International Drone Expo 2015

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IDE 2015

This past Saturday several members of our AARR Team trekked down to the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.  We checked out the second annual International Drone Expo, a mixture of conference presentations and a large exhibit floor showcasing a range of UAV manufacturers.  The exhibit floor was a nice mix of manufacturers, firms dedicated to facilitating FAA applications/exemptions, businesses proffering commercial UAV services, and an array of ventures offering parts and ancillary equipment for UAV platforms and operations.

Home-Grown UAV Industries: Action Drone & Quadrocopter

We met with a host of companies that were crafting their own UAV platforms, often by merging existing components within their own designs.  Lots of cool stuff here from companies like Quadrocopter who design and configure units in Montana but who conduct most of their training just south of Los Angeles in Orange County, California.  Perhaps the neatest firm we spoke with was the San Diego-based Action Drone.  These guys grew out of a small hobbyist company two years ago and now are a full-service commercial outfit with their own fabrication shop in Hong Kong that constructs/supplies their carbon fiber frames to their design and construction offices in San Diego.

 

Southeast Asia-based Companies: Youeeq & Gryphon/XM2

The vast majority of manufacturers from DJI to all the new upstarts are Chinese (or Korean or Taiwanese) companies with the real work of design, manufacturing, and construction done overseas and their US-based operations simply sales offices.  These businesses dominated the offerings here at IDE, from the gigantic heavy-lift units of the Korean-based Gryphon/XM2 serving filming and heavy sensor package-needing sectors to the smaller folks such as Yuneec who hope to be a cheaper alternative to DJI and 3DR‘s marketplace dominance.  As an aside, it is really funny that the tradeoff of power vs. weight always seem to conspire to produce effective 15-25 minute flight times regardless of the size of the platform.  Be wary of folks saying they get longer (usually that is with a non-existent or minimal sensor package).

Big (Over?) Promises

Another trend we are noticing of late is the tendency of manufacturers to be crafting more and more high performance platforms. To be sure higher performance is happening, but much of the innovation seems to center around making things cheaper with lower quality components targeted to drop the cost for the lower end of the consumer market.  Lots of the build quality we are seeing is simply not up to the needs of our real-world research/commercial needs.  Paired with this is a tendency to make what we might think are exaggerated claims.  A great example of this is AEE’s F100 (see the video below) we saw demoed in one of the flight cages on the expo floor.  To be clear, we have not had access to one of their units to test.  But the claims these folks were making such as the ability to fly up to 15,000 feet (almost three miles up), operate with no problems in temperatures as low as -10°C, the ability to fly through snowstorms or rainstorms, and others leave us skeptical.  I don’t want to say that these salesmen are overselling their products, but it is fair to say we seriously doubt their real-world performance is anything close to their stated specifications.

JTT's Chinese Police UAV currently being sold for use to Chinese law enforcement agencies. This display was at JTT's booth at IDE 2015.
JTT’s Chinese Police UAV currently being sold for use to Chinese law enforcement agencies. This display was at JTT’s booth at IDE 2015.

Fun Stuff

There was lots of great stuff to be seen at IDE.  Just a few included some killer LED-lit hula hoop drones that would be a great addition to our Arts Under the Stars performance later this Spring, a flying R2D2, the newest FLIR cameras for our Inspire, etc.

R2D2 Drone built around a DJI platform leaving the Los Angeles Convention Center after IDE 2015.
R2D2 Drone built around a DJI platform leaving the Los Angeles Convention Center after IDE 2015.

 

Small quads from Horizon Hobby.
Small quads from Horizon Hobby.
Micro quads from Horizon Hobby.
Micro quads from Horizon Hobby.
New NDVI camera for DJI's Inspire. This camera is used to image photosynthetic tissues/vegetation. Mostly folks are using this for agricultural crop assessments.
New NDVI camera for DJI’s Inspire. This camera is used to image photosynthetic tissues/vegetation. Mostly folks are using this for agricultural crop assessments.

Delta wing UAV IDE 2015

A really big display screen built into the storage case from Natural Drone.
A really big display screen built into the storage case from Natural Drone.

