Portfolio

Live Streaming for Drones

SkyDeck Live is a real-time monitoring module I designed from scratch to help mission managers seamlessly oversee drone operations, annotate critical moments, and analyze post-mission data—all in one intuitive interface.

While I can’t share all the details due to company confidentiality, this case study highlights my process in creating an intuitive and scalable solution that transformed mission monitoring for diverse industries.

The Challenge

Bringing Real-Time Insights to SkyDeck

SkyDeck, Asteria Aerospace’s all-in-one drone management platform, empowers industries like agriculture, telecom, and construction with modules such as Fleets, Projects, Missions, and Sites. These modules offered robust tools for planning, executing, and analyzing drone missions. However, there was one critical gap: mission managers lacked the ability to monitor ongoing operations in real-time.

Mission managers often work remotely, overseeing multiple sites and missions simultaneously. They needed a seamless way to view live drone feeds, track telemetry data, and annotate recorded streams for further analysis. This would enhance decision-making, improve mission efficiency, and streamline collaboration.

The challenge: Design an entirely new module—SkyDeck Live—that would integrate real-time video streaming, telemetry visualization, and annotation tools into one scalable solution.

Key Goals:

Enable real-time monitoring of drone missions from anywhere.
Provide intuitive tools for tagging and analyzing recorded streams.
Seamlessly integrate into SkyDeck’s existing ecosystem, supporting diverse industries.

I broke down the problem into key design questions that guided the process:

1. How might we give mission managers complete situational awareness without overwhelming them?

Mission managers needed to monitor live video feeds, telemetry data, and mission maps simultaneously. However, displaying all this information risked creating cognitive overload. The solution had to balance clarity with functionality, ensuring managers could make quick, informed decisions.

2. How might we make annotations intuitive and actionable in real time?

Tagging and annotating key moments is critical for collaboration and post-mission reviews. Yet, annotating during a live stream can be distracting or complex. The design had to enable effortless tagging while keeping mission-critical monitoring uninterrupted.

3. How might we prioritize critical streams during multi-mission operations?

With multiple drones operating simultaneously, mission managers needed a way to focus on high-priority streams without losing visibility of other operations. The interface had to dynamically adapt to shifting priorities while maintaining accessibility.

4. How might we ensure the design scales across industries and workflows?

SkyDeck Live serves a diverse range of industries, from agriculture to telecom. The design needed to remain flexible enough to accommodate varied use cases while still being user-friendly for all.

The Approach

Crafting a User-Centric Solution

Designing SkyDeck Live required a deep understanding of user needs, inspiration from cross-industry tools, and careful attention to scalability and usability. The process was built around three key pillars: user research, iterative design, and innovative problem-solving.

Understanding the Users

The primary users for SkyDeck Live were mission managers, whose responsibilities included monitoring drone missions, addressing real-time issues, and collaborating with teams post-mission. Their pain points included:

Switching between multiple tools to monitor live streams and analyze data.
Inability to annotate or document critical moments in drone footage effectively.
Limited ability to filter streams and focus on specific missions or sites.

Through research and interviews with stakeholders, I gained insights that informed the design:

Real-time visibility was essential: Mission managers needed to monitor live operations and react to emergencies instantly.
Annotations were critical for collaboration: Recorded streams had to include tools for tagging issues and adding notes for future use.
Scalability mattered: The module needed to support multiple streams without overwhelming the user.

Ideation and Exploration

Adapting Proven Features for Mission-Critical Applications

To meet these needs, I turned to consumer and professional platforms known for their excellence in live streaming, real-time interaction, and data visualization. Here’s how SkyDeck Live was shaped by these inspirations:

Annotation and Timeline Interaction

YouTube’s annotation and ad-timeline system inspired SkyDeck Live’s time-stamped tagging tools.

Mission managers could:

Highlight key moments in drone footage.
Attach notes for collaboration and post-mission analysis.

This adaptation transformed a recreational feature into a precision tool for professional operations, enabling clear and actionable insights during post-mission reviews.

Multi-Stream Viewing

Twitch’s multi-stream layout provided a foundation for SkyDeck Live’s multi-mission interface.

SkyDeck Live allowed mission managers to monitor multiple live streams, each paired with telemetry data and mission details.
Streams were organized for clarity, ensuring users could focus on priority missions without losing the bigger picture.

