Thursday, July 10, 2014

A Drone Tours Virginia Tech

Via WDBJ:

A 16-year-old quadcopter enthusiast whose YouTube handle is DroneDude has made this video of my alma mater from footage shot by his drone's camera.  It also includes a recording of part of a speech given during the ceremony to honor the victims of the events of 4/16/2007.


Let me see if I can identify a few things.  The large open area in the middle of campus, first seen at 0:18, is known as the Drill Field.  At 0:50, we see the walkway in front of Burruss Hall, the main administration building.  The drone takes us up the front of Burruss and looks over its roof.  Starting at 1:13, the drone's camera shows us a sweeping view of the dorms and academic buildings known as the Lower Quad.  At 1:46, after a brief shot of some students playing a game on the Drill Field, the drone shows us a new Arts Center.  After the drone rises above its roof, we can see the cluster of brick buildings known as the Upper Quad.  To the left, partially hidden by trees, is the Torgersen Arch, named after former Dean of Engineering and University President Paul Torgersen.  To the right is the smokestack of the campus power plant.  At 2:22, we again see Burruss Hall, but from farther away, the view including the memorial to the victims of 4/16/2007.  At 2:40, the drone starts out at a door of the Arts Center and flies upward.  Starting at 2:55, the drone flies though a tunnel in the women's dorm Eggleston Hall, and looks toward the Drill Field.  At 3:16, we see the top of the War Memorial Chapel, with its pylons, on which are inscribed the names of all Virginia Tech alumni who died in our nation's wars, and the inscription "THAT I MAY SERVE", which is the English translation of the university motto ut prosim.  At 3:35, the drone pulls away from the door of an academic building, but I can't remember which one.  At 3:44, we again see the front of Burruss and the memorial to the victims of 4/16/2007, this time hearing the speech from the ceremony to honor them.  At 4:13, we see a large American flag with the Drill Field in the background.  At 4:23, the drone pulls up from a hedge carved into the school's "VT" logo.  Starting at 4:29, the drone shows us two more shots that include Burruss Hall.

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