Where can I buy a swinglet?

Please have a look at our distributors page.

What is the price of a swinglet?

The recommended price of the swinglet CAM is CHF 9’990 (approx. EUR 8'500), taxes, duties and transport not included. If you are interested, just ask for a quote. The prices of other swinglets (STIX, MET) depend on various options. Please contact us for a quote.

What is included in the swinglet box?

The swinglet CAM box includes the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as well as all you need to fly and operate it (except the computer or laptop):

• Ready-to-fly 500-gram autonomous airplane
• Fully integrated and flight-tested autopilot (enables fully autonomous navigation incl. take-off and landing)
• e-mo-tion software for flight planning and monitoring
• Customized 12MP compact digital camera
• Automatic control of the onboard camera via onboard autopilot
• 2.4GHz USB radio modem for data link
• 2.4GHz remote control (in case you want to take over in manual control)
• 2 rechargeable batteries and battery charger
• 2 propellers
• Transport box with space for all components
• User manual
• Software (e-mo-tion & PostFlight Suite) and autopilot firmware update during one year

The package related to the other swinglets may slightly vary depending on options.

Can I add a computer to make it a turn-key solution?

Yes, we do provide notebooks with pre-installed software (e-mo-tion and USB radio drivers). There are two options regarding the notebook:

• small netbook with a 11.6-inch, bright display
• semi-ruggedized laptop with a 14.1-inch, outdoor-viewable display

In both cases, the transport box of the swinglet is adapted to fit the notebook and its power supply. Contact us for more information.

How much does the shipping cost?

We generally use FedEx to ship the swinglet and the price depends on the destination country. Here are a few examples based on our experience:

• Europe approx. CHF 160
• USA approx. CHF 260
• Australia approx. CHF 300
• Brazil approx. CHF 300
• South Africa approx. CHF 300

When will my swinglet arrive?

We ship the swinglet within 4-6 weeks from the order. Typical delivery time is about one week and can vary depending on the destination.

Is a warranty included?

Yes, we provide a 1-year limited warranty.

What do your clients do with their swinglet?

A number of things. Here are a few typical applications:

• Aerial photography
• Mapping, photogrammetry (mosaicking, ortho-image generation, DEM)
• Crop monitoring (abnormalities spotting and sizing, yield prediction), precision agriculture
• Site survey for mission planning or buiding site monitoring
• Wild life monitoring
• Land management
• Archeology
• Research (e.g. remote sensing, aerial flocking, collective operation, low-altitude flight control, etc.)
• Atmospheric sampling
• etc.

end faq

Do I need an authorisation to fly a swinglet?

The legal framework for very small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) or Vehicles (UAV) is currently evolving in most countries; therefore you should consult your local aviation authorities. In many countries, you will be allowed to fly a 500-gram UAS/UAV within line of sight and below 400 feet or 150 m above ground level without any prior authorisation or certification.

Can senseFly LLC be held responsible for any consequences of using a swinglet?

All use of a swinglet is under the client’s sole responsibility. Under no circumstances will senseFly LLC be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages.

end faq

What are the flight performances of the swinglet?

The swinglet CAM has a flight endurance of about 30 minutes with a fully charged battery. The endurance is reduced with wind, frequent altitude changes or very low temperatures. The cruise speed is 10 m/s (36 km/h, 22 mph). The climb rate is about 3 m/s. The maximum wind speed is 7 m/s (25 km/h, 16 mph), which corresponds to a moderate breeze. This includes a safety margin to allow the swinglet to fly back home automatically when strong wind is detected by the autopilot.

How does the swinglet take off?

The swinglet is hand-launched (see video). It must always be launched against the wind in order to limit the required ground velocity. The take-off location is automatically selected as the emergency landing spot (home waypoint) and should therefore be clear of obstacle in a 40-metre radius (see next question).

How does the swinglet land and what is the required space?

It lands by gliding down, circling around a waypoint with a minimum radius of 20 metres, until it reaches the ground (see video). Since slight deviations from the waypoint trajectory are possible, especially in windy conditions, the landing zone should be free of obstacle within a radius of 40 metres.
By default, and in case of emergency, the swinglet will land around the take-off location. For this reason, it is important to always take off from a location free from obstacles within a radius of 40 metres. It is also possible to program the swinglet for a landing at a different location than the take-off location.

What is the surface requirement for the landing site?

