Quick Start Guide
CONTENTS 1 Introduction... 2 2 What s in the box?... 3 3 Using your buzzard multispectral sensor... 4 3.1 Overview... 4 3.2 Connecting the power / remote trigger cable... 5 3.3 Attaching the camera to a drone... 6 3.4 Connecting and installing the GPS antenna... 6 3.5 Install the microsd card... 7 3.6 Powering up the camera... 7 3.7 Button functions... 8 3.8 Connecting to the WiFi interface... 8 3.9 LED Indications... 9 3.10 Data collection recommendations... 10 3.11 Flight planning... 11 3.12 Processing data... 11 4 Camera control interface... 12 4.1 Home Page... 12 4.2 Manual mode... 12 4.3 External mode... 13 4.4 Time Interval mode... 13 4.5 Distance Interval mode... 13 4.6 Settings... 14 4.6.1 WiFi... 14 4.6.2 Time Zone... 14 4.6.3 Log... 14 4.6.4 Compass Calibration... 14 4.6.5 Advanced Settings... 14 4.7 Shutdown... 14 5 Retrieving data... 15 5.1 USB... 15 5.2 MicroSD... 15 6 Specifications... 15 7 General information... 16 7.1 Checks before use... 16 7.2 Precautions for use and maintenance... 16 7.3 Legal... 16 1
1 INTRODUCTION Thank you for choosing Buzzard Cameras! Our six-band multispectral sensor is one of the most powerful on the market. The sensor captures highly accurate images, due to its: Six narrow band 1.3 megapixel monochrome global shutter image sensors Large 5 μm pixels, which reduce noise and increase accuracy Spectral compatibility with European Space Agency s Sentinel-2 satellites Other features include: Rugged design with replaceable lens protector Integrated satellite positioning (GPS/GNSS/Galileo) USB Type-C and industry standard JST-GH Connectors Advanced Inertial Measurement Unit MicroSD card storage 2
2 WHAT S IN THE BOX? Items in the box: 1 x Buzzard Multispectral Camera 1 x Calibration target 1 x GPS antenna 1 x 32 GB micro-sd card / SD card adaptor 1 x Power / Trigger cable 1 x Universal mount adaptor 1 x Protective hard case 4 x M3 screws 1 x USB-C cable 1 x Adhesive Velcro pad 3
3 USING YOUR BUZZARD MULTISPECTRAL SENSOR Our six-band multispectral camera is designed to be both simple to use and easy to integrate with your existing equipment. 3.1 Overview The diagrams below show the camera features, ports, and band locations. Diagram 1 - Ports and interfaces Diagram 2 - Band numbers 4
Band Function Central Wavelength (nm) Band Width (nm) Sentinel-2 Equivalent 1 Blue 500 50 Band 2 2 Green 550 25 Band 3 3 Red 675 25 Band 4 4 NIR1 700 10 Band 5 5 NIR2 750 10 Band 6 6 NIR3 780 10 Band 7 3.2 Connecting the power / remote trigger cable The dual power and remote trigger cable is shown in Diagram 3 below. The white connector (1) plugs into the power / trigger port of the multispectral camera. Diagram 3 - Power / Trigger Cable The red connector (2) plugs into a DC power source of 7 to 12V. For advanced integrations where the camera is triggered remotely using an autopilot, connect a 5V GPIO to the red wire (3) and GND to the brown wire (4). 5
3.3 Attaching the camera to a drone Supplied with the camera is a universal mount adaptor. This mount can be attached to the back of the camera using the 4 supplied M3 screws, as shown in Diagram 4. Once installed, the camera can be mounted to a drone using standard action camera mounting kits. Custom mounts for specific drones can also be purchased separately. Diagram 4 - Universal mount adaptor installation 3.4 Connecting and installing the GPS antenna To enable geotagging of the captured images the GPS antenna must be installed. The GPS antenna module is mounted on the top of your drone with a clear and unobstructed view of the sky. To mount the antenna please apply the adhesive Velcro pad to the chosen location. Then insert the gold GPS connector into the GPS port of the camera. Diagram 5 - GPS antenna and connector 6
3.5 Install the microsd card Please install the microsd card as shown in Diagram 6. The pins of the microsd card must face away from the camera lenses. It is recommended that only SDHC microsd cards are used. The microsd card should have minimum read/write speeds of 45 MB/s. Only insert and remove the microsd card when the camera is turned off. 3.6 Powering up the camera Diagram 6 - MicroSD card installation. To turn on the camera, ensure the power cable is connected as described in Section 3.2 of this guide. Then momentarily press the power button on the side of the camera. The camera boot sequence takes less than one minute. Once pressed the power LED will illuminate solid red. After 10 seconds the indication LED will illuminate solid white. After 30 seconds the indication LED changes to solid green. After 50 seconds the indication LED will flash green / cyan. The camera is now ready and searching for GPS lock. Once GPS lock has been established, the indication LED will change to show the current capture mode. If the indication LED displays any other colours please consult Section 3.9 of this guide. 7
