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Thursday, June 19, 2013
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LiDAR NEWS TOP STORY
What’s the Buzz?
W ritte n by Je ff Fage rrm an
Friday, 13 June 2014
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My 18 month old
granddaughter is
in the stage of
imitating animal
sounds as she
begins her
journey to
learning a spoken
language.
Everything she
hears she tries to
echo - over and
over and over
again. Her
favorite is “uh
oh!” for any
phone call or text
message sound
(I’m not sure
where she gets
that from). J Next up is “moo” and then a pursed lipped buzz for a
horse. But about that buzz… the high pitched wine of an acrobatic minihelicopter may have been just a bit too much for her lips to echo. Her
eyes were wide with wonder though, as were those of everybody else
present, on a recent sunny afternoon in June.
As it turns out, we had a somewhat unexpected visit from a college
student who has flown a mini helicopter since his pre-teen years. In
international competition he has placed 11th worldwide. The
maneuverability of this little vehicle under his control is truly incredible.
It can fly in virtually any orientation and at speeds up to 65mph. It can
dart in and out of small places as long as there is enough room for it to
fit and the operator can see to pilot it along its path.
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He gave us a
brief
demonstration to
instill confidence
in us that he
knew what he
was doing. He
then started to
mount a small
platform to the
helicopter skids.
To this platform
he had attached
a ScanLook
Snoopy mounted
upside down from
its normal
mounting
position. Before
we even had a chance to get some still pictures of the system sitting on
the ground he was lifting off. In seconds he was hundreds of feet away
zipping around the area. We were very impressed, but at the same
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time, not surprised either.
The ScanLook Snoopy system, among other things, is designed to be
vehicle independent, small, and light. The mini helicopter is just another
unmanned platform, be it air, ground, or water. Snoopy can be
mounted conventionally with the system at the back of the vehicle or it
can be mounted on the front of the vehicle, upside down, above or
below the platform. In every case our goal is to provide a system that
meets the user’s needs. Needless to say, the users continue to surprise
us.
Is it at all significant that this little helicopter can fly and carry Snoopy?
Well, for many projects the mini helicopter system described here
would be perfectly suited. Anywhere you need to scan something
inaccessible to a static or ground scan, where you may need an
additional view point, or where a typical aerial scan would be either too
costly, inappropriate for the airspace, or provide insufficient point
density and coverage, these are all good candidates for this system.
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Scanning really tall objects (towers, bridges, buildings) or rooftops are
ideal applications. Mobile mapping is great for streetview results, but
rooftops are inaccessible, especially on multi-story or flat-roofed
buildings. For virtual reality, gaming, or simulations, the low-altitude
aerial scan often would complete the scan of the outdoor environment
adding to the realism. Why not do it all from one system that can move
from platform to platform in minutes? Do the street scans and then
move to the air. Do the whole job with the right tool and the right
platform.
Is this mini helicopter the most appropriate UAV for Snoopy? Probably
not. It takes a lot of training and experience to fly with the assurance
that your expensive payload is always going to come home safely. Is it
a viable solution? Absolutely. A more likely solution would involve a
bigger platform with a longer flying time and a self-navigating system
(by means of way points).
In closing, I am sure that it won’t be too many years before my
grandchildren will consider unmanned vehicles filled with all sorts of
recording instrumentation very mundane and ordinary. Today these
vehicles draw audiences at every showing. C onsider that 50 years ago
most people were watching black and white TV, had rotary dial (and
often party line) phones, and generally one car per family. C ompare
that with today (flat screen TV’s throughout the home, a cell phone for
each family member along with a car) and we can only speculate what
will happen in the next 50 years. The upcoming generation will truly be
on the cusp of so much amazing technology that the Star Trek
generation of Gene Roddenberry or Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot may have
finally arrived.
In the meantime, stay tuned as we unveil new opportunities for
Snoopy. There is much more yet to come.
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