Grass fields are ideal, but asphalt or other surfaces are also feasible. In general, the swinglet is so lightweight that it will not get irreparably destroyed because of a hard landing. The landing site should however be free of prominent obstacles such as rocks, posts, trees, buildings, etc.

Can the swinglet fly in all weather conditions?

Technically, the swinglet can fly with winds up to 7 m/s (i.e. moderate breeze), in low-visibility conditions, or even at night. Although light rain will usually not affect its flight characteristics, the swinglet is not water-proof and should therefore not be used when raining or snowing. For best image quality, the swinglet CAM should be used on clear days with light wind (up to 5 m/s, i.e. a normal breeze is fine).

What is the flight programming process?

The swinlget comes with the e-mo-tion software and a USB radio modem. This software and wireless communication link allow you to setup the flight plan by placing GPS waypoints either on a map or by manually entering the coordinates. Each waypoint is determined by its position, radius, altitude relative to the take-off location and circling direction.

What are the requirements for the ground station computer?

The ground station software e-mo-tion is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 as well as Windows XP, Vista and 7. A laptop with a free USB port and a minimum screen resolution of 1280x800 is necessary. Since the ground station computer is typically used outdoor, a bright and matte screen is desirable. Glossy screens are inconvenient due to reflections.

Do I need an Internet connection?

An Internet connection is required to download the map data for the intended mission area. However, the map data is cached in the hard disk and can therefore be downloaded in advance. During the flight, an Internet connection is not required. If you have the exact coordinates of the waypoints you want to fly, you may even program the flight without any map.

High-resolution satellite imagery is not available in my area. How can I plan my flight?

Depending on the type of flight, several options exist:

• Waypoints coordinates can be manually entered in our ground control station software e-mo-tion, based on positions determined on some external maps such as Google Earth^TM.
• Alternatively, you may use the auto flight-planning feature. Make sure to determine the size of the area to be mapped (in meters) and its relative position with respect to the takeoff location. Once the swinglet CAM is switched on and has acquired GPS fix, you will see it on the map and can use its position to adjust the auto flight planning area accordingly.
• If you possess some digital aerial imagery of the desired area, you may process it in order to display it in e-mo-tion. See following FAQ for more information.
• If you plan on flying often in the same area, you may execute an overview flight using the auto flight planning (see previous bullet point above) and process the images using our PostFlight Services. See the next FAQ for more information on using the output of PostFlight Services with e-mo-tion.

Is it possible to use custom maps as background to plan my flight?

Yes, e-mo-tion supports custom imagery as background in its map window. The custom georeferenced map must first be sliced into a set of standard web tiles. This can be achieved using the free application MapTiler. When using this software, chose "Google Maps compatible" and use a maximum zoom level of at least 18. The resulting folder should then be moved such as to obtain the following file hierarchy:

            <Document directory>/e-mo-tion/tiles/MyCustomTileSet/18/...

            <Document directory>/e-mo-tion/tiles/MyCustomTileSet/17/...

            ...

where <Document directory> is "My Documents" on Windows and ~/Documents on Mac OS X. You may have more than one custom tile set and they can be named arbitrarily. After restarting e-mo-tion, the custom map will be overlaid on top of e-mo-tion default map.

Note that custom maps can be generated using your swingletCAM and its mapping capabilities (see also the related PostFlight FAQ below). In this case, the tiles are automatically generated with the correct structure and ready to be copy-pasted in the related e-mo-tion folder structure as described above.

What happens if the swinglet gets out of communication range?

The default 2.4 GHz data-link provided with the swinglet has a range of about 1.3 km (depending on obstacles and RF interferences). The swinglet is however completely autonomous and does not require a working data-link to fly. Note that with the swinglet CAM, the image geo-tagging process relies on telemetry data logged by the ground station. If pictures are taken beyond the communication range, geo-tagging them will not be possible.

If the swinglet flies beyond the communication range, it will follow its flight plan and return home upon completion or in case of warning (such as strong wind or low battery level).

In order to avoid the situation where the swinglet unexpectedly flies away, a security zone is defined in the autopilot and corresponds to a maximum allowable distance around the take-off location. This security distance can be modified by the user before flight. If the swinglet flies beyond this zone, it will raise a warning and will return to the take-off location. The security distance is displayed on the map and can be adapted for each flight.

How can I improve the communication range of the swinglet CAM?

