Keystone Buys Third UltraCam Falcon with UltraNav
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Keystone Buys Third UltraCam Falcon with UltraNav

Keystone Aerial Surveys, a group company of PASCO, has contracted with Microsoft UltraCam to purchase an UltraCam Falcon digital aerial camera system with the UltraNav GNSS inertial direct georeferencing and flight management system. The new UltraCam Falcon will be put into use immediately on the East Coast this spring, then moved to Arizona for the summer and autumn acquisition seasons. Projects will include all types of corridor mapping, such as highways, pipelines and power line rights of way (ROW).

Keystone is a major provider of high-quality aerial imagery in the US. The purchase of a third UltraCam Falcon continues Keystone’s evolution to a completely digital acquisition model, said John Schmitt, president of Keystone Aerial Surveys. Due to the Falcon’s ability to capture very precise high-resolution images, they offer digital acquisition that meets the requirements of the company’s customers who have traditionally used film products, such as state Departments of Transportation (DOTs).

Footprint

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. For example, Keystone’s Key-3D is a photogrammetrically derived colourised 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, Day added.

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. He is pleased that Keystone has added another Falcon to its collection of aerial digital systems.

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