Scandicraft provides geo-tagged images taken from mini-UAV via satellite link

The Norwegian UAV service provider Scandicraft demonstrated the Incident Support Imaging System (ISIS) at the UN-organized disaster management exercise Triplex. Scandicraft provided geo-tagged aerial images from the disaster area and uploaded the images by satellite link, all within minutes.

The UN body International Humanitarian Partnership organized the Triplex exercise on the border between Norway and Sweden. One important goal of the disaster exercise was to practice and improve information gathering, analysis and communication in the field. One scenario played out during the exercise was an environmental emergency component illustrated with a fire and explosion at a large chemical factory. A UAV operator from Scandicraft was transported to the edge of the contaminated site. On arrival the system was unpacked from its transport case and launched by the operator, flying the autonomous quadrocopter system to a position overlooking the factory complex. Here it produced high-resolution still images with the on-board 10 Mp digital camera, as well as providing the on-site commander with real-time information via the additional video downlink. After a quick inspection the UAV landed and the high-resolution images were uploaded to a PC, where corresponding GPS information captured by the UAV was added to the image files’ EXIF data, as well as embedded in the images themselves.

The pictures were uploaded via an Inmarsat satellite link to the UNOSAT server in Geneva. The pictures were automatically published in a map covering the whole disaster area and made available on the internet. The first pictures were uploaded to satellite within 10 minutes after arrival, meaning that pictures from the disaster could be available to disaster commanders and experts anywhere in the world, before on-site personnel such as hazmat teams had suited up to enter the site. Our mini-UAV in combination with satellite link has made it possible to monitor a disaster unsupported and within minutes after arrival publish geo-tagged aerial images from the incident, says Head of business development in Scandicraft Einar Stuve. The low-cost battery powered mini-UAV built by Microdrones is easy to operate, requiring only a few days of training for inexperienced operators. For more information www.scandicraft.com.