• Do not use 2.4GHz-based communication nearby the USB radio modem. This includes WiFi or Bluetooth phones.
• Switch the remote control off unless you need it.
• Place the USB radio modem as high as possible.
• Always orient the antenna of the USB radio modem such that it is perpendicular to the imaginary line between the modem and the airplane.

What happens in case of low battery level or strong wind?

The swinglet constantly monitors its state and, upon warning, automatically returns to the take-off location and lands. For example, warnings include low battery level, strong wind, going too far from the take-off location (see above).

What happens in case of critical issues such as empty battery or loss of GPS signal?

Critical issues occur extremely rarely. The swinglet will try to return to the take-off location and land before the battery becomes empty and GPS signal reception is usually extremely good in flight due to the absence of any obstacle. However, in the unlikely case that the GPS fails, normal waypoint-based navigation is no longer possible. In order to minimise the risk of damage and threat to third parties, the swinglet will land immediately in a circling pattern and at a slow speed. If the issue disappears (e.g. GPS signal is regained), the swinglet will resume GPS navigation and return to its take-off location.

Can the swinglet be repaired in case of damage?

Yes. In general small cracks in the airframe can easily and quickly be repaired using foam-compatible, contact glue such as UHU^® POR^®.
In case of serious damage to the airframe, the built-in electronics generally survive the collision because it is surrounded by foam and the inertia of the entire system is very small. Your local reseller, or senseFly, will be able to provide you with a quote for airframe replacement.

How much learning does it take to operate a swinglet?

The learning process takes approximately two hours. In general, it is sufficient to read carefully the user manual in order to get started. If desired, a training session can be organized at a reseller location.

Can the swinglet be used in urban areas?

Technically speaking yes, provided there is enough space for takeoff and landing (see above). In general, it is recommended to launch the swinglet from an open area before flying over a city. Legally speaking, some countries prohibit flying unmanned aerial systems (UAS) over populated areas without prior authorisation. Please contact your local aviation authorities for more information.

Is it possible to increase the range/endurance of the swinglet?

The battery of the swinglet has been selected for an optimal endurance given the available payload capacity. It is therefore not possible to increase the endurance or the range of the swinglet. It would be technically feasible to design a larger airframe with a bigger battery capacity, but this would come at the expense of the ease of use, cost effectiveness and safety to third parties.

How long does it take to swap and recharge batteries between two flights?

Swapping of battery takes almost no time provided a second, fully-charged battery is available. Recharging an empty battery takes more than one hour using the provided cell-balancing charger. If your application often requires more than two flights in a row, additional batteries can be ordered with the swinglet.

What is the operating temperature range of the swinglet?

The swinglet has been tested in temperatures ranging from -15°C to 35°C and its electronics are designed to work in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 50°C. Note that the battery performance can decrease with low temperature and yield an endurance reduction of up to 20%.

end faq

What are the specifications of the camera used in the swinglet CAM?*

The swinglet CAM is equipped with a 12 MP compact camera with a focal length of 24 mm (in 35-mm equivalent). The resulting ground resolution is adjusted by choosing an appropriate flight altitude (typically between 50 and 1000 metres above ground) and will range from 2 to 40 cm/pixels.

* Note that the figures provided here relate to the swinglet CAM bearing serial number starting with SC-03 or higher. The SC-02 has a 28-mm focal length instead of 24-mm, which leads to a narrower field of view.

How do I transfer the photo to my computer?

The photos are available in the SD memory card of the onboard camera right after landing.

How can the images be processed after a flight?

We provide a software tool named PostFlight Suite to geo-tag the images based on data logged during the flight (i.e. write inside the image file the GPS coordinates at which it was taken). Geo-tagged images can be used with a variety of software tools to generate galleries linked to maps, visualise them in Google Earth^TM, etc.

To produce orthomosaics (i.e. corrected and stitched images that can be used as geographical maps) and digital elevation models (DEM), we recommend using our PostFlight Services.

Alternatively, here is a list of software or service providers that can be used to reconstruct orthomosaics and DEMs:

• EnzoMOSAIC software by MosaicMill Ltd
• PhotoScan Pro by Agisoft
• RapidCluster image processing service on the web by PIEneering

To produce non-geographically correct, but visually-pleasing mosaics, we recommend using the panorama creation tool of Adobe Photoshop CS5 or Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.

