Graz, Austria — June 3, 2014 — Advance Aviation Group Pty Ltd (AAG), a Transwonderland Limited company, has contracted with Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit and subsidiary to purchase the first UltraCam Eagle “ultra-large” digital aerial camera to be delivered in Australia. The system is equipped with 80mm and 210mm exchangeable lenses, an UltraNav GNSS-Inertial Direct Georeferencing + Flight Management System and a gyro-stabilized UltraMount. UltraNav is an integrated unit that consolidates all navigation and flight planning components for simple installation and economical operations when compared to similar “standalone” systems.
AAG is a well established and respected passenger/freight forwarding aviation company providing aerial services and aircraft maintenance to regional Queensland and throughout Australia. The acquisition of the Microsoft UltraCam Eagle system introduces leading-edge aerial imagery technology and processing software to the Australian and western Pacific remote sensing market. Currently operating in excess of eight aircraft, the move into aerial surveying and mapping is an expansion of AAG’s services to better serve regional mining companies and other clients throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea.
“The UltraCam product line has proven its reliability over the years — we often operate in remote areas under difficult environmental conditions, so installation and operation needed to be straightforward and very dependable,” stated Alec Mercer, CEO of Advance Aviation Group. “We were also drawn to the Eagle’s attractive price-to-performance due to its high-volume data acquisition capabilities and excellent data quality.”
The UltraCam Eagle has an exchangeable lens system for added flexibility. AAG is purchasing the 80mm lens for efficient capture of large area regional projects, and the 210mm lens for high-altitude flying over central business district areas. Australian Air Traffic Control restricts flying over dense urban areas; however, with the 210mm lens, AAG is able to achieve 10cm GSD from a 12,000’ altitude.
“Microsoft is excited to provide AAG with its first digital aerial camera with flight planning and navigation software to support its entry into the Australian mapping market,” said Alexander Wiechert, Microsoft Business Director. “The UltraCam Eagle is the culmination of technology developed and tested for over ten years for the benefit of our customers.”
About the UltraCam Eagle
The third-generation UltraCam Eagle includes the following features:
• Pan image footprint of 20,010 pixels across the flight strip
• Enhanced electronics for improved frame rate and less noise (72 dB signal-to-noise ratio for high image dynamic) when compared to previous UltraCam systems
• Innovative high-resolution, high-performance lenses and state-of-the-art CCD technology (@ 5.2 µm pixel size) for sharp images with a high dynamic range
• Exchangeable lens system with 80mm, 100mm, and 210mm options
• Integrated housing concept with all parts residing in a modular sensor head
About Microsoft’s UltraCam Business Unit
With its operations based in Graz, Austria, and sales and support teams in North America, Microsoft’s UltraCam business unit brings more than two decades of photogrammetry expertise to Microsoft’s Bing Maps business unit. The division is responsible for the highly successful line of UltraCam digital aerial mapping systems that today include the UltraCamHawk, UltraCam Falcon, and UltraCam Eagle digital photogrammetric sensors, and the UltraCam Osprey nadir/oblique photogrammetric digital aerial sensor. Also offered is the UltraNav Flight Management and Direct Georeferencing system, designed to maximize the efficiency of UltraCam aerial mapping. Rounding out the UltraCam offerings is the fully integrated UltraMap workflow software system, with features that include high-density 3D point cloud creation, highly accurate and detailed digital surface model (DSM) generation, and ortho mosaicing capabilities based on an automatically generated DSM or traditional DSM.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About Advance Aviation Group
Advance Aviation Group is a privately owned geospatial services company based in Emerald, Queensland, Australia. The firm offers photogrammetric aerial surveys throughout Australia and the western Pacific and possesses data processing capabilities to produce a full range of high quality value-added products. For more information, go to www.advanceaviation.com.au or email Alec Mercer at amercer@advanceaviation.com.au or phone +61 (0)74987 5566.