A mythical bird that never dies, the phoenix flies far ahead to the front, always scanning the landscape and distant space. It represents our capacity for vision, for collecting sensory information about our environment and the events unfolding within it.

The Beginning

Something new begins. Excitement is in the air, everything is novel and everyone is contemplating what the next few days will inaugurate. Sleepless nights, plenty of Red Eye and a good deal of frustration ensued.

Read more →

To Ashes

The hexakopter's maiden test flights. Hindsight might be 20/20; but hastiness and naïvety are two forces which are incredibly difficult to overcome after four days of construction. Ambient conditions be damned, let's just fly the thing!

Read more →

Rebirth

Some weeks later: humbled, tormented but with slowly rekindling spirits work begins on the Oktakopter. New tools to assist with the build, a deeper understanding of processes and a new sense of purpose surfaces.

Read more →

Mission

Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes and subsequent updates (like those of the DLTJ) to the always constant bandwidth dilemma have been points in our conversations for quite a long time. Whilst an Антонов Ан-225 Мрія full of the densest storage media possible would certainly be handy for the occasional intercontinental ‘compendium of human knowledge’ transfer; a scaled down approach consisting of a few 3.5TB HDD’s and a UAV could be considered adequate for frequent short range (< 10km) runs.

The Plan

This was precisely what we had in mind after our discussions about converting an RC car into an autonomous one became grandiose and pie in the sky. Some quick calculations estimated a conservative bandwidth of 5.8GB/s between two of our houses. With hot swappable removable bays already on hand this was clearly worth a few thousand dollars and countless late nights worth of investment. The craft would dock to an external landing pad/port, swap over ready drives, charge if need be, notify every one of the transaction, then either return to base or be secured at the destination depending on mission parameters.

Unfortunately, we're mostly talk and rarely walk. Pipe dream projects that have been discussed at length include: LockOn skirmish augmentation (inclusion of shotguns, grenades and claymores with IR & sniper rifles with laser); Ruben’s Tubes; Gauss and Rail guns; Lichtenberg figures; autonomous pretty much everything; RFID hacks; multistage water rockets; extreme outlier and fractal statistics for stock modelling; wire exploding (read: forcing the phone company to lay new lines to get a friend off pair-gains) etc. etc. Whilst these projects are certainly within our capabilities, knowledge base and skill sets; we're Physicists for the most part - theorists at that. The manual and laborious tasks are usually brushed off to the Oompa-Loompas (i.e. Engineers), therefore most of the projects we dream up stay in the dreamscape.

UAV Outback Challenge

One day in March 2010, months after these discussions became fleeting memories; we were sitting in a steakhouse eating ridiculously overpriced cow meat when a friend (one of the founding members of RocketRotor) brought up a segment that he’d seen on Catalyst the night before about the UAV Outback Challenge.

$50,000 dollars worth of prize money was definitely titillating enough for us to reconsider this idea quite seriously. Whilst there were some obvious technical challenges that would not have been included in the initial design, most of these would assist the craft rather than hinder it if/when we ever used it for its original purpose.

Search and Rescue Challenge
Mission

Outback Joe is lost in the Australian outback and desperately needs assistance. You must develop a UAV that is capable of locating Outback Joe and delivering an emergency package to him.

Where’s Outback Joe?

Your system must be capable of searching an area of at least 2nm x 2nm, up to 5nm from the aerodrome. The target for your search will be a dummy positioned in a typical resting pose in a rural setting.

The GPS coordinates of the search area are provided in Search and rescue Challenge Rules. The air vehicle must not travel outside of the search area or transit lane, for its flight will be terminated if it does so. The search area will be not more that 5nm from the aerodrome.

Over a 60 minute period teams launch their aircraft, conduct their search and locate Outback Joe. Once he has been found a GPS coordinate representing Outback Joe's location must be provided to the judges.

Rescue Outback Joe!

If GPS location for Outback Joe provided to the judges by the team is within 100 metres of Joe’s location the team will be given approval to deliver the emergency package. The emergency package will contain 500ml of 'life saving' water. The package must be dropped as closely as possible to Outback Joe, without landing on him. The UAV will then return to the Kingaroy airport for recovery.

Points will be awarded based on the mission performance including the accuracy of the emergency package delivery, and the team’s answers to questions from the judges prior to the mission.

Technology

This will need to be cut up into Hardware and Software, but for now its just a dumping ground for the layouts i've set up for quick reference. Vitae fringilla id, tempor vitae nulla. Ut vitae risus nulla. Nam enim erat, posuere in mattis at, hendrerit sed risus. Nunc molestie rhoncus eros et vestibulum. Donec aliquet, eros interdum tempus molestie, risus diam elementum sapien, eu aliquet sem erat ac sem diam ac luctus.

