Expert Oblique Aerial Photography

Expert Oblique Aerial Photography
Dat’Air, Inc., a worldwide, new-concept Oblique Aerial Imaging Company expands the
possibility of oblique imaging upward.
Dat'Air is a group of well-known companies who have decided to join forces and offer a unique
international service in oblique photography. Dat'Air is equipped with a wide range of specialized
oblique camera systems capable of operating at much higher altitudes than any commercial oblique
systems on the market today.
We have developed state of the art oblique imaging systems which would not be cost effective for
MIDAS or other oblique customers to acquire and maintain for such a limited market.
Dat'Air does not compete
for ordinary oblique
imaging.
Instead we offer this supplementary service to Midas
clients to round out their
abilities to obtain higher
resolution imagery while
avoiding restricted or
difficult airspaces.
Downtown Manhattan 3.5”pixel resolution from 7500’ AGL
These exclusive cameras have been specially engineered to cope with higher altitude photography
and provide consistent photogrammetric accuracy up to 20,000 feet. Conversely, these cameras are
also capable of collecting extremely high resolution imagery from lower altitude, down to 0.2" (0.5
cm) GSD.
Built to the standards of true metric aerial mapping cameras and meeting their rigidity, geometric
stability, sharpness, etc., these cameras can be flown at higher altitudes in high performance twin
engine airplanes or at very low altitudes installed in slow flying helicopters.
Dat'Air, Inc. 113 S. Hoagland Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL 34741
[email protected]
+1 (407) 343-7571
Equipped with these technologically advanced MIDAS systems, Dat'Air is able to carry out
oblique photo missions that were previously unachievable with any existing commercial oblique
imaging equipment and to offer highly professional oblique photography services worldwide.
We provide a turnkey product, including flight planning, mission planning, image collection, full
radiometric image correction, high accuracy mapping processing, etc. or any range of services
you may need from image acquisition onward.
Notre Dame 2” pixel resolution from 5000’ AGL
Why fly higher?
This is the intellectual concept behind our business. In many parts of the world, large
areas in and around cities and airports have tight altitude restrictions that limit the possibility
of photography. In developing these high altitude MIDAS systems we hope to provide an
indispensable service to companies that have a need to complete a difficult oblique or 3D
project but do not have the equipment necessary to attain the required resolution (s) for that
project.
Contrary to most aerial oblique photo operators who are limited to one or two types of medium
altitude oblique camera systems, Dat'Air operates a number of exclusive cameras which
allows our helicopters and airplanes to advantageously fly under or above the ceilings of most
restricted area and traffic controlled airspaces.
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Why are we necessary?
In the USA, controlled airspaces at major
airports extend to 12,500 feet or even
higher. This creates considerable operational difficulties for aerial survey aircraft
above and around large cities. No doubt
that in turn this also generates considerable challenges for Air Traffic Controllers to
manage airline traffic around a small
survey aircraft going back and forth in the
middle of their airspace. It is not uncommon that ATC will turn down a survey
plane because of excessive workload in
their area.
On the other hand, Dat'Air oblique cameras equipped with longer focal length lenses specially
modified and adapted for aerial photography allow the aircraft to be flown right above the ceiling
of the controlled area (+ 500 feet) without disturbing air traffic and often without the need to even
request a clearance. Recently one of Dat'Air aircraft flew a large survey within the extremely busy
New York airspace at 7,500 feet, just above JFK airport without the requirement to obtain an ATC
clearance. This allowed Dat'Air aircraft to fly a very large continuous block of photography uninterrupted, instead of having to cut the area into manageable small blocks around restricted and controlled areas.
Our high altitude approach is considerably more efficient and therefore less time consuming. A
mission can be completed in exactly the time allocated to fly it. Dat'Air services include planning,
logistics, acquisition, image QC/QA and post processing to the client's deliverable standards.
Knowing that these capabilities require very
specialized equipment and knowledge as
well as a careful, continuous calibration
process, Dat'Air services are normally
offered as a turnkey solution that our clients
can offer to their customers.
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What can we accomplish for you?
We can provide very high resolution oblique imagery in areas that are not accessible by normal
MIDAS or other oblique systems currently on the market. Using one of our customized MIDAS systems we can obtain these resolutions from a variety of altitudes.
The chart below provides some insight into the flexibility of the systems we have created:
We can achieve the resolution you need at altitudes you never thought possible!
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Overcoming Class B Airspace
The map on the following page shows the North Eastern quadrant of the USA. We highlighted
thirteen major cities with Class B airspaces. Three of these extend up to 7,000 feet, three to 8000
feet, five to 10,000 feet and one even to 12,500 feet (Atlanta). The primary purpose of a Class B
airspace is to reduce the potential for midair collisions in the areas surrounding airports with high
density air traffic operations. Aircraft operating in these airspaces are subject to specific operating
rules and to air traffic control. Traffic operating under visual flight rules, like most survey aircraft,
must be identified on radar and explicitly cleared into the airspace before they can enter. As of
now, there are 37 Class B airports in the United States which basically cover most major cities. It
is clear that having a survey aircraft operating within Class B is an added workload for air traffic
controllers and it is not uncommon for them to turn away survey aircraft because of high traffic
volume. Surveying these cities is a challenge for all aerial operators, particularly those with
oblique projects which require a vast amount of additional flight lines compared to standard vertical mapping survey. The oblique cameras are typically inclined at 45 degrees. This requires the
aircraft to be flown further out in all four directions of the area of interest to insure it is seen from
all angles.