Concept to Creation

Transforming Ideas into Tangible Designs

User Flow Development

I began by mapping out the end-to-end user journey, ensuring all functionalities—from accessing live streams to annotating recorded footage—were intuitive and seamless. The flows addressed:

Simultaneous Monitoring: Switching between live video and telemetry data.
Annotation Integration: Tagging and note-taking during playback for future reference.

High-level User Flow Development

Wireframing

During the wireframing process I explored different layout options for displaying live video and telemetry data. One of the initial ideas was to use a toggle switch that allowed users to alternate between the video feed and the map view. However, testing revealed that this approach created challenges for mission managers.

Challenges with Toggle View:

Mission-Critical Monitoring Needs: Mission managers needed to see both the video feed and the map view simultaneously to make real-time decisions. The drone view was essential for identifying obstacles or detecting objects, while the map view provided spatial context, such as ensuring the drone was on its assigned path or avoiding potential collisions.
Disrupted Workflow: Switching between views disrupted the workflow and introduced delays, particularly during fast-paced operations or emergencies.

Solution: Split-Screen Layout To address these challenges, we implemented a split-screen interface:

Live Video Feed (Left): Displayed real-time footage to monitor objects, obstacles, or areas of interest.
Map and Telemetry (Right): Showed drone location, mission path, and critical metrics such as altitude and battery status.

This design ensured mission managers had a holistic view of operations, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.

Preliminary Wireframes for Live streaming

Basic Layout

Purpose:

This wireframe showcases the initial split-screen layout concept for SkyDeck Live, dividing the interface into two primary sections:

Left Panel (1): Reserved for the live video feed.
Right Panel (2): Reserved for telemetry data and a map view.

Key Features:

The design focuses on providing a balanced view of the live video feed and telemetry data, ensuring mission managers have access to both visual and operational insights simultaneously.
Placeholder panels indicate the flexibility of resizing or modifying panel content based on user needs.

High-fidelity Designs

While I am excited to showcase the thought process and functionality behind SkyDeck Live, the full set of high-fidelity designs cannot be shared due to company confidentiality. The provided screens represent a curated selection that captures the essence of the module’s design and user-centric approach.

The high-fidelity designs prioritize:

Clarity: A clean and functional interface ensures users can focus on critical data without distractions.
Cohesion: The design aligns with SkyDeck’s overall aesthetic, maintaining visual consistency across modules.
Usability: Intuitive workflows empower mission managers to navigate complex operations effortlessly.

Impact and Outcome

Designing for Eyes in the Sky

The SkyDeck Live module has transformed real-time drone monitoring by addressing the key challenges faced by mission managers in various industries, including agriculture, telecommunications, and construction. By integrating live video feeds with telemetry data and offering a seamless split-screen interface, the module significantly enhances situational awareness. This allows mission managers to make informed decisions more quickly, thereby improving operational efficiency and safety.

The introduction of annotation tools has changed the way teams collaborate during and after missions. Managers can tag critical moments, add detailed notes, and revisit these points during post-mission analysis, which streamlines workflows and improves team alignment. Additionally, the multi-stream view adds value by enabling the management of large-scale operations with multiple drones, ensuring that mission managers can prioritize critical tasks without losing sight of overall operations.

The flexibility of SkyDeck Live’s design makes it adaptable for various use cases, ensuring scalability across different industries. This adaptability has established SkyDeck Live as a robust, user-friendly solution that empowers teams to operate more effectively, safely, and collaboratively.

Takeaways

Lessons Learned: How to Make Complex Systems Fly Smoothly (Literally).

Working on SkyDeck Live was a defining experience in my design journey, offering me the unique opportunity to lead the creation of an entire module from ideation to high-fidelity designs. The project taught me the critical importance of user-centric design in solving complex challenges. By understanding workflows and operational needs, I was able to create a solution that directly addressed the pain points of mission managers.

I learned that iterative design is key to crafting impactful solutions. Through usability testing and stakeholder feedback, I refined the interface to achieve a balance between functionality and simplicity. This process reinforced the value of collaboration, as working with product managers, developers, and senior designers helped align the design with both technical feasibility and user expectations.

The project also deepened my appreciation for designing scalable systems. SkyDeck Live needed to cater to diverse industries and workflows, pushing me to create interfaces that were both flexible and intuitive. This experience has sharpened my ability to balance complexity and clarity in design, a skill I carry forward into future projects.

During my time at Asteria Aerospace, I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects that shaped my journey as a designer. While I cannot showcase every project in detail, here are a few highlights that demonstrate my contributions—from branding initiatives to designing fully functional interfaces. These snippets offer a glimpse into the diverse and impactful work I delivered at the organization.

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