3.7 Button functions The power button also doubles as a manual image capture button. If the camera is currently in any mode other than Manual mode, the first press of the button will stop that mode and change to manual capture mode. A second press of the button will capture a multiband image. Holding the power button down for 5 seconds while powering up will factory reset the camera. 3.8 Connecting to the WiFi interface Once the camera is powered on and indicating it is ready, the WiFi will be enabled automatically. You can now connect to the camera control interface using a computer, smartphone or tablet: 1. Open the list of available WiFi networks on your device. Buzzard Multispectral Camera will be listed as one of the networks. 2. Connect to the WiFi network: Buzzard Multispectral Camera. Password: 12345678 3. Once connected, open your internet browser. 4. Type the following IP address into your browser s address bar: 192.168.20.1 5. The camera control interface should now be open. See Section 4 for information on how to use the camera control interface. Note: If using a device with mobile internet, please make sure this is disabled. 8
3.9 LED Indications General: LED Description Meaning LED Diagram Single Red Flash Yellow / Cyan Flashing Yellow Flashing Solid Magenta Triple Blue Flash Triple Blue / Yellow Flash Colourful Image captured No GPS fix SD card missing USB cable connected WiFi device connected WiFi device disconnected Calibration in progress Single Continuous Continuous Solid X3 X3 Problem: LED Description Meaning LED Diagram Yellow / Red Flashing Calibration failed Continuous Solid Yellow Hardware malfunction Solid 9
Camera modes: LED Description Meaning LED Diagram Solid Green Single Green Flashing Triple Green Flashing Green / Cyan Flashing Manual mode External mode Time interval mode Distance interval mode Solid Continuous X3 Continuous Continuous 3.10 Data collection recommendations To accurately process data captured with the multispectral camera, the following guidelines should be observed during collection of the data: 1. The GPS antenna should be installed, and a GPS fix should be verified prior to flight. 2. A minimum cross-track and along-track overlap of at least 50% is recommended. 3. At least one track of the flight area should be outside all edges of the area to be mapped. This will ensure the area to be mapped has 100% coverage. 4. The camera lenses should be facing directly downwards (nadir). 5. For accurate reflectance data, images of the supplied reflectance target should be captured immediately before and after each flight. Alternatively, the reflectance target can also be imaged during the flight. 10
When imaging the reflectance target, place the target flat on the ground and ensure that it is not shadowed by anything, that it is receiving direct light from the sun or sky, and that the angle of view from the camera to the panel is as perpendicular as possible (without shadowing). Avoid having the sun reflect off any surface and hit the panel. 6. It is recommended to collect data during weather that provides consistent illumination levels. 7. For best results, data collection should be done within 2.5 hours of local solar noon. 3.11 Flight planning The following details may be required to provide the correct overlap in mission planning software: Item Focal length Vertical field of view Horizontal field of view Image sensor size Image resolution Value 12 mm 25.8 deg. 32.1 deg. 6.9 mm x 5.5 mm 1280 x 1024 pixels 3.12 Processing data Imagery collected from the multispectral camera can either be processed on the Buzzard Data Hub or by any of the leading mapping and orthomosaic tools, such as Agisoft Photoscan and Pix4D. 11
4 CAMERA CONTROL INTERFACE 4.1 Home Page Once connected to the WiFi interface the home page will appear in your browser (Diagram 7). This page can be used to quickly access the 4 image capture modes: Manual, External, Time Interval, and Distance Interval. The top right of the home page displays information on the SD card and GPS lock status. The top left of the home page provides access to the menu bar (Diagram 8). Diagram 7 - Home page Diagram 8 - Menu bar 4.2 Manual mode Manual mode can be used to take a single multiband image by pressing the Camera icon at the bottom of the page. The exposure can be adjusted to suite the lighting conditions using the 3 pre-set icons. The exposure can be adjusted further using the slider. 12
