can been flown, in close proximity with permission, sideways alongside a boat, from above looking vertically down the rig and from astern looking at sail shapes/set up. From a higher altitude they can examine starts, mark roundings, crew work, competitors, the list is almost endless.

A number of factors all equate to another crew being faster, their boat set up, crew work or tactical choices. Therefore it is not a surprise to witness teams spending hours analysing frame by frame other boats’ performances, rather like Formula 1 racing teams do throughout a race weekend.

There are numerous other advantages to aerial cinematography. Sailors can receive a video memorabilia of a regatta, strong pictures, and possibly even sponsorship. Perhaps too often overlooked, this can contribute substantially to the sponsor’s tangible return. Enquiries from sailing clubs, regatta organisers, boat manufacturers, high profile sailors and their campaigns are increasing monthly as the advantages of being able to deliver outstanding footage becomes more achievable.

The HD video footage also gives you the opportunity to take video stills. In reality one minute of video at 30 frames per second will give you the option of up to 1,800 images you could choose to analyse.

Drones have several definitive advantages over the obvious choice of a helicopter and crew. Firstly cost, the difference is large. As a benchmark the Australian 18ft Skiff circuit spends approx. $28,000 (Aus) per weekend to obtain suitable broadcast quality footage. Drones are also currently used but to date they are not using an advanced enough set-up to eliminate manned aircraft use, but it will happen sooner rather than later. In fact we would estimate a similar set up using drones to capture industry standard 4K footage would cost approx. $5,000 (Aus) per drone team for the weekend.

In addition to cost there is the issue of proximity. A drone can usually get into positions and places a helicopter is not able to access, both in terms of legal flight restrictions and disturbance to the boats. A drone flown by an experienced pilot with a good knowledge of sailing, which is critically important, can secure those shots that were previously unobtainable. This ability to fly in close proximity with minimal disturbance and risk were major factors in the choice of drones to obtain much of the television footage at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, some more vigilant readers may even have noticed the tell-tale shadow.

As a case study let’s consider the Quantum Sails aerial video clips we often see. These are fun to watch and usually shot in great locations that naturally appeal to the viewer. This may be for fun, or we could suggest these public videos are merely a smoke screen for a perceived advantage they are enjoying on the quiet.

To put this into context we recently carried out an assignment for a client involving two days’ aerial analysis. When considering releasing footage to show our work, we could not find enough non-sensitive footage, and therefore we decided not to allow competitors a heads-up on what we were doing.

A similar scenario happened with some foiling Moth footage we recently shot, in the end we found a couple of minutes of non-sensitive footage which we edited and subsequently posted online. The 15,000 hits in a week suggests footage like this appeals. Any sponsor would have gained benefit from the hits, as would a sailor seeking sponsorship. This is ignoring the prime reason for the shoot, the video analysis for performance gains.

We have considered the numerous advantages of obtaining quality data, namely HD video, however now let us consider why we would use drones and what exactly is their purpose. What exactly are drones? The term drone is usually associated with rather less favourable tasks, however they are also being referred to as UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) or UAS’s (Unmanned Aircraft System). A drone is a multi-rotor unmanned aircraft powered by battery, preferably with a HD camera and a good two or three axis brushless gimbal. The latter requires a second transmitter and operator offering improved freedom from flight direction.

Breaking this down we are talking multi rotors to get control and stability. With integrated flight electronics we have both compass and GPS giving us the ability to fly with a very high level of control. We control the drone via a transmitter giving us the ability to manoeuvre the drone in any direction, and if desired to hold position via GPS lock.

First Person View (FPV) allows us to experience the aerial imagery while in flight, either via a screen or goggles (the latter being regarded as rather dangerous in terms of onboard use due to the loss of peripheral view). FPV does allow the pilot (yes, the official term for a qualified operator) to see what is being recorded. Footage can also be transmitted to a receiver for a live downlink of data for live broadcasting, at a cost. More commonly you land the drone and retrieve the memory card in the traditional way.

As for which drone it’s like choosing a boat, it depends heavily on many factors, prevailing conditions, portability, cost and quality are all factors, but like a boat the true list is far longer. Depending on budget, we fly a variety of drones. At the cheaper end there is a payload of a small GoPro with a modified lens right up to the more expensive ones which carry up to 20kg take-off weight with a top end camera for film/television. We have used these advanced set-ups for sailing.

The more weight, the more battery power needed to maintain flight, both of which have a direct correlation to flight time. In terms of cost, our drones range in value from approximately £1,500 to £30,000, providing HD images and quality HD video up to 4K industry standard.

We hope this has whet your appetite, certainly enough to consider the benefits of this new player on the sailing scene. However, before you take to the air, please consider two final factors. Firstly, be aware that the noise and presence of a drone are not always the most welcome addition to a day on the water, so be considerate. Secondly you need to know the legalities of flying drones. The law varies in each country and the ability to fly a drone is ultimately with the permission of each country’s national aviation authority.

Usually if you are flying for fun and you are aware of any local restrictions you should be fine. However if there is any commercial gain, or perceived commercial gain, either now or in the future simply put do not fly a drone. Engage with a professional who holds the appropriate licences and insurances to take the required footage. A lot of the footage you see on social networks is illegally obtained and national aviation authorities are now monitoring social networks and court cases are resulting in fines and in some cases more punitive punishments. In essence, any footage taken for performance gains or in relation to a sponsor or sponsorship is likely to be regarded as commercial.

The responsibility comes back to the pilot of the drone in the same way as onboard it comes back to the skipper.

The future is evolving for aerial imagery in our sport, but how far it will go no one knows. We are already pushing the boundaries, so let’s conclude with the latest evolution currently being explored which again relates to high quality data.

We have recently been testing a drone with extended flight time which via onboard telemetry sends live data, namely wind speed, angle, temperature and barometric pressure back to a tablet. This can be set to GPS lock and hover at a point to provide important race data to either a team or race committee.

The next step would be to send up three or four drones around the first leg of a race, giving unprecedented feedback on wind patterns pre-start. Couple this with the accurate tidal information already available and ‘guesswork’ is reduced. If the concept of improved boat set up, crew performance, first beat guesswork being severely reduced and a heightened sponsor return appeals then today we have given you a glimpse of the near future.

The 34th America’s Cup in 2013 raised the bar worldwide in terms of media coverage, our great sport needs exposure to survive and thrive. What will the 35th America’s Cup bring? Perhaps this insightful thought from Stan Honey gives a clue to its future? ‘We’ve been watching the progress in drones and there is zero doubt that drones will play a significant role in the future TV production of the Cup and other sailing events.’

We as sailors simply sail to win. The drone offers tangible benefits in so many ways to those willing to evolve with the sport, the benefits are clear, aerial advantage is coming to a regatta near you soon.

LPB Aerial Imagery
LPB Aerial Imagery are specialists in drone cinematography and photography. The team consists of experienced offshore yacht racers, who use their knowledge and understanding of high performance campaigns for getting an edge on the competition and their ability as skilled pilots to establish LPB Aerial Imagery as a leader in drone cinematography within the sport of sailing. http://www.lpbaerial.com

Seahorse Magazine
Seahorse is the world’s only magazine entirely dedicated to international performance sailing. It is written from no national perspective by a team of contributors that include the finest writers and some of the key players in the sport of sailing. http://seahorsemagazine.com