Remote Control Plane with Camera Capturing Real-time Images for Google Earth Options

[benbakelaar]

This is drool-level cool!

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/20...te_control.html

January 05, 2007
Watch Remote Control Plane with Camera Capturing Real-time Images for Google Earth

Check out this really cool video showing a guy launching a small unmanned remote control aerial vehicle with a digital camera used to capture images and then show the images in Google Earth.

[Derek Tonn]

Fabulous.

I love this kind of thing.......with a VERY high "cool" factor. It's amazing how quickly the fields of wayfinding and spatial navigation are evolving. You blink, and you're two steps behind. I try my darnedest to keep our team at least informed about stuff like pict-earth.com, but there's only 36 hours in a day. Er, wait......

Good stuff, Ben! Keep 'em coming......

Derek

[Lui]

Wow! I've been dreaming of such system for a long time. It is really cool for small projects. Hmmm, I just have to figure out how big have to be UAV to put our laser scaner, 40MP camera, HD video into it and how implement predefined flightpath to UAV. Does anybody know where to get cheap UAV capable to carry 30kg payload within 100km range? It also have to be reliable. Those pilots and helicopters are getting very expensive.

Lui

[BEAVER]

Or you can buy small sport plane and fly around. That's what I'm doing. I'm staring my school in April and bying my plane next year. I will rent the plane for the first year to do the Vermont map. Most of the plane use will be for mapping.

Here is what I'm getting. http://www.sportaircraftworks.com/

[MapMedia]

Pict-earth has a good business model - I agree there is a need for this, especially in development projects, litigation, and environmental consulting. It beats using a real plane hands-down as costs should be much more competitive with the remote control device.

Hope they can get their plane insured with all of the high-tech cameras, GPS strapped to it. I once saw a remote control jet prop plane nick a telephone line and kapooey, $3,500 turned into 500 little pieces. End of air show! lol

[Hans van der Maa...]

Wow! I've been dreaming of such system for a long time. It is really cool for small projects. Hmmm, I just have to figure out how big have to be UAV to put our laser scaner, 40MP camera, HD video into it and how implement predefined flightpath to UAV. Does anybody know where to get cheap UAV capable to carry 30kg payload within 100km range? It also have to be reliable. Those pilots and helicopters are getting very expensive.

US Air Force surplus?

I've often fantasized about having something like this. My thoughts were more along the lines of a remote controlled blimp (they're out there), for stability issues. It's a really cool thing to have

[Derek Tonn]

Remote Control Aerial Photography Association - http://www.rcapa.net/

I should have thought to mention them last night, but there are MANY very skilled "RC" photographers out there people can work with. I've looked into using members of that group on campus mapping shoots....though the issue I find hard to clear is one of altitude. Anything much over 400 feet off the ground and many RC crafts start to have issues and/or get on the nerves of the FAA. For low-level flying and photography though, RC is much, MUCH more affordable than manned craft, at least in urban centers where the RC "pilots" don't have to travel far to/from a job site.

[CHART]

Or you can buy small sport plane and fly around. That's what I'm doing. I'm staring my school in April and bying my plane next year. I will rent the plane for the first year to do the Vermont map. Most of the plane use will be for mapping.

Here is what I'm getting. http://www.sportaircraftworks.com/

Congrat.
Very interesting.... what kind of camera for your aerial photography are you going to have (or thinking of getting).



Re: Pict-Earth.
Apart from the cool factor (because cool is just that and nothing else), I think there could be many professional mapping applications for this Pict-Earth system in the long run. (What will Generation X think of next... )