We were also really inspired by things other than products.  Tons of great discussions and ideas for new flight cages such as the apparently increasingly popular bungee cord-based cages…

The Expo was this way...
The Expo was this way…

Relocation of Stickleback

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This is an interesting post made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about a relocation of unarmored threespine stickleback in June of 2015 where they moved a population from the Santa Clara River (where drought conditions were severe) to San Francisquito Creek. This was done to protect the highly endangered fish from extinction. From my observations it seems they are now extirpated from the rescue site.

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Inland-Fisheries/Projects/Stickleback

Stickleback-Map multiple Fishes

photos taken from the USFWS link above

 

Santa Rosa Entry 2

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“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” Henry David Thoreau, Walden

On the Santa Rosa Island trip we were able to learn from three different facility at CSU Channel Islands. The first Professor I was able to learn from was Matt Furmanski who is an art professor who specializes in sculptures. He was able to show us that the beauty of the island and how it can encourage the creation of art, that the simplicity is what sparks imagination in our minds. What I was able to take away from him was that this beautiful research island can be used in the art field as well. That just by looking at it from a different point it can become something entirely different. Secondly, I had Professor Allison Alvarado who is a field biologist; who is currently working on identifying and implementing mist-netting sites for monitoring birds on the islands.  What she taught us was the importance of understanding the species of birds on the island and show they continue to adapt to the ever changing environment. We took time and learned how to identify the different types of birds by color and sound. This exercise made us take the time to look and understand the most beautiful birds on the island. Lastly, we worked with the island keeper Professor Cause Hanna, who took us on the most exciting journey. My group was able to use clam guns and count species along the shoreline. We were able to actively be apart of the island research and had so much fun doing so. We were shown that research is something that can be fun and exciting , it is what you make it. I think the importance of understanding and respecting the island is the one thing I was able to get from each of the Professors. The island is a place that everyone from every field of study can come and get an understanding of what nature has to offer. I think if Cause Hanna and Matt Furmanski came together and did a project that had to do with creating art and honoring the island would be really something interesting. I could imagine using the islands resources to build some type of sculpture or a piece of art. The question we would have to think about is how can we use Santa Rosa Island to create art? We would need to step back from the luxuries of today and go into a time where the land provided all of the resources. This exercise would require us as a whole to embrace the island and all of the beauty it has to offer and create art from what we find within us. Each person would be able to grow and benefit from this exercise, which is why I think it would something we should do. 

Getting Started

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Just starting to sort of look at the best way to teach my high school kids about the environment. I never really realized how many different ways people can teach. It’s a little insane. It all just depends on what you are teaching, what kind best suits you and which one reaches the majority of the students. In a perfect world you would be able to reach all of the students with just one style but we don’t live in a perfect world, guess it looks like there will be two different kinds of teaching meshed into one.

challenge 6 share

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From the very first time in the class when I found out we had to use social media to complete the home work it was weird. I always thought we had to stay away from social media such as Instagram, Facebook, twitter, and snapchat while we were doing homework. But I found that it can be useful using these types of social media and put them to good use while your doing home work. Using the digital citizenship has taught me how to use it effectively for doing research for anything. when it comes to political issues and world issues I can use Facebook. If I wanted to look up something just simply typing a hash tag on Instagram and I can get images quick. I can even try to get the attention of someone running a campaign on twitter about anything just by tweeting to him or her multiple times in till they tweet me back. These were mainly the three types of social media that helped me get the information I needed for some of the work I tried looking for. Some ideas that will probably help me hopefully in the future is using social media as a resource to gather all kinds of information. From also reading the book digital citizenship I found useful techniques and other stuff I didn’t know about. I also found out how many people all over the world are using the internet to get connected with each other. I mean I knew that they do but in a more useful way to get information about campaigns and other issues that are happening all over the world. I think thats pretty cool because now people know whats going on all over. You can find out also if you have some things in common in your society that is happening lets say somewhere in Australia that is the same thing. I remember one of my teachers saying that she used Facebook and posted something about some certain type of cancer and she got a lot of comments about that certain type from people all over the world who were trying to help her. Its a great way to get in connect with other people with different backgrounds also because you get to know about their problems.  I also learned how to keep a safe digital citizenship and not sharing that much personal information for the right or wrong reasons. Many people still fear that you can get hacked or someone trying to use your identity. But all you got to do is  just put the information you, yourself, want people to know about you and you won’t have a problem. I feel like in the future I can use everything  learned in this class in good use. I don’t want one day just putting my name and something bad happens that I did. So thats why Im going to make good decisions so if they put my name on Google something good pops out.