What is the area that can be typically imaged during one flight?*

This depends on the flight altitude (and thus the ground resolution):

• At 140 m (ground resolution of 5 cm/pixel), one picture covers 0.03 square km (3 ha, 7 acres) and one flight covers up to 1.5 square km (150 ha, 370 acres).
• At 280 m (ground resolution of 10 cm/pixel), one picture covers 0.12 square km (12 ha, 29 acres) and one flight covers up to 4 square km (400 ha, 990 acres).
• At 840 m (ground resolution of 30 cm/pixel), one picture covers 1.07 square km (107 ha, 265 acres) and one flight covers up to 10 square km (1000 ha, 2470 acres).

Have a look at our mapping examples to see the results you can obtain.

* Note that the figures provided here relate to the swinglet CAM bearing serial number starting with SC-03 or higher. The SC-02 has a 28-mm focal length instead of 24-mm, which leads to a narrower field of view and leads to slightly different figures.

How many images can be taken during one flight?

When photos are triggered at maximum rate (every 3-4 seconds), the number of images in one flight can reach 400. The provided onboard memory card has more than enough space to store such a number of images at full resolution.

How to specify where to take photos?

The photos can be triggered in three different ways:

• Photos can be systematically triggered along the line separating any pair of waypoints. This is useful for a mapping mission.
• Photo locations can be placed on the map and will trigger the camera whenever the swinglet CAM reaches them. This is typically useful to photograph specific ground targets.
• Photos can be triggered manually during flight by clicking a button located on the ground station software GUI.

The latest version of our ground control station software, e-mo-tion, allows you to draw a rectangle on a map in order to automatically create a flight plan with the desired ground resolution, image overlap, etc.

Can the swinglet CAM record videos?

The swinglet CAM has been designed for still image acquisition. Since the camera is not stabilised, the recording videos with the onboard camera would result in shaky movies. This is not a problem for still images since the swinglet CAM actively stabilises itself while the photo is taken.

Are the images/video transmitted in real time?

No. The high-resolution images are available only after landing from the onboard memory card.

Can the camera be replaced by another imaging sensor, such as near-infra-red (NIR), thermal camera, or medium-format cameras?

The swinglet CAM is equipped with the best visible-spectrum camera available that fits its payload capacity. Since the camera is tightly integrated with the autopilot for automatic picture acquisition, it is not possible to replace it with a different unit. However, a NIR/NDVI version of the swinglet camera is now available for environmental and agricultural applications. Contact us if you need more information about this NIR/NDVI camera.

Can I install a custom (non-camera) payload?

The swinglet CAM is specifically designed to carry the included compact camera. The swinglet airframe has a payload capacity of 150 grams. Many types of sensor fitting this requirement could be embedded, but this requires some professional integration work (mechanical locking, interfacing with the autopilot, flight testing, etc.). Contact us if you need to fly a specific sensor.

end faq

What is PostFlight Services and how does it work?

PostFlight Services is a web-based infrastructure operated by senseFly in co-operation with Pix4D. This infrastructure hosts a service that allows to automatically produce geo-referenced orthomosaics and digital elevation models (DEMs) out of a collection of photos acquired by the swinglet CAM.
Using the included software PostFlight Suite, you can easily initiate the processing right after the flight following a two-step workflow. (1) The images acquired during the flight are first geotagged (i.e. meta-data containing GPS coordinates and other information is appended to the image file) using information extracted from the flight logs.
(2) The geotagged images from one or more flights are uploaded to PostFlight Services.
The way PostFlight Services operates is to automatically search for matching points across all the images. This information and the geotags are used as basis to produce a georeference orthomosaic as well as the corresponding digital elevation model (DEM). See examples here, including this nice 3D reconstruction of a quarry only based on images (no LIDAR data) and PostFlight Services.

What accuracy should be expected?

The accuracy of the orthomosaics and the digital elevation models (DEM) produced by PostFlight Services strongly depends on the flight height, lighting conditions, availability of textures, image quality, overlap, and type of terrain. In standard conditions (flying at 100-150 meters above natural terrains with 50 to 70% image overlap), a relative accuracy of 10 cm and an absolute accuracy of 3-5 meters (in case no ground control points (CGP) are used) can be expected at the location of the found matching points (see for instance this topographic map produced based on resulting PostFlight data). Between these points the accuracy may vary. Before making any buying decision, you will have access to a report indicating the expected quality and accuracy of the orthomosaic (have a look at example PostFlight reports here). This report is provided free of charge and will help you to decide whether the quality is sufficient before proceeding with a purchase. Note that we cannot guaranty in any way the quality and accuracy of the output files. For more details on accuracy, please have a look at this scientific paper or this other one comparing results obtained with a swingletCAM + PostFlight Services powered by Pix4D to the those obtained with a high-precision LIDAR onboard a manned helicopter.