4.3 External mode External mode is used to trigger the camera remotely using a compatible autopilot. See Section 3.2 for information on how to correctly wire this setup. The exposure can be adjusted to suite the lighting conditions using the 3 pre-set icons. The exposure can be adjusted further using the slider. 4.4 Time Interval mode Time interval mode can be used to capture images at set time intervals between 1 and 60 seconds. Use the slider to choose a time interval. The exposure can be adjusted to suite the lighting conditions using the 3 pre-set icons. The exposure can be adjusted further using the slider. 4.5 Distance Interval mode Distance interval mode can be used to capture images at set distance intervals. The camera will capture an image every time it travels the selected distance from the previous image capture. The exposure can be adjusted to suite the lighting conditions using the 3 pre-set icons. The exposure can be adjusted further using the slider. 13
4.6 Settings The camera settings page can be found in the sidebar menu. Camera details can be viewed and modified from the settings page. 4.6.1 WiFi Use the WiFi section of the settings page to rename the WiFi access point and change the Password. 4.6.2 Time Zone Your current time zone must be selected to convert the UTC time from GPS to your local time. 4.6.3 Log Details of all events or errors since the camera started will be listed within the log. 4.6.4 Compass Calibration Compass calibration can be performed by selecting the Start Calibration button. The calibration is performed by rotating the camera 360 degrees around its X, Y, and Z axis s. 4.6.5 Advanced Settings Under advanced settings the gain of each individual band can be adjusted. 4.7 Shutdown To turn off the camera, tap the shutdown button at the bottom of the sidebar menu, and then confirm shutdown on the popup notification. Diagram 9 - Settings menu 14
5 RETRIEVING DATA The data on the camera can be transferred to a computer in two ways: via USB or via microsd card. 5.1 USB 1. Using the supplied USB-C to USB cable, connect the USB-C end to the camera and the other end to your computer. 2. Wait for your camera to boot and become ready to use. Once ready the notification LED will show solid magenta. 3. The data on microsd card will now be available under: Start > Computer/This PC 5.2 MicroSD 1. Insert the microsd card into the supplied microsd to SD card adaptor. 2. Insert the SD card into the SD card reader of your PC. Avoid removing the microsd card when the camera is on. This may result in data being corrupted. 6 SPECIFICATIONS Dimensions Weight Power supply Capture rate Image format Sensor resolution Spatial resolution Bit depth 8.65 cm x 6 cm x 5.4 cm 250 g 7-12 V DC 1 FPS (all bands) TIFF uncompressed 1280 x 1024 pixels (Global Shutter) 5.3 cm @ 120 m AGL 8-bit (10-bit coming soon) 15
7 GENERAL INFORMATION 7.1 Checks before use Before each flight, make the following checks are performed: Make sure that the lenses are clean. Use a microfibre cloth to clean them. Make sure there is enough free space on the microsd card so you can save all the photos taken during the flight. Make sure that the camera is properly attached to the drone and will not come off during the flight. Make sure that the power cable is securely attached. Make sure the compass is calibrated. Make sure a GPS lock is achieved before starting image acquisition. 7.2 Precautions for use and maintenance If sand or dust gets into the camera it may be irreparably damaged and no longer function correctly. Do not use the camera in adverse weather conditions (rain, strong wind and snow) or when visibility is poor (at night). Keep the camera away from high voltage power lines, buildings or any other potentially hazardous areas. Do not use this device near liquids. Do not place the camera in water or on a wet surface as this could cause irreparable damage. Do not leave the camera in the sun. 7.3 Legal The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice. Buzzard Cameras Limited assumes no liability for incidental or consequential damages arising from the use of this product, and any claims by a third party. All cameras purchased directly from Buzzard Cameras Limited are provided with a 12-month warranty. 16