A while back, I found a link (to a You-Tube video...?) of a demo of an RC airplane system, produced by a company in Germany (I think). The RC plan had a digital camera mounted inside it, and they could graphically select an "area of interest" on their laptop computer, and the RC plane would fly the area. Then the software would combine the images into a 3D model, getting both rectified aerial photo imagery and topo in one swoop.
But I can't seem to find that link anymore, and can't remember if I saw it on here (or RPLS), or got tippped to it via email. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
Oh, and unfortunately, I think the FAA has inappropriately butted in and declared the technology illegal in the US... But hopefully that will change. The tech is frankly too useful and too cost-efficient and too safe for them to ban. There's probably lots of high-dollar LIDAR companies lobbying them to keep this position, but I hope the ultra-rich established players don't manage their politicking for long. WE WANT THIS STUFF!
Google SUAS or small unmanned aerial system. I was referred to this during a recent bid process and it looks promising.
Oh, and unfortunately, I think the FAA has inappropriately butted in and declared the technology illegal in the US... But hopefully that will change. The tech is frankly too useful and too cost-efficient and too safe for them to ban.
I've been flying RC models for 36 years now. Probably what you found was the nutsack flying over NY City with FPV (First Person View) that got Homeyland Security interested. The governing body of RC aircraft enthusiasts is the AMA and quite frankly due to that one video, another incident where a 40% model was involved in a midair collision with a full scale aircraft at an airshow, and the recent idiot with the model jets we have been extremely concerned about the future of our hobby as the FAA is going to hand down some kind of guidelines in about a month or two that will regulate our hobby.
>> Hobby..?
This is far from a hobby for us... 😉
I checked out the links mentioned (or rather, I did a lot of searching, since no actual links were cited). None of those are what I saw, but they definitely indicate an "arms race"...
All we want is to do surveying for large sites. But I can see how this technology is of-interest to the military, too... It's awesome neat stuff. We are completely non-military, though, and only are interested in flying RC vehicles at maybe 400' above our sites of interest. We really have no concern about anything else.
These sorts of battles are becoming more and more common, though, as tech improves... Soon, we'll be at the point where we hear a high-school student built a nuclear power plant for a local science fair, and all our arguments about how we "must bomb Iran" will go out the window... 😉
Gatewing100?
Gatewing
I know that Eric Stahlke has used one in AK, but probably only over tribal lands without airspace restrictions. Look him up here
Tanana Chiefs