GPS World

Tag: ICARUS

  • Icaros releases update of OneButton UAS image processing software

    Icaros-merge-W

    Icaros Inc., a provider of aerial imaging software, has released version 4.2.2 of OneButton. The release contains new features and improvements as well as a new flight planning software module. Here are the highlights:

    • Additional parameters have been added to enable users to create enhanced quality output products.
    • Users can now create their own parameter templates to run similar projects repeatedly with the same parameter set.
    • The image stitching algorithm has been enhanced to generate higher quality outputs for projects with high overlap.
    • Projects covering smaller areas can now be solved more accurately by utilizing a higher resolution terrain model of the area.
    • UgCS flight planning software is included free of charge with each installation.

    Current users of OneButton software can download and install the latest version.

    Those new to OneButton software can download a free copy to use until Oct. 31.

    Icaros developed the OneButton family for geospatial end users to easily and automatically generate precise, fully orthorectified 2D maps and 3D models from frame-based aerial imaging systems. Originally engineered for manned aircraft sensors, the OneButton software has been modified to accommodate the unique collection conditions of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

    OneButton creates a complete image processing workflow for aerial image data and can front-end both GIS and analytics workflows to enable customers to solve challenging problems related to everything from agriculture and forestry to utilities and city planning. It is highly customizable to meet the needs of specific vertical market applications.

    OneButton automatically processes raw raster imagery with onboard GPS/IMU data to stich the individual scenes together into a seamless, color-balanced orthomosaic meeting photogrammetric standards. Outputs include digital elevation models (DEMs), true color 3D point clouds, and multispectral mosaics – all ready for ingest directly into GIS and analytics software environments.

    OneButton is application platform and sensor agnostic, and processes raster image data from small-, medium-, and large-format frame sensors capable of capturing visible RBG, multispectral, near-infrared, and thermal infrared data.

    “This version of OneButton comes with significant improvements, from a more intuitive user interface, to more robust processing and output options. I am very pleased with the update,” said Eric Andelin, president of VERTX.

  • Lockheed Unveils ICARUS to Counter UAS Threats

    Lockheed Unveils ICARUS to Counter UAS Threats

    Photo: Lockheed Martin

    At this year’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Lockheed Martin unveiled a new capability that will allow users to detect and counter emerging threats from unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The solution, ICARUS, was designed to operate defensively in various threat environments. The AUSA meeting was held Oct. 12-14 in Washington, D.C.

    “The U.S. government is seeing an increase in the use of commercially available UAS platforms for surveillance and weaponization,” said Deon Viergutz, vice president of Cyber Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “What Lockheed Martin has developed in ICARUS is a system that can detect, recognize and counteract these systems with pinpoint accuracy.”

    Lockheed Martin’s Counter-UAS system has been field tested and demonstrated to several domestic and international customers over the past year. Those tests demonstrated the ability of ICARUS to identify and intercept commercially available unmanned aerial systems.

    The development of the ICARUS software system draws on Lockheed Martin’s history of innovations in electronic warfare, cybersecurity and countermeasures associated with sophisticated threats. It was developed through Lockheed Martin internal investment and combines advanced cyber and cyber electromagnetic activity experience with sensor technology and non-kinetic techniques.

  • Icaros to Unveil Oblique Image Viewer, Measuring Tool for ArcGIS at Esri UC

    Icaros Inc., a provider of advanced aerial remote sensing and 3D visualization solutions, will introduce its Icaros Measurement Tool (IMT), a simple but powerful photogrammetric visualization application based on ArcGIS technologies, at the 2014 Esri User Conference. The 2014 Esri User Conference will be held July 14-18 in the San Diego, California, Convention Center.

    The IMT enables customers working within Esri’s GIS environment to view and measure structures in oblique aerial imagery captured by any commercial oblique sensor system, including those from Pictometry, Vexcel/Microsoft, IGI, Leica, Midas, as well as oblique sensors mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

    “Icaros is opening the oblique imagery market to all GIS users by building our IMT’s coming functionality upon Esri’s Arc Engine,” said Richard Baumgartner, vice president of business development at Icaros. “IMT lets users unlock the full potential of their imagery by combining 3D analysis capabilities with their GIS data.”

    IMT is specifically designed to make highly accurate vertical and horizontal 3D measurements of structures and surfaces, including calculating distances, areas, slopes and azimuths in complex 3D features.

    For too long, Baumgartner explained, oblique imagery has been limited by proprietary collection systems and metadata formats. Usage beyond tax assessment and public safety applications is very rare. The Icaros vision is to expand the use, visualization and analysis of oblique aerial images into the entire spectrum of the GIS market with special focus on local and state government segments.

    Beyond tax assessment and public safety, oblique analysis of structures can be beneficial to a host of new applications such as facility management, pipeline corridor infrastructure monitoring, energy audits, economic development, and asset management. In addition, as Esri users continue the move to 3D, oblique imagery will be critical for constructing accurate image-based realistic 3D models.

    “Icaros has done a terrific job designing easy to use, yet highly sophisticated, measurement tools for any client wanting to do 3D oblique measurements. Not only are these tools well developed, but they are integrated completely within Esri’s ArcGIS platform, which is a critical advantage for our clients,” said Paige Parker, Vice President at Control Cam, an Icaros distributer serving the state and local markets.

    IMT enables users to manipulate and view oblique imagery while leveraging other geospatial data layers within their GIS environment. This capability allows users to navigate multi-image scenes in three dimensions while zooming and panning. The software also provides an optional Icaros Digitizer Tool (IDT).

    “IDT provides additional tools to extract physical building structures and digitize them into open format models, such as Collada, Obj, and Ply, textured from the source imagery,” said Baumgartner. “Automated 3D model generation from oblique imagery is at the intersection between imagery and GIS.”

    To view a demonstration of the Icaros Oblique Viewer, visit Icaros in booth #619 at the conference.