Dat'Air has a range of special oblique cameras which allow their aircraft to fly at the optimal altitude above the ceiling of most major cities in the USA and worldwide. Dat'Air uses four different
camera systems which allow an optimum coverage for each airspace. Dat'Air operates a low altitude system which capture 2 inch (5 cm) from 5,000 feet, a medium altitude system which capture
2 inch (5 cm) from 8,000 feet, a high altitude system which capture 2 inch (5 cm) from 11,000 feet
and a very high altitude system which capture 2 inch (5 cm) from 13,000 feet. A fifth system is
available for extreme high altitude above 18,000 feet. These cameras are specially designed and
adapted for high altitude operation and are immune to temperature and pressure variations. They
use the best lenses available on the market with the highest optical quality possible today. So far
these type of cameras are only owned and operated by Dat'Air.
As an example, a few years ago it took a well-known companies aircraft more than three weeks to
partly complete an oblique Pilot Survey of Las Vegas for a client. They were unable to obtain a
clearance to overfly the airport itself at the required altitude. Air traffic control was so busy around
the Thanksgiving holidays that they restricted their operation to a couple hours early morning and
kept them away from the city for the rest of the day. Had their airplane been equipped with a high
altitude system able to capture 2 inch (5 cm) from 11,000 feet they would have competed the
survey in two days, including the airport.
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Image Processing Solutions with PictoVera®Oblique
Special acquisition techniques also require special processing requirements, an aspect that was
fully integrated and implemented from the ground up in the very creation of Dat'Air. The image
processing engine applied to Dat'Air acquired photography is a software suite developed by the
industry-renowned Stellacore Solutions, LLC. As part of the Dat'Air group of companies they
specialize in providing solutions for achieving extreme fidelity results from multi-sensor payloads
such as MIDAS systems. The Stellacore software is currently used to process over 18 million
oblique frame images per year.
The DAT’AIR Standard High Fidelity Mapping Product
The standard high fidelity product provided by DAT'AIR is five views (1-nadir (down) and 4-oblique
(back, forward, left, and right at 45 degree off nadir)) 8-bit JPEG imagery with adjusted EO and calibrated sensor model information. The standard product achieves precision to 1 pixel or better and
relative local accuracy to 1.5x GSD 2D/ 2x GSD 3D or better simultaneously across all directions.
The standard product exceeds most high fidelity expectations. However, additional options are
available which further exceed high fidelity expectations and provide greater return on investment.
Contact DAT'AIR for further information on:
Enhanced adjusted EO via the inclusion of ground control
Enhanced imagery
Horizon up oblique
16-bit TIFF
Color adjustments per view
Color adjusted across all views
Image sharpening
3D surface models
3D terrain models
Ortho rectified nadir mosaic
Aerial Oblique Imagery view and information extraction/exploitation solutions
The geometric fidelities recently obtained on projects flown with Dat’Air’s cameras have provided
precisions below 0.4 pixels simultaneously across all looks, relative accuracies of less than
1.5xGSD for 2D and less than 2xGSD for 3D processing. When applying ground control, absolute
accuracies are less than 2xGSD for 2D and less than 3xGSD for 3D processing.
Obviously the accuracies of the data will be determined by several factors that most of you, as
professionals in the industry are already aware of, including available base station data, ground
control, image resolution, etc...
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Moving Forward
Dat'Air is entirely focused on acquisition of oblique imagery otherwise unobtainable. Our ability to
leverage the latest, ultra-high resolution digital sensors and high definition lenses allows us to
deliver performance that would not have been possible until very recently.
Combined with highly specialized aerial photography equipment, we can provide the technical
solutions adapted to each acquisition project. In addition to operating our own airplane and helicopter, Dat'Air has partnered with aerial photography companies around the world with the ability to
provide an appropriate aircraft for our systems.
Together, Stellacore, Dat'Air and our aerial photo operator partners provide special performance
aviation solutions, which include both aircraft and sensor solutions engineered for altitudes and
conditions beyond those normally encountered in oblique acquisition and not attainable by other
providers.
We feel the business case is clear for our clients to add Dat'Air's specialty service to their list of
subcontractors bringing them above and beyond the competition in responding to customer needs.
We are looking forward to helping them in expanding, once again, the envelope for innovative
acquisition technologies.
Specialty MIDAS High Altitude Acquisition Camera System
Wherever in the world your business needs take you, and whatever the altitude or special technical
demands your projects may impose, Dat'Air's network of highly customizable
camera-ready systems worldwide guarantees you will have the solutions you need,
when and where you need them.
Dat'Air, Inc. 113 S. Hoagland Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL 34741
[email protected]
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+1 (407) 343-7571