PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
June 2015
447
INDUSTRY
NEWS
To have your press release published in
PE&RS
, contact Rae Kelley,
.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
MDA’s Information
Systems
group
announced today
that it is releasing RADARSAT-2 information products and
analysis from the major earthquake in Nepal. The unique
Extra-Fine imaging mode offered by RADARSAT-2 provides
an unprecedented ability to capture exceptional resolution
imagery over large areas (nominal 5 m resolution at a nominal
swath width of 125 km), and from that identify detailed
changes.
The information products developed by MDA focus on
Nepal’s capital Kathmandu and the surrounding region. The
information includes both change detection products that can
be used to identify damage across the monitored area, as well
as using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar techniques
to measure the movement of ground features to millimetre-
level accuracy. RADARSAT-2 with its Extra-Fine imaging
mode has unique characteristics that can be used to map
the impacted region by measuring the displacement and has
sufficient resolution to map fault zones, infrastructure damage
and impact from landslides.
The RADARSAT-2 information is available to download
from
.
RADARSAT-2 is capable of collecting images through all
weather conditions, 24 hours a day. It is able to repeatedly
image the same location on Earth over time, from the same
orbital position, and generate data that is processed. When a
natural disaster of the magnitude experienced in Nepal occurs,
there is an urgent need to identify major changes that have
an impact on the people and infrastructure on the ground.
Satellite imagery acquired immediately after the event
provides updated views of how the landscape has changed
and the extent of damage to critical infrastructure such as
buildings, roads, and airports. These images can be compared
with satellite imagery taken before the event to help identify
areas that have been hit hardest by the disaster, determine
passable routes for aid workers, as well as safe areas suitable
for establishing aid camps to provide medical support and
shelter.
For more information, visit
Optech
is
pleased to
announce
that Teledyne Technologies, through its Teledyne DALSA
subsidiary, has acquired the remaining shares of Optech. We
are excited about adopting our new name Teledyne Optech,
which joins the Optech and Teledyne brands. Teledyne was
already the majority owner of Optech for three years, with
100% ownership not resulting in any significant operational
changes for the organization. Don Carswell continues as
President of Teledyne Optech with all existing duties. Optech’s
Founder, Allan Carswell, will continue to offer insight and is
especially looking forward to our upcoming
June 9-12 in Toronto.
You will gradually see our branding transition to the
Teledyne Optech logo and “Everywhereyoulook
TM
” tag line in
the coming days. Next week we are at two US events and
one in Brazil, where the mix of classic Optech and Teledyne
Optech branding will be evident as we transition. At the
AUVSI Unmanned Systems 2015 show in Atlanta we are part
of the Teledyne booth, while at ASPRS 2015 in Tampa and
at MundoGeo 2015 in São Paulo we are identified with the
original Optech logo. Future press releases will be issued using
our new name and logo. In the coming months we will also
transition to new email and website addresses.
“We have now been operating as Teledyne for three years,
with only this name change outstanding. Plans for Optech have
been made as part of Teledyne, and it has been very beneficial
to be part of a larger entity that shares the same commitment
to research and development,” said Optech Founder, Allan
Carswell.
“Teledyne was very supportive of our new CZMIL Project
Program, as well as the building of our own CZMIL equipment
that is being successfully deployed by our clients for projects
around the world. Along with the investment, the additional
expertise in export and insurance were very helpful,” said
Optech President, Don Carswell.
“We have always been excited by Optech’s strong technology
and products,” said Robert Mehrabian, Chairman, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Teledyne. “In particular, the
timing of this transaction demonstrates our confidence in
recent product releases, including the new Galaxy and multi-
wavelength Titan airborne mapping systems, as well as the
updated workflow in Optech’s mobile imagers.”
For more information, visit Teledyne Optech website at
EVENTS
AirGon LLC is pleased to announce a 2 day Technical
Workshop for Drone Collected Volumetrics to be held
in Toronto, Canada. This event will be a comprehensive
overview of using a small UAS (drone) to collect and process
data for volumetric calculations. There will be a complete
drone demonstration where we will plan and fly a data
collection mission at a quarry site. We will then process
the data to create ortho images, a dense point cloud and
volumetric computations. Special consideration will be given
to planning and assessing the metric accuracy of the data.
Topics for the workshop include:
•
Technical Overview of Drone Collected Volumetrics
•
Mission planning