Is there an option to provide ground control points (GCP) to improve absolute accuracy?

Yes (since PostFlight Suite 1.2 released in January 2012), coordinates of GCPs can be introduced before uploading the raw images to PostFlight Services thanks to a brand new graphical user interface. This feature allows to reduce the absolute error to the level of a few centimeters.

What kinds of artefacts should be expected?

In general, the resulting orthomosaics are great looking and smooth. There may of course be ghosting effects when objects are moving on the ground. There may also be distortions at specific areas of the image. These are due to inaccuracies in the DEM reconstruction between matching points. This happens typically at the edges of buildings or in areas covered by insufficient number of images. These areas are indicated in red in the automatically generated report before you can purchase the resulting files.

How much time does it take to get the resulting files?

As an example a dataset composed of 100 images from upload to download of the result may typically take less then 3 houres:

• less than 1 hour to upload
• less than 1 hour for initial processing including the generation of the report
• less then 1 hour after the purchase to generate the orthomosaic and DEM

Note that these values may vary depending on you local internet connection, PostFlight server load and dataset complexity. See some specific examples here.

Is it possible to use the orthomosaics to plan future flights?

Yes. PostFlight Services outputs an compress folder containing map tiles that are compatible with e-mo-tion, if the specified ground resolution is 30cm/px or less. This archive can simply be uncompressed on your computer and moved into <Document directory>/e-mo-tion/tiles where <Document directeroy> is "My Documents" on Windows and ~/Documents on Mac OS X. After restarting e-mo-tion, your custom map will appear on top of e-mo-tion default map. See this other FAQ for more information about the detailed file structure.

How much does it cost?

Uploading the geotagged photos and the initial processing is free of charge for registered swinglet CAM owners (see our mapping page for more information about the workflow).

The BASIC package includes the georeferenced orthomosaic in various formats (GeoTIFF, JPG or PNG tiles) together with a KML files, which allows you to upload the resulting files e.g. into Google Earth^TM.

In addition to these files, the PRO package provides the third dimension with the digital elevation model (DEM) as well as many other files that can be imported in standard photogrammetry programs for further processing (e.g. extraction of coutour lines, volumes, camera position and orientations, etc.).

For both BASIC and PRO, you can chose between two payment schemes:

Yearly subscription:

This scheme allows you to upload an unlimited number of images acquired with a single swinglet CAM and process an unlimited number of projects during one year.

• BASIC: CHF 2'490 (approx. EUR 2'125)
• PRO: CHF 9'990 (approx. EUR 8'500)

Pay per project:

BASIC (indicative prices in CHF)							PRO (indicative prices in CHF)
typical flight height:	85 m	140 m	280 m	560 m	840 m		85 m	140 m	280 m	560 m	840 m
ground resolution:	3 cm/px	5 cm/px	10 cm/px	20 cm/px	30 cm/px		3 cm/px	5 cm/px	10 cm/px	20 cm/px	30 cm/px
0.1 km2 = 10 ha	70	70	70	70	70		280	280	280	280	280
0.5 km2 = 50 ha	105	70	70	70	70		421	280	280	280	280
1 km2 = 100 ha	211	140	80	70	70		843	560	322	280	280
5 km2 = 500 ha	1'054	700	402	231	167		4'215	2'801	1'609	924	668
10 km2 = 1000 ha	2'107	1'400	804	462	334		8'429	5'602	3'217	1'848	1'336
15 km2 = 1500 ha	3'161	2'101	1'206	693	501		12'644	8'402	4'826	2'772	2'004

Gray cells indicate area vs resolution that are typically not doable in a single flight.

Is there an evaluation/free trial/test period?

Yes! The first three processed projects are totally free of charge for senseFly customers. After this evaluation period, uploading projects and the initial processing is always free. Based on the report you can then choose whether or not to to purchase the products. The number of free trials available is indicated in your account settings.

end faq