09-21-2014, 02:14 PM
I would think there has been successful viewing of lava flows close up with UAVs.. though the attempts I know of have failed.. and ended in tragedy. Crashed into the flow. The two birds I saw go down both went quick. One second all is go the next the thing crashes. Both times believed to be because of wind turbulence as the UAV got close to the heat of the flow and even though they were on site in both instances the operator was unable to adjust for things in a timely manner.
Helicopters are like cars, the operator can 'feel' their environment and react instantly. Remote operators can only see and here. I would think that in dynamic situations like the airmass next to a lava flow that extra sense of actually being there and feeling the forces at work on the machine could be a critical component to a successful mission.
In the current situation I think something a bit lower tech would do great. It needs to be in the air, but what about tethering a blimp or some sort of weather ballon to some point (the transfer station.. the community center) and hang a few cameras on that.. could lower a wire or go wireless.. and put it on the net 24/7. We'd all get to see.. and it would put Pahoa on the world map because people from all over the world would be looking. As an example I have been watching a volcanic eruption that's ongoing in Iceland streaming to my computer 24/7 for the last week and that feed is being provided by the telecommunications company in Iceland.. not the scientist or government. Just my thoughts and observations.
Helicopters are like cars, the operator can 'feel' their environment and react instantly. Remote operators can only see and here. I would think that in dynamic situations like the airmass next to a lava flow that extra sense of actually being there and feeling the forces at work on the machine could be a critical component to a successful mission.
In the current situation I think something a bit lower tech would do great. It needs to be in the air, but what about tethering a blimp or some sort of weather ballon to some point (the transfer station.. the community center) and hang a few cameras on that.. could lower a wire or go wireless.. and put it on the net 24/7. We'd all get to see.. and it would put Pahoa on the world map because people from all over the world would be looking. As an example I have been watching a volcanic eruption that's ongoing in Iceland streaming to my computer 24/7 for the last week and that feed is being provided by the telecommunications company in Iceland.. not the scientist or government. Just my thoughts and observations.