Silent Falcon UAS Technologies has unveiled a fully integrated photogrammetric sensor package that flies aboard the solar-electric powered Silent FalconTM Unmanned Aircraft System. Incorporating the custom Falcon XCAM-A camera system, Pix4D processing software and LizardTech compression technology, the Silent Falcon photogrammetric package is designed to collect mapping-quality image data on long-endurance, extended-range UAS missions.
Category Archives: Payloads
Pix4D New Release Targets Precision Agriculture
Pix4D has just released Version 1.1 of Pix4Dmapper with the precision agriculture market in mind.This new version comes with an integrated Index Calculator that allows users to create meaningful maps from any multi- spectral sensor and customize their NDVIs and any vegetation index map directly in the software.
Sapphire Optics to Protect Gimbals
Custom-fabricated sapphire, germanium and zinc-selenide optics for use in gimballed systems and front surface protection in unmanned air and undersea vehicles are available from Meller Optics, Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island (US).
Dual Mode Brimstone Achieves Direct Hits in MQ-9 Reaper Testing
MBDA has successfully demonstrated its Dual Mode BRIMSTONE missile on an MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), scoring nine direct hits against a range of targets including very high speed and manoeuvring vehicles.
NASA Can Now Predict Sinkholes Before They Happen
NASA researchers have found a way to predict a sinkhole before it happens.The researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California have taken thorough looks at data that will spot sinkholes as they form before the surface collapses. This will be done using a technology called InSAR or Interferometric Syntheti Aprture Radar.
US Air Force Calls to Migrate SYERS-2 Sensor from U-2 to RQ-4
There are “no technical reasons” preventing the Air Force from migrating its prized Senior Year Electro-Optical Reconnaissance System multispectral imagery sensor from the manned U-2 spy plane to the remotely piloted RQ-4 platform, according to the intelligence-gathering system’s prime contractor UTC Aerospace Systems. Continue reading
US Air Force to Flight Test Hyperspectral Sensor
The US Air Force is planning to test a high-powered spectral sensor for unmanned aircraft systems capable of spotting such things on the ground as improvised explosives or camouflaged targets by identifying what those objects are made of. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has announced plans to negotiate a contract with Raytheon Co. to test a podded version of the Airborne Cueing and Exploitation System-Hyperspectral (ACES-HY) on the Predator UAS. Continue reading
RIEGL’s New iPad Point Cloud Viewer with Augmented Reality Feature
RIEGL has announced its new iPad point cloud viewer: RiALITY, now available for free from the company’s web site or from the iTunes App Store. It allows users to experience LiDAR data in a completely new environment and also allows easier LiDAR data demonstrations through the use of an iPad. Continue reading