This is a heading 1 tag

Nullam lacus enim, consequat in tristique at, sollicitudin commodo sapien. Aenean tempor, augue sed lobortis consectetur, orci neque adipiscing metus, at hendrerit libero odio nec mi. Ut consequat, ipsum sed malesuada iaculis, dui purus elementum ante, sed consequat lacus nulla et arcu. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

This is a heading using the h2 tag

Phasellus scelerisque scelerisque est non fringilla. Donec aliquet, eros interdum tempus molestie, risus diam elementum sapien, eu aliquet sem erat ac sem. Vivamus facilisis diam et sem pharetra nec volutpat tellus feugiat. Ut justo dolor, porta quis vestibulum ac, hendrerit quis justo. Nam malesuada ante at nulla interdum pharetra.

This is a heading using the h3 tag

Praesent pulvinar nulla ut urna sollicitudin eget sollicitudin tellus vehicula. Duis dapibus ullam corper ullamcorper. Praesent pulvinar, tellus sit amet rhoncus porta, turpis justo eleifend elit, sit amet ultricies tortor mauris vel erat.

This is a heading using the h4 tag

Vestibulum viverra hendrerit urna, et tincidunt metus aliquam ut. Proin tempus nisi non arcu convallis non accumsan nibh rhoncus. Maecenas molestie, quam ut scelerisque.

This is a heading using the h5 tag

Sed pharetra facilisis nunc. Curabitur non felis vel dui tempus auctor vel ac nulla. Duis tempus interdum lectus, ut cursus enim luctus eu. Phasellus suscipit sodales laoreet.

This is a heading using the h6 tag

Morbi placerat egestas massa, at eleifend odio sagittis quis. Mauris fermentum auctor ipsum, eget pretium lectus convallis sed. Nulla facilisi. Sed ac tortor quam.

Colored Borders

Nulla quis metus a dolor feugiat porta. Phasellus sapien magna, gravida congue fermentum vel, gravida sit amet sapien. Quisque elit est, ullamcorper ac hendrerit eget, porta id enim. Phasellus in velit velit. Vestibulum sed elit ut arcu condimentum.

Praesent a dolor sem. Sed scelerisque, tellus id pulvinar tristique, erat eros rutrum mi, id adipiscing arcu sem vel est. Ut ac turpis ipsum. Mauris leo nulla, vestibulum id bibendum nec, auctor eu quam. Suspendisse commodo, enim quis porttitor.

Nulla quis metus a dolor feugiat porta. Phasellus sapien magna, gravida congue fermentum vel, gravida sit amet sapien. Quisque elit est, ullamcorper ac hendrerit eget, porta id enim. Phasellus in velit velit. Vestibulum sed elit ut arcu.

Curabitur vulputate, massa sit amet mollis sodales, arcu quam scelerisque augue, ac elementum velit mauris ac tellus. Nunc dapibus mollis ante a sollicitudin. Nullam adipiscing ante sed nisi mattis eget consectetur nibh aliquam. Ut porttitor leo id.

Quisque varius, erat nec fermentum aliquam, erat urna venenatis orci, in semper lorem ante at dolor. Quisque scelerisque mattis magna ut lobortis. Cras porttitor scelerisque ligula eget condimentum. Aenean tempor sapien augue.

Vestibulum sed elit ut arcu. Donec leo dui, mollis ut volutpat et, suscipit a mauris. Etiam molestie, purus id dapibus volutpat, nunc nisl ornare odio, sit amet ornare erat augue ac tortor. Phasellus adipiscing volutpat aliquam. Maecenas rutrum venenatis.

Message Boxes

This is a del message with a red background.

This is an ok message with a green background.

This is an info message with a blue background.

This is an alert message with a yellow background.

Some Basic Lists

  • This is the 1st item of an unordered list which is using the "list" class
  • This is the 2nd item of an unordered list which is using the "list" class
  • This is the 3rd item of an unordered list which is using the "list" class
  • This is the 1st item of an unordered list which is using the "list2" class
  • This is the 2nd item of an unordered list which is using the "list2" class
  • This is the 3rd item of an unordered list which is using the "list2" class
  • This is the 1st item of an ordered list which is using the "num" class
  • This is the 2nd item of an ordered list which is using the "num" class
  • This is the 3rd item of an ordered list which is using the "num" class
  • This is the 1st item of an ordered list which is using the "num2" class
  • This is the 2nd item of an ordered list which is using the "num2" class
  • This is the 3rd item of an ordered list which is using the "num2" class

Tables

This is a table caption
Title 1Title 2Title 3Title 4
Cell 1Cell 2Cell 3Cell 4
Cell 1Cell 2Cell 3Cell 4
Cell 1Cell 2Cell 3Cell 4
Cell 1Cell 2Cell 3Cell 4

Mini Gallery

Some Text

Morbi placerat egestas massa, at eleifend odio sagittis quis. Mauris fermentum auctor ipsum, eget pretium lectus convallis sed. Nulla facilisi. Sed ac tortor quam, in ullamcorper neque.

