OEM agreement delivers the first commercially available UAV-based mapping solution for civilian applications
Orlando, FL – May 13, 2014 – Applanix Corp and American Aerospace Advisors Inc (AAAI) today announced an OEM supply agreement that will incorporate Applanix’ industry-leading direct georeferencing technology into AAAI’s unmanned aerial platforms. The collaboration creates the industry’s first commercially available professional grade mapping UAV solution for civilian applications such as pipeline monitoring, power line surveys and emergency response mapping.
The availability of the solution follows a series of successful test flights of AAAI’s RS-16 Unmanned Aircraft System™ equipped with Applanix’ DMS-UAV aerial photogrammetry payload with commercially available inertial technology. Joint teams from Applanix and AAAI planned and flew a sequence of missions to evaluate the capabilities including the ability to provide highly accurate, directly georeferenced and orthorectified aerial imagery without the need for ground control points or aerial triangulation calculations. The system, consisting of the airframe, its avionics, mobile ground control station, telemetry systems and the digital mapping payload, performed according to expectations and successfully produced high-quality imagery.
The announcement was made at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2014 Conference in Orlando Florida, where the most comprehensive collection of unmanned systems for every domain – air, ground and marine – are on display.
David Yoel, CEO of American Aerospace Advisors, commented: “The OEM supply agreement with Applanix formalizes our plans to transform the aerial mapping industry by creating an integrated, professional-grade mapping system for unmanned flight. For civilian aerial survey projects, this can mean safer operations, lower costs and more efficient deployments while still delivering very high accuracy. We are very pleased to announce the availability of the RS-16 Direct Mapping Solution—the world’s first professional-grade, long endurance UAS-based mapping system at AUVSI 2014.”
Joe Hutton, Director of Inertial Technology and Airborne Products at Applanix, added: “We believe this is a ground-breaking development for the airborne imaging systems market. There has been a lot of attention on developing a commercial, directly georeferenced mapping solution for UAVs, and now it is a reality.”
The RS-16 with the Applanix DMS payload is available through American Aerospace Advisors directly, for sale to jurisdictions where it is permitted to fly civilian UAV systems.
About Applanix
Applanix, a Trimble Company (NASDAQ: TRMB), develops, manufactures, sells and supports products and solutions for mobile mapping and positioning. Applanix’ products and solutions are used in a variety of applications, including road profiling, GIS data acquisition, aerial surveying and mapping, railroad track maintenance and seafloor mapping. Established in 1991, Applanix supports its global customer base with exceptional service.
About American Aerospace Advisors Inc
American Aerospace Advisors is a privately held, woman-owned small US-based company consisting of scientists, engineers and business people who are investing in the future of airborne remote sensing and unmanned aviation. Additional information is available at http://www.american-aerospace.net.