What sort of filter and or cameras are used successfully for crop monitoring?
I am testing a gopro (and a Sony A6000 btw) hung on a dampening plate below the Inspire. The gopro has a 5.4mm lens with the IR cut back filter removed and replaced with a IR gel filter from Publiclabs Infragram.org. once you have your NIR Images you can upload and have them processed by infragram to get NDVI
No need to upload to infragram. If you have the photos they can be uploaded instead of your normal ortho photos to get ndvi on dronedeploy.
We’ve had some users start flying a modified inspire camera and are using it with dronedeploy to generate maps. I believe the one you can currently buy online at uav direct uses a chemical process to change the lens which results in less blurry photos than physically cutting it.
Thanks for the suggestions. Are there any links to videos that show these things in action?
Ian:
I’ve flown several missions with the NDVI camera on Inspire 1 so far (we normally fly an NDVI-converted cam inside an AgEagle wing). There isn’t really a “process” to speak of with DroneDeploy’s platform. You just replace the camera body itself with the modified camera (Aerial Media Pros also offers some). After flying the mission and uploading the imagery, DroneDeploy’s Map will have an NDVI option. If you fly with a regular camera, it is a false-colour NDVI, but if flown with the modified cam it will give you a true NDVI image.
For example, here’s what the stitched “Orthomosaic” looks like with the filtered camera:
And this is the finished NDVI image:
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Thanks Maakusi, thats very helpful and informative. How do you attach the NVDI camera to the Inspire?
The camera we are using (and the ones commercially available so far) come with the gimbal. So just unscrew the gimbal from the Inspire and (carefully!) attach the converted camera with gimbal. Plug & play!
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Maakusi - I am very interested in purchasing this camera. Can you provide more details or a link please
The one I flew for those images was a prototype, not commercially purchased. We are in the process of getting a supply of similar cameras and hope to be ready to sell in Canada this week. Just shoot me a message if you are Canadian.
If you are from the States, you could try this source:
http://aerialmediapros.com/store/ndvi-camera-unit-for-inspire-1-and-matrice-100/dp/838
Do you have any photos of the camera and gimbal?
It should actually be difficult to determine the different between the inspire camera and the modified camera.
Great, I’ve got a friend on holiday in California at the moment. All I need to see is a youtube demo video and I’ll get him to buy and bring it back to NZ. He leaves in a week so an urgent demo-vid-info would be appreciated
What type of demo/youtube video are you interested in seeing?
A demo on what the output video/photos would be a great start
A hands-on type demo - only needs to be a couple of minutes long. Also, how has the sensor been modified (has it been replaced)?
Those are all good questions for the people who make the modification.
http://aerialmediapros.com/store/ndvi-camera-unit-for-inspire-1-and-matrice-100/dp/838
I believe they modify the camera sensor.
how much are these selling for?
it appears to be double the cost of an extra inspire camera, around $1200-1300.
Hey all
Wanted to clear the waters on the NDVI camera specs and conversions provided by the AerialMediaPros team. We have been working on developing ag solutions for the Inspire since its release, and have been extremely careful in selecting what we offer in terms of NDVI because there is no end-all solution that covers every grower and every crop. You may see multiple NDVI drone platforms and camera conversions in your Google search results, however each platform and NIR filter have their own set of limitations and they need to be fully understood before the NDVI image means anything to a farmer. So don’t be swayed by companies offering a full NDVI experience in 1 camera.
For example, NDVI is much more helpful after knowing the details of a standard RGB image/map. For this reason, AerialMediaPros will be adjusting the ag packages soon to ensure the operator has the ability to map with the standard Inspire camera as well as the NDVI X3.
Our Inspire 1 NDVI X3 camera is converted in house, using an internal Blue + NIR filter and modified lens. The Blue + NIR combination is known as the safest bet at this time, so we are starting with that until we can perform more testing on crop specific solutions. The sensor has purposely not been changed, so you are still getting all the power of the Sony EXMOR CMOS sensor.
We will upload some more pics and demos in the next day or so for you guys to take a look at.
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