How We Change For the Better

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Hello and good afternoon,
Time sure does go by quickly when you are filling your brain with knowledge and news ideas. I have to admit that when I had realized that I had enrolled in a class that emphasized the idea of “digital fingerprinting” and “digital citizenship,” I was thrown back a bit. At the beginning of the semester I believed that I had a pretty solid grasp on the benefits and dangers that the internet had to offer, but as it seems, I was greatly mistaken.

As this is the final project, I find myself with an unfamiliar feeling inside of me, and that is I am bummed out about not having to write any more blogs. At first, I was hesitant to writing blogs as I was almost afraid of doing voice threads, and over the duration of the semester both of those ideas have changed. I would have never thought of myself as enjoying the weekly blog, or a type of recorded report. It has become such a desire that I have registered a domain name and starting a website that will have many blogs and ideas on it. It is under construction at the moment, but rronoproduction.com should be up and running sometime in the new year.

Over the course of the semester, we covered what I would call “the basics” of personal online security.  We all buy software to protect our computers from viruses and email attacks, but what do we do to protect our identity or our dignity? What I mean is what does the individual do to make sure that our true character remains safe from other believing that we a good human being and have been forever? There are many people that will post a questionable picture on twitter or facebook thinking that no harm can come out if it, and the next day is fired from a job, expelled from school, or even worse, permanent loss of character. Having a good idea that what it put on the internet, stays on the internet, can help one avoid such incidents from occurring.

Other lessons learned were crap detection. Not only should one have a full understanding that there is no law written to this date that prohibits people from posting outright lies, but one should hold that at the front of their mind when surfing for information. We all can use a refresher course from time to time to detect BS, and if we use false information in school, work or even conversations with friends, disaster could be sure to happen. I think that we have all witnessed someone misquoting or using false information, and it is downright embarrassing for everyone involved. Not to mention how important it is to get you facts straight when making a substantial purchase, applying for a job, doing research for a job or term paper, or any other crucial decision in life.

Now that we are at the end, I leave my many readers(who am I trying to kid)with this thought. What we hold dear today often becomes irrelevant tomorrow, and what is so hip and cool to one person, is repulsive and offensive to another. With that said, remember that when creating something that represents you, your ideas, and your character, be careful of how you do it. You never know who might get a hold of it, or who is going to hold it against you. The internet is a powerful tool that can help you succeed in many ways, just be careful how you use it.

As I always say, Be good to yourself, to others, and remember to have a fantastic day

CDR

Final Blog Post!

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Hey Everyone! I cannot believe that this is our final blog post! Over this semester the idea of Digital Citizenship has drastically changed for me. In our initial Voice Thread assignment I defined Digital Citizenship has how someone carries themselves online. But now I believe that being a Digital Citizenship is way more than that simple definition.

Over the semester our various assignments have greatly expanded my knowledge of the online community. To me being a Digital Citizen now is someone who knows how to share and find information regarding things that are important to them. An example of this would be us, the students, that were able to find and share information about our topics. Another way idea that I believe adds on to the Digital Citizen idea is someone who is able to stay connected with what is going on all over the world via social media. An example of this would be when the shootings in Paris occurred the first place to begin showing news about it was social media, through people who were there. One more idea of Digital Citizenship that comes to mind is how to use your online presence to share information that might not be otherwise easy to locate.

Throughout this semester, I have also learned an array of tools that I can use on social media now. Before this class I did not know that in twitter you could arrange the people you follow into certain lists. Moving people into these lists allows you to focus on certain ideas and topics without being distracted by other accounts that you follow. I have also learned how to use hashtags more effectively in order to condense information about certain topics that I am interested in. Another major tool or idea about social media that I learned over the semester was that social media is not just some app to goof off on. I learned that social media can be a tool to expand your network of people and knowledge.

Overall, this semester in UNI349DC has completely changed how I look at social media. Before this class I looked at social media has a source of entertainment, but now I have learned what social media can be to a person who knows how to integrate themselves within the online community.

Thank you Professors for a great semester and hopefully see you guys soon!

Closure

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As the semester is coming to an end, I have looked back and I have realized that I have learned so much. I learned about many thing I have overlooked or didn’t realize were important when it comes to my involvement in then internet. The book Net Smart  has definitely helped with helping me learn what it means to a good digital citizen and also how to become a good digital citizen

digi

Some things I learned from the author, Howard Rheingold about becoming a better digital citizen include, being able to identify crap on the internet. We shouldn’t believe every thing we crapread online. Making sure it is a reliable source is crap detection 101. One thing I have learned to check on my sources is the date of the article or last time the webpage was updated. We never want old out of date data, especially when there can be new up to date information out there. Another thing I’ve learned to do is check their resources. Where are they getting their information and are their sources reliable and true. It good to explore around to look for these kinds of things to lower your engagement with misinformation. Another way to avoid misinformation is to look at sources you already know are reliable. There are many scholarly articles and journals we have access to.

Another thing I learned from Rheingold about being a better digital citizen is how to participate through the internet and social media. Like one of his chapters is named, Participation Power, we have the power to make changes if we get involved. The slightest participation can lead to RossMayfieldgreat change. The Egyptian revolution is a great example. It started with just one person but participation from many people created a change. With the creation of a Facebook page in remembrance of a young man who was killed by policemen, people began to like, favor and share and the the story blew up. This lead to networking and even collaborating of these people who wanted justice and peace. Like in the Egyptian revolution, I think we can make many changes in the world and we can do so by participating and networking with people who have similar interests as us. I now more motivated to get involved in participating online if it is in something I have an interest in.

smI think that I have grown as a digital citizen but I can improve a lot more. I see myself using social media a lot more, especially twitter. Doing the assignments such as lurking and engaging online made me realize that there is more than just communicating with your friends through the media sites. So much can be learned and I have learned so much from just lurking about the LGBT community alone. There is an endless amount of learning to be done and it doesn’t all have to be in the classroom. We can learn from one another, share interests, share our knowledge and use it to make changes.

Digital Citizenship – The GOOD Stuff

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The end of my semester has arrived, bringing with it the end of my experience in University 349.

So I’ll be taking this time to reflect on what I’ve learned over the semester and how my ideas on digital citizenship have changed. you When I entered this class, I was more apprehensive about the format than the subject matter, and looking back, my biggest question going in was why this class was only available and targeted to transfer students. I will say this though, I had absolutely no idea just how much there was to digital citizenship when I started studying it in September. My thoughts on it were something like “Well, it just means that there are rules and regulations regarding our lives online just like in our physical lives right? And we should be careful about our interactions, obviously.”

Right now, I can look back at that and laugh because that is exactly the kind of thinking that true proponents for digital citizenship in education are fighting to discourage. Referencing an article by John Waters that we studied a while back called “Turning Students into Good Digital Citizens,” we must remember that students are “producers and managers of information and perspectives.”

While being safe and respectful online are of course important things to do, to teach only that is severely lacking. The possibilities of the online world are limitless and with that knowledge and power, we have to do more than think twice about how a Facebook status might come across. We can use social media to learn about social issues such as the refugee crisis from the refugees themselves. We can directly impact our political system by contacting those in office and addressing our concerns with them, in real time. We can find ourselves a community to belong to when it seems as though those around us don’t have the answers that we are looking for.

And that is what digital citizenship means to me months later: in order to be a good digital citizen, you must use skills like crap detection (know what information and knowledge producers to trust), we have to be active participants in the world-wide conversation (use our resources to be true citizens rather than just interacting with people that we’ve met in person), and we should also be open-minded and willing to think outside of the box (let children and students teach us about what the digital world means to them versus what it means to parents and professors).

After reviewing the challenges posed to us in this class, it’s easy to see how much has changed. My digital footprint, for example, is much better now! Nearly all of the results on the first page of 2 different searches are linked to me thanks to this class and I couldn’t be happier and more grateful for that.

new footprint 2 new footprint

I think one of the concepts that will most stick with me is using social media for purposes other than our personal lives. This class has shown me that lurking doesn’t have to be a bad word, if we’re doing it right! Another thing that I’ve learned how to do better is engaging – we have to use all of our resources, be persistent, and responsible with our knowledge and power in all ways.

This has been an amazing journey and has far exceeded my expectations. I will take what I have learned about new perspectives on research and issues that impact our lives in to every class that I have from here on out. Social media is a relevant resource and I hope to continue sharing that with others. I will also take all of the tools that I now have and not only use them, but keep them sharp, in the face of advances and new information in our ever-changing online world.

Thank you Jill and Michelle, you two have taught me so much and this class has been a unique experience that I hope won’t be unique for long. You two are great and I know your past, current, and future students would agree. Goodbye, #Univ349DC – it’s been real!

MGH, Professor in Training

UNIV349DC

 

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A New Beginning

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It’s as if this scene of my life came out of a Michael Bay movie. A Transformers movie to be exact, allow me to explain. In the Transformer movie if you are not familiar, there are cars who transform into some sort of high tech warrior. I’d like to consider myself an unfinished version of a human Transformer that went from being in the shadows of consciousness, lacking awareness and self determination when it came down to technology. You see there was no mindfulness, there was no need. Social media was a thing to do when you plain and simple did not have anything to do. Just scroll and like what you like, scroll pass what you don’t. Then it happened, my first semester attending Channel Islands University as a transfer. With this came a class, a particular one. A class that taught me the value of technology, and made me rewire my perception of the media, and the methods I used to analyze and better yet dissect the information around me. A class I believe all students should take, Transfer Year Seminar.

 

We began the class choosing a topic we believed to be an important social issue in our lives with the hope of either building or contributing to some sort of bridge to suggest a possible solution, it’s what students do. My choice was the Syrian Refugee Crisis which I regret not one bit. This issue has shown me how little I am doing, with such easy challenges in my life. Nothing compared to being homeless, without doing anything at all. So here we stand with our judgments and stereotypes and continue to fail by simply staying on the outskirts of the situation, miraculously hoping for a solution to fall from the sky. Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one thing I have learned is that we must contribute when we want change, not just simply sit back and hope.

 

This is where technology comes in. Just like a carbon footprint, we now have a digital footprint. It is safe to say that majority of the world is catching up to this technology movement and are relying on it more and more in our everyday lives. We must no longer rely on the media to speak for the masses as it was before. We must no longer wait a few weeks or months to hear about a certain issue due to its place of value in the medias eyes. Participatory culture has become a movement in our world through technology. We can now connect with someone across the world about our favorite popcorn, and if we analyze it a little deeper than we can now connect with someone across the world about revolting our government.

 

The most useful knowledge I have learned from this class has surprised me. As a student, I walk into a new class in the beginning of each semester and honestly think I’m going to walk out knowing words, concepts, and most importantly take a tool from there that I did not have before. It is quite contrary in this case. Transfer Year Seminar has made awareness stand out for me the most. It is a quality we all have, a quality of being aware. Never had a given social media, let alone the capstones we can create through participating. It is such a fascinating thing that the depth of the study we conducted about a particular issue at the end of the day transformed me to be a deeper thinker of everything I do with technology and media. All jokes aside when people ask me what I’d like to do with my major I respond; “I want to change the world.” People laugh, almost every time. But now, so do I, at the fact that you honestly believe I can’t do so now with this irreplaceable tool we have like social media.