Vestibulum viverra hendrerit urna, et tincidunt metus aliquam ut. Proin tempus nisi non arcu convallis non accumsan nibh rhoncus. Maecenas molestie, quam ut scelerisque, neque metus.

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat. Praesent semper sem itudin ligula ullamcorper. Praesent semper sem aliquet ipsum lobortis vel sollicitudin ligula ullamcorper.

Flickr/Picasa Feed Maybe

Research

Not too sure if Research is the correct thing for this frame. I mean the idea would be to put things like my turbulence paper and graphs like number of boys brought to yard etc. Realistically I wanted 6 frames to fit the phoenix nicely and allow us to have all the information.. We'll rethink this if needed. Below is a test of column layouts that may be nice to use.

Full Column

Phasellus aliquam dignissim laoreet. Quisque pretium enim id enim vestibulum eget convallis eros auctor. Nunc eu mi velit. Etiam ante justo, semper in auctor et, eleifend sit amet velit. Nulla nibh justo, mollis id dapibus at, euismod tempus tortor. Cras rutrum bibendum ante. Fusce dignissim congue metus non feugiat. Proin mollis lacus elementum dolor gravida in eleifend urna consectetur. Sed at nisi nisi, nec vulputate orci. Aenean tempus, orci nec varius feugiat, mauris velit tristique est, ac consectetur massa tortor quis orci. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. In laoreet luctus ligula. Maecenas vestibulum nisi lectus. In adipiscing, felis id porta suscipit, justo nisl mattis leo, ac sollicitudin leo tellus eget libero.

Five Sixth

Sed dignissim neque non quam dignissim gravida ut sit amet nulla. Vestibulum convallis ligula nec lacus lobortis eget mollis nisl pellentesque. Nunc hendrerit, mauris id bibendum varius, elit dui aliquet velit, id aliquet lacus mi et arcu. Duis ligula neque, accumsan in volutpat nec, auctor sit amet dolor. Quisque id tincidunt nunc. Mauris vel leo adipiscing lacus consectetur egestas id et erat. Phasellus lobortis consectetur posuere. Nunc in purus tincidunt odio vestibulum varius.

One Sixth

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat.

Two Thirds

In a tellus mi. Nam lobortis lorem et sapien facilisis varius. Etiam quis gravida eros. Phasellus ligula turpis, convallis a tempus in, vestibulum varius dolor. Vivamus nunc neque, auctor in semper vitae, consectetur non nunc. Pellentesque commodo, magna sed sagittis porta, libero nibh ullamcorper massa, vel sollicitudin nulla nisl nec metus. Donec eget sem nunc. Nunc fermentum, nisl ut iaculis faucibus.

One Third

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat, ac posuere nisi pellentesque mollis. Praesent semper sem aliquet ipsum lobortis vel sollicitudin ligula.

Half

In a tellus mi. Nam lobortis lorem et sapien facilisis varius. Etiam quis gravida eros. Phasellus ligula turpis, convallis a tempus in, vestibulum varius dolor. Vivamus nunc neque, auctor in semper vitae, consectetur non nunc. Pellentesque commodo, nisl nec metus.

Half

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat, ac posuere nisi pellentesque mollis. Praesent semper sem aliquet ipsum lobortis vel sollicitudin ligula magna sed sagittis porta, libero nibh ullamcorper massa, vel sollicitudin nulla.

One Third

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat, ac posuere nisi pellentesque mollis. Praesent semper sem aliquet ipsum lobortis vel sollicitudin ligula ullamcorper.

One Third

Duis massa tellus, mollis et tincidunt in, adipiscing vel justo. Etiam et lectus metus. Phasellus blandit viverra risus, eget pharetra tellus adipiscing nec. Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum.

One Third

Nam luctus enim quis massa cursus hendrerit. Integer iaculis posuere bibendum. Nulla rutrum leo et est vestibulum a dignissim sem placerat. Sed turpis quam, lobortis vel vestibulum vel.

One Sixth

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat, ac posuere nisi pellentesque mollis.

One Sixth

Duis massa tellus, mollis et tincidunt in, adipiscing vel justo. Etiam et lectus metus. Phasellus blandit viverra.

One Sixth

Nam luctus enim quis massa cursus hendrerit. Integer iaculis posuere bibendum. Nulla rutrum leo et est tincidunt in.

One Sixth

Nunc vitae metus ut neque suscipit vestibulum. Etiam pretium tincidunt erat, ac posuere nisi pellentesque mollis.

One Sixth

Duis massa tellus, mollis et tincidunt in, adipiscing vel justo. Etiam et lectus metus. Phasellus blandit viverra.

One Sixth

Nam luctus enim quis massa cursus hendrerit. Integer iaculis posuere bibendum. Nulla rutrum leo et est tincidunt in.