Graz, Austria, Feb. 19, 2015”Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc., a group company of PASCO CORPORATION, has contracted with Microsoft's UltraCam business unit and subsidiary to purchase an UltraCam Falcon digital aerial camera system with the UltraNav GNSS-Inertial Direct Georeferencing + Flight Management System.
Keystone is one of the largest providers of high quality aerial imagery in the US. Our purchase of a third UltraCam Falcon continues Keystone's evolution to a completely digital acquisition model, said John Schmitt, President of Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc. Due to the Falcon's ability to capture very precise high resolution images, we offer digital acquisition that meets the requirements of our customers who have traditionally used film products, such as state Departments of Transportation (DOTs).
The new UltraCam Falcon will be put into use immediately on the east coast this spring, then moved to Arizona for the summer and fall acquisition seasons. Projects will include all types of corridor mapping, such as highways, pipelines and power line rights of way (ROW).
The UltraCam Falcon is offered in two image footprint sizes ”14,430 or 17,310 pixels across. Keystone selected the wider footprint, which allows it to effectively supplement data acquisition on large area projects normally handled by the UltraCam Eagle. As an additional advantage, UltraNav is an integrated unit that consolidates all navigation and flight planning components into the sensor head for simpler installation.
The high quality of the UltraCam Falcon imagery allows Keystone to create unique products that better serve the needs of our customers, said David Day, Executive Vice President at Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc. For example, Keystone's Key-3D is a photogrammetrically derived colorized point cloud generated using Falcon imagery. It offers an extremely high degree of accuracy in both the horizontal and vertical planes, with minimal displacement of objects as is often seen in conventional 2D products.
Microsoft is focused on providing a suite of UltraCam cameras that offers something for every business, large and small, said Alexander Wiechert, Microsoft Business Director. We are pleased that Keystone has added another Falcon to its collection of aerial digital systems.
About the UltraCam Falcon
The UltraCam Falcon features include:
- PAN, color and NIR data captured in one pass
- Choice between two image footprint sizes (14,430 pixels across or 17,310 pixels across) and two lens focal lengths (the standard 100mm Pan or wide angle 70mm Pan)
- Solid-state image storage system that holds approximately 7,500 images (with 14,430 pixel footprint) and 5,200 images (with 17,310 pixel footprint)
- Maximum frame rate <1.0 | 1.35 seconds per frame
- Panchromatic physical pixel size: 7.2 μm (6.0 μm)
- Compatible with UltraNav flight management and direct georeferencing system from Applanix
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 Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc.
Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc., a group company of PASCO CORPORATION, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been providing airborne acquisition services to clients throughout the US for over 50 years. In addition to its three UltraCam Falcon systems, the company operates two UltraCamX, three UltraCam Eagle digital cameras, two LiDAR sensors and ten traditional film mapping cameras. Keystone utilizes 20 aircraft that have been modified and equipped specifically for airborne survey operations. For more information about the company, go to www.kasurveys.com
