June 16, 2015 — LEAD’AIR, the US manufacturer of the renowned MIDAS aerial camera systems and Track’Air flight management systems, announces finalization of design for an entirely new mapping camera, compatible with Unmanned Aerial Systems, as well as conventional aircraft.
Weighing in at under 12 Lbs., the system is entering testing within the coming weeks, and will be ready for order at the upcoming InterGEO Conference, in Stuttgart in September 2015.
Unlike other photo payloads available for UAV, the UAM is a fully integrated and fully professional mapping camera system, featuring a 50MP, full-frame CMOS sensor at 4.1µm pitch. The mapper is integrated in an entirely new mount, fully stabilized in all three axes and forms a complete, cohesive unit, with camera, mount, state of the art IMU system and software integration, all in a compact , robust and lightweight package. The UAM system is designed to meet the most stringent standards for a professional mapper; rigid, monoblock consolidation of camera and lens system, assembled, tested and calibrated in Lead’Air’s facilities, and delivered as an inseparable imaging unit with permanent geometric stability.
The imager is incorporated in the optimized mount, featuring +/- 50° in roll correction, +/- 50° in pitch and +/- 45° in yaw—forward or rear facing, useable in nadir and low oblique positions, up to 45° image angle. The UAM unit is entirely self-contained, including the imager assembly and stabilized mount, the miniaturized high performance Applanix APX15 IMU, the complete self-sufficient Track’Air flight management and camera control system, with all hardware, software, cables and it’s self-contained power supply, good for three hours’ continuous flight and image capture. Nothing needs to be supplied to or from the host aircraft system, the UAM is a complete, extremely robust and fully autonomous system, delivering engineering spec mapping capabilities and 50MP imaging results.