Drones · AditNow Community

squirrel
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie Topic Starter

10 years ago

OK here is a really silly question - has anyone heard of or used drones in mine exploration - perhaps through collapses or in areas of bad air, down shafts - or even to photograph surface remains?!

I just wondered, because the technology is getting ever cheaper and a simple drone with camera can be found on Amazon for around £38 :stupid:

Blober
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#2

Have always thought about using them to look through those stranded tunnels high in slate chambers. Not sure how well the radio transmitters would work underground though.

FILTH - Think this is a playground? Think again...

royfellows
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#3

What we really need is a mechanical bore worm with a camera before we start digging the collapse that should only be a few feet but is actually indefinite.
Grrrr

My avatar is a poor likeness.

RJV
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#4

Not underground, but we have used one to search for open jet mines. Though fun to watch, as a tool it proved to rest firmly in the fat lot of use category. Walking the ground, as with most things, is a far better option than watching something on a screen...

The only time we found anything with it was when we weren't even using it for that purpose! :bored:

As for underground, one of the main problems I can see is judging scale. We've used cameras on drain rods to probe sumps and it's extremely hard to guess how big the space you are looking at might be. Though that is in caves, in mines which are often have fairly consistently sized passages then that might not be such an issue. The thought of exploring remotely does fill me with a certain amount of misgiving though. Putting the armchair into exploring and all that... ::)

mistericeman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#5

I cannot imagine the transmitter working very well underground ....
Mine is fine line of sight wise for around 1000 feet with fresh transmitter batteries ...
It's possible to fly them FPV (Goggles act as screens relaying the camera picture )

I have thought about getting some overhead footage as surface remains are often more evident from the air especially early in the morning or late evening as the sun sets .

I only bought mine last year before we took the Landrovers up to Scotland SO not really had much chance to practice sadly .

IF you stick these on at HD the quality isnt too bad to be fair ...(The flying is appalling though lol )

Mr Mike
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#6

CREG Journal did an article for using them to see up high in large cave chambers, can't remember what the conclusions were.

Just checked, it was issue 82, see:

http://bcra.org.uk/pub/cregj/covers.html

http://bcra.org.uk/pub/cregj/index.html?j=82

Unless you have a subscription, you can't download the info, though check if you can pay for just a one off.

Mr Mike www.mineexplorer.org.uk

P Knight
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#7

http://hackaday.io/project/1198-subterranean-investigation-device
I have thought about building a blimp with a camera and stuff to get footage in caves, nice drifting shots. But, i would have to inflate it with hydrogen once in the required cave section and people might not approve of me crawling down a small passage with bottles of hydrogen in my bag. Klunk, leak, boom!

mistericeman
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#8

http://hackaday.io/project/1198-subterranean-investigation-device
I have thought about building a blimp with a camera and stuff to get footage in caves, nice drifting shots. But, i would have to inflate it with hydrogen once in the required cave section and people might not approve of me crawling down a small passage with bottles of hydrogen in my bag. Klunk, leak, boom!

Helium instead ????

Least it'd be a laugh

Graigfawr
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#9

Currently a thread on drones underground over on ukcaving:http://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=17853.0

NewStuff
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#10

I've flown one (a WL922) through parts of Cambrian. No footage, I didn't have a camera attached at the time. The huge issue is spatial awareness, or rather lack of it in the dark. Flying FPV may solve some of those, but most FPW camera's are very wide angle, and do not, by design, have the propellers in shot. It may also help if your quad/hex/octo has the payload capacity to strap a bright (several thousand lumen) light to it.

Searching for the ever elusive Underground Titty Bar.

DDDWH CC

AdM Michael
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#11

This might solve some of the problems:

http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-9527/year-all/#/gallery/13024

AR
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#12

I've seen some footage shot from a drone flown over Magpie Mine and I have to say I thought it of limited use due to the constant rolling and pitching; I think Toadstone's kite work to date has been better from an archaeological perspective.

Follow the horses, Johnny my laddie, follow the horses canny lad-oh!

Peter Burgess
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#13

Down a shaft you might find a piece of string with a camera on the end is a cheaper option.

royfellows
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#14

"Peter Burgess" wrote:
Down a shaft you might find a piece of string with a camera on the end is a cheaper option.

IA Recordings have been producing very good video footage for years without them.

My avatar is a poor likeness.

Roy Morton
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#15

some snazzy flying here albeit above ground.

"You Chinese think of everything!"
"But I''m not Chinese!"
"Then you must have forgotten something!"

4737carlin
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#16

Just make sure you have a fully charged battery

[youtube]VsHMjWORFvI[/youtube]

P Knight
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#17

HA! Give that man a medal! 🙂

Digit
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#18

"RJV" wrote:
Not underground, but we have used one to search for open jet mines. Though fun to watch, as a tool it proved to rest firmly in the fat lot of use category. Walking the ground, as with most things, is a far better option than watching something on a screen...

So who is going to be the first to develop and fly some scaled down LIDAR kit? That could be both interesting and useful given the overgrown state of some sites.

~~~ The future is not what it used to be ~~~

RJV
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#19

We've used LiDAR too!

Personally I found it to be of marginal use though others may differ in their views. If you're sufficiently interested in an area to have obtained the relevant LiDAR data then realistically, you probably already know exactly where the various worked seams etc outcrop and where the various surface depressions and so on are. As the data is not detailed enough to enable you to determine between said depressions & actual holes it all comes back to having to walk the ground. Which is good!

christwigg
50.2% (Neutral)
Newbie

10 years ago

#20

"RJV" wrote:
Personally I found it to be of marginal use though others may differ in their views.

I'll be the one that differs there.
I found it very useful for locating areas in woodland that were worth searching for entrances into jet workings.

Admittedly the same could be achieved by just walking the ground anyway, but it can point you at the biggest tips and most surface collapses very quickly.

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