Saturday December 1, from 9 to noon, Stewart Long and Pat Coyle did a training session on simple aerial photomapping the with the UC Berkeley Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter Peru team. We planned time outside to demo the flight techniques and some time inside to go over the equipment (rigs, cameras, gps loggers, dual cameras synched for multispectral imagery, kites, and balloons) and cover the processing and demonstrate Knitter. However, storms from the “pineapple express” resulted in rain till almost the end of the session.

We looked their communities in Peru in Google Earth and discussed their application to use the maps to communicate with the community on options for rainwater catchment tank placement and point of service well-water treatment stations to mitigate arsenic in drinking water supplies. The photomaps would be also be used in design drawings and to reflect as-built conditions.

We were able to spend a few minutes outside with all the team getting a chance to try to launch a Levitation Delta. However, winds were too light to get sustained lift and altitude. Then the rain started again and we wrapped up. We left the team with a juice bottle rig and enough #64 orange rubber bands to rig a camera and two mylar sleeping bags.

This followed from the EWB West Coast Workshop at Cal Poly.