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Our Equipment
ATEC-3D own a range of drones to allow us to choose the best one for each task.
In addition to our own craft, we sometimes hire in specialised equipment to enable us to keep up with the fast change of pace of this innovative technology.
Sensefly eBee Classic
Aerial Topography
Our eBee Classic is our first choice for capturing images for aerial photogrammetry in larger, rural areas.
The eBee's light weight and fixed-wing design make it very efficient and this allows us to capture areas of up to 12 square kilometres in each flight of up to 40 minutes.
Flights are programmed in to the accompanying software which allows us to choose the resolution of the final processed image, which can be as low as 1 pixel in that image representing 1.8cm on the ground.
We can also use the flexible payload compartment to choose between multiple camera options, our most used being the SODA RGB camera which captures a high resolution colour image with its 1" 20MP sensor. For jobs that require analysis of vegation such as crop health, we use the Sequioa Multispectral camera which has 4 lenses for RGB, Near infra red, Red edge and Green. When we used this craft in Zambia on the DAFNE project, we also fitted a thermal camera to measure the differing temperatures at the confuence of major rivers.
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DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual
Aerial thermography/ topography/ 3D modelling
This multirotor drone is from DJI's 'Enterprise' range and includes a number of features designed to make it more of a business and less of a consumer craft.
These include password protected internal storage to keep data safe in case of the craft being lost or stolen, and the ability to add accessories to a special port on top of the craft.
As you will see in the video above, these include a high powered beacon for increased visibility at night, a pair of adjustable high powered spotlights and a speaker.
We occasionally use the speaker to broadcast either the call of a predator or birt distress calls as a humane way of clearing birds away from urban locations where they might cause safety concerns. We avoid doing this in the nesting season in case we scare away brooding birds of course.
This drone's main application is using the thermal sensor to produce images that show levels of temperature alongside the colour image. This can be used to show poorly insulated roofs, location of animals and their burrows or a to identify broken or failing machinery.
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
Aerial photography/ videography and high level inspection
This drone is our main craft for video and photography.
It's range of features are aimed at getting the best images even in low light.
We also use this craft for aerial inspections such as roof condition surveys,
DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual
Aerial photography and high level inspection
This tiny drone is ideal for use in areas where the larger Mavic 2 Pro requires more clearance to take off. We are able to fly this craft much closer to uninvolved people than the rest of our kit due to CAA rules on craft weighing less then 250g. This makes it ideal for urban roof inspections etc.
Legacy craft
Training and backup
As ATEC-3D has been operating for a long time, we have a number of drones which have been replaced by later models, some, such as the Inspire One are no longer safe to fly as the batteries have been charged too many times, so our two of those have been retired.
Others are still maintained and flown, such as the Mavic Pro, Phantom 3 Pro and a couple of Phantom 2 drones.
These are used for training, and we always carry the Mavic Pro with us when we go to a job as a 'fallback' piece of kit in case of issues.
Other equipment
Our support kit for video and photography
A quick look at some of the other kit we use to support drone flights and to add ground videography and photography to our services.