In recent years, a growing number of government and law enforcement agencies are using drones to obtain a panoramic view of the sky. To be effective, drones must be able to maneuver quickly to where they are intended. Quick maneuvers allow you to navigate complex environments and perform your tasks efficiently. The requirements to become a certified drone pilot vary depending on the country, but all require that you pass a written exam on aeronautical skills administered by the aviation authority. Surprisingly, (at the time of this post) there is no requirement to demonstrate performance. So, how can we compare the flying skills of two certified drone pilots?

SITUATION:

Two certified drone pilots, Aleks and Dustin, are certified for the speed with which to position the drone in a specific area, in this case, five hundred feet away from the launch position.

We want to compare to see if the performance of Aleks and Dustin is different from another. The tempo is measured in seconds when it starts (includes elevation, slow motion or movement). A practical difference is 0.5 seconds – which means that if a pilot gets the drone into position ½ second faster, it will be better. 

Using Minitab Statistical Software, we can quickly create descriptive statistics

We see that here, Aleks's average time to reach is 15.86 seconds, while Dustin's average time is 12.42 seconds.

The estimated difference is 3.4 seconds. The confidence interval of 95% tells us that the real difference between the pilots is small as 1.736 and large as 5.131 seconds. Based on this confidence interval, we can say with certainty that the flight times are not only slightly different from zero, but as the lower limit of the confidence interval for the difference is greater than our practical difference of 0.5 seconds, we conclude Dustin is the best drone pilot in this test.

A time-lapse boxplot provides a visual analysis: 

In the future, we will be able to carry out accompanying experiences to include multiple distances, obstacles, varied air conditions and multiple drones for use by two pilots. Minitab Statistical Software provides analysis and visualization, making it easier to measure performance.

Content originally published in: Minitab Blog

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