Ok so we think this thing hovering over the field is a camera … But it could be a drone. http://t.co/WEKXsjRg9z
— Lindsay Schnell (@Lindsay_Schnell) April 1, 2013
There is a flying machine over practice. What is going on?
— Cliff Kirkpatrick (@COKirkpatrick) April 1, 2013
A strange object appeared this year at the first day of the Oregon State University spring football practice. Or more accurately, it appeared above it.
For the first time, the Beavers used an aerial camera to document its practices. The person responsible for the copter was Oregon State sophomore Michael Williams, part of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program in the College of Business.
Williams said he’d always been interested in creating his own flying machines, starting with radio-controlled airplanes.
“Throughout middle school and high school I kept building bigger stuff,” said Williams. “Right around when I came to college I got involved with multicopters.”
Multicopters, so named for the multiple blades configured around the copter body, have become popular over the past few years as a way to do aerial photography.
When Williams started, the technology he had access to wasn’t advanced enough to lift a high quality camera, but advances in both photography and flight since then have made it possible.
Last year he started tests with a small camera, and immediately got a huge reaction from friends.
“It was an instant success,” he said. “Eventually my friends would say, ‘Oh, you’re the multicopter kid.’”
Williams started Multicopter Northwest, selling kits so others could build their own copters. But a chance meeting sent the project in another direction.
Originally an engineering major, this fall Williams transferred to business on a friend’s recommendation and got involved with the Austin Entrepreneurship Program. From there he also joined the Weatherford Garage, which provides resources to help students start their own businesses.
“This past fall I fell into the hands of Sandy Neubaum, [Weatherford GTA] Dale McCauley and Bob Mayes,” Williams said. “It transformed from selling a couple of kits to friends to something bigger.”
During the fall Oregon State head football coach Mike Riley spoke at an entrepreneurship class and Mayes, a former Oregon State quarterback, pushed Williams to approach and share his business plan.
It turned out the Riley was looking for a better way to get photos and videos of offensive lineman, often packed too close together to see well from the sidelines.
“I got the opportunity to do a mini pitch and he was instantly interested,” Williams said. “He invited me to come to spring practices and do some demos.”
Williams showed up on day one and went to work. The system records video but also sends it to a video unit on the ground, so coaches can watch in real-time.
The next step for Williams is getting funding for better equipment while continuing to develop the business.
No matter where the idea takes him, so far he’s happy with the decision to jump into his own business.
“I walked into Weatherford [Hall] not knowing what to expect,” Williams said. “Now I spend hours